Kyle Larson rewards Chip Ganassi’s faith by delivering Michigan NASCAR Cup Series win

Chip Ganassi admits he questioned himself as he watched Kyle Larson struggle Sunday during the early stages of the Michigan Pure 400. The NASCAR team owner had reluctantly agreed to allow Larson to compete in the Knoxville National Saturday night, and now his driver have no indication a third straight Cup Series win at Michigan International Speedway was at all a possibility.

Although NASCAR is where he earns his livelihood, sprint Car racing is Larson’s passion. And for the first time he had locked himself into the A-main starting lineup for the Knoxville Nationals, one of the most prestigious dirt sprint car races, after a qualifying heat win Wednesday night. But the 25-year-old figured there was little chance Ganassi would consent him to competing in Iowa Saturday night then fly to Brooklyn, Mich., for the Cup Series the next day.

A social media campaign, some convincing from Chip Ganassi Racing executives, and a heart-to-heart with his driver as they drove back from a Chevrolet event Thursday eventually changed Ganassi’s mind.

Still, Larson not running as well as expected Sunday caused the car owner to second-hand guess himself.

“I was questioning myself in the middle of the race when I see us back there,” Larson said. “We didn’t have too good of a start, and we were sort of mired in the middle of the top 10 there most of the day — not by any stretch near the front.

“I had concerns and I was getting ready to take a lot of heat in the media for that if we didn’t have a good day.”

Ultimately, Ganassi’s concerns were for naught.

Steadily Larson improved his position throughout the afternoon, and when the race went into overtime due to crash with three regulation laps remaining, he executed a stellar restart where he drove through the middle and by the leaders entering Turn 1. He then distanced himself from second-place Martin Truex Jr. to secure his third win of the season and third consecutive at Michigan.

Larson at no point appeared lethargic, despite not arriving arrive back at Michigan until 2:30 a.m. ET Sunday. It was the opposite, he said. Being given permission to race in the Knoxville Nationals (where he finished second to Donny Schatz) had enthused him, provided a jolt to do well in the Cup race. Also helping was that the Cup Series race didn’t start until 3 p.m. ET., which Ganassi said factored into his decision.

“I woke up this morning extremely confident about today, just being able to race last night and have a lot of fun and get close to winning,” Larson said. “I woke up in a really, really good mood and a lot of confidence, too.”

And had he not been given the OK?

“I would not have been in a sour mood, I would have been in a sad mood,” Larson said. “I probably would have had a box of tissues next to my bed last night after I knew I didn’t get to run the Knoxville Nationals, but that wasn’t the case.”

It’s that passion for wanting to race on any given day of the week that Ganassi both admires and worries about. Regarded as a once in a generation talent, Larson is much like Tony Stewart — whom he’s so often compared to — seemingly at his best in the Cup Series when he’s allowed to race outside of NASCAR and pursue his passion.

Sprint car racing is dangerous, however, more so than stock car racing, and Ganassi understandably doesn’t want Larson sidelined from his primary focus as driver of the No. 42 Chevrolet in the Cup Series. The two have come to an agreement where Larson is permitted to compete in about two dozen sprint car races each year, though none can occur the day prior to a Cup Series race or during the playoffs.

“When you’re a team owner in any sport, it’s easy to break your star athlete, it’s easy to break them and slow them down,” Ganassi said. “It’s a lot harder to speed them up. I just don’t want to do something that’s going to slow him down. I think you run the risk of that when you have a talent like that that wants to go drive other kinds of cars and things.

“So I appreciate when Kyle steps up and does what he did today; it makes it all worthwhile, obviously.”

But just because Larson won Sunday don’t expect Ganassi to amend his stance on limiting Larson’s extracurricular hobbies. After all, the pursuit of a Cup Series championship takes precedence over all else.

“Kyle understands more and more the gravity of the situation as you drill into the fall or late summer,” Ganassi said. “This was his last sprint car race of the season.”