Sports
Kyle Larson Is Not A Hardcore Fan Of Taylor Swift Despite A Trip To Paris For A Concert
Darlington, South Carolina – Kyle Larson made it clear that he is no Swiftie, despite the fact that he surprised his daughter with a birthday vacation to Paris this week to see Taylor Swift in concert.
Larson wore a Taylor Swift-themed T-shirt and friendship bracelets that his wife, Katelyn, and 6-year-old Audrey had given him.
“I don’t feel like I’m a Swiftie at all,” Larson said Saturday at Darlington Raceway. “I do appreciate her music and how hard she works, but I’m not a Swiftie.”
Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, has grown accustomed to being one of the circuit’s hottest and busiest drivers. He is coming off a historic victory last week at Kansas, where he beat Chris Buescher by 0.001 seconds, the tightest finish in Cup Series history.
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Kyle Larson Is Not A Hardcore Fan Of Taylor Swift Despite A Trip To Paris For A Concert
The picture finish with Buescher exceeded a landmark Darlington moment from 2003 when Ricky Craven edged Kurt Busch by 0.002 in the sport’s all-time closest finish.
Larson expected to hit a wall rather than win in the final moments.
“I just thought I was going to run out of space,” he explained. “But he allowed me ample space. Yeah, we went off the corner, and it was all about how the run would go.
Larson emerged victorious, with a frustrated Buescher finishing second.
Buescher claimed he repeatedly viewed the finale and replayed it in his thoughts. He learned far more than he thought about NASCAR’s scoring system and transponder placement, and he identified numerous things he would have done differently to win.
In the end, the Roush Fenway Racing driver accepted second place. “It was bothersome for two days,” he claimed. “There’s really no way around that.”
Buescher believes the best way to overcome it is with a more comfortable and successful performance at Darlington, where he has four top-10 results in his last six races, including a career-best third behind Victor Larson at the Southern 500 last September.
Larson, whose two wins this season trail those of Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, said the trip to France provided a reprieve from what will be a demanding rest of the month.
Larson will compete in the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro and qualify for the Indianapolis 500. The following week, he’ll try to complete all 1,100 miles of racing, starting at Indianapolis and finishing at Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600.
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Kyle Larson Is Not A Hardcore Fan Of Taylor Swift Despite A Trip To Paris For A Concert
Erik Jones returns to racing after missing the past two weeks due to a compression fracture of a lower vertebra sustained in a collision at Talladega last month. Jones, a two-time Darlington winner, said he feels 100 percent, but it’s more probable that he’ll need some time to heal over the next few weeks.
Jones said he is unable to lift large weights, but he hopes to return to the gym next week. He intends to be fully recovered for the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte in two weeks.
NASCAR allowed Jones to race at Kansas, but after consulting with his crew, he decided he needed more time to recover.
“If I really pushed it, I could’ve been in the car if I pushed it, I could’ve been in the car if I really, really wanted to be,” Jones stated. “At the same time, if I make that call on my own and overrule, and I go out and re-injure myself, I look like an idiot.”
Tyler Reddick dominated qualifying for Sunday’s race, extending his impressive record at Darlington. Reddick, 28, has three top-three results at NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway, including second place in this race two years ago and runner-up to Larson in the Southern 500 last September.
Reddick will start ahead of two Roush Fenway Racing drivers, Brad Keselowski and Buescher. Byron is fifth, then Ty Gibbs. Ross Chastain, Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace, Hamlin, and Larson are in order of ranking.
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Kyle Larson Is Not A Hardcore Fan Of Taylor Swift Despite A Trip To Paris For A Concert
Larson’s performance at Kansas puts him the betting favorite to win his second consecutive race at Darlington. BetMGM.com lists him at 4-1 odds for the Goodyear 400 on Sunday.
JGR teammates Hamlin (4.75-1) and Truex (5.5-1) come next. Byron, who won Darlington’s spring race in 2023, is 7.25-1, while pole-sitter Reddick is 8.5-1.
SOURCE – (AP)
