Hendrick Motorsports drivers may be able to weather any storm. Kyle Larson is the poster boy of this NASCAR Cup Series team’s resilient culture, having won on various racetracks. From acing the close-quarters-racing of short tracks to dominating the tricky turns of road courses, Larson has soared. However, only one racetrack type has evaded his powerful grasp – superspeedways.Kyle Larson is yet to notch a victory at superspeedways. His first top-five in Talladega came only in 2022 when HMS revamped its approach. Yet in the recently concluded race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Larson proved that sudden caution calls do not rattle him – letting Jeff Gordon feel relieved.Kyle Larson shrugs off his weaknessWell, Atlanta Motor Speedway is a superspeedway-intermediate hybrid racetrack. and it proved to be the perfect venue for Kyle Larson to showcase his progress. Last weekend, the No. 5 Chevrolet driver entered a wreck fest from qualifying – a last-lap crash put him in the 22nd starting spot. Then during the Daytona 500, he got caught in yet another last-lap melee. This weekend, however, Larson was determined to finish without bent fenders. He dominated the front row, winning Stage 2 of the Ambetter Health 400 – his first stage win on a drafting track. Larson was again part of the leading story in the last few laps.Although Carson Hocevar aggressively got ahead of him, Larson was happy to come away with a third-place finish. Josh Berry and Joey Logano crashed on the final lap, triggering a green-white-checkered flag that Christopher Bell took advantage of. The HMS #5 was side by side with Christopher Bell on the white flag lap in overtime until Carson Hocevar split the two and took second place, as the caution was called. Although that caution flag may have ruined his chances of winning, Kyle Larson shrugged it off: “I think they probably made the right decision.” Kyle Larson focused on his remarkable progress on a drafting track instead. “Honestly, it feels great… And just the battle – it was very entertaining from my seat. I had a good time. We were in contention again, like we typically are.” Indeed, this top-five result coupled with a stage win is bound to bring smiles to Jeff Gordon. The four-time Cup Series champion and current Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports was worried about Larson’s superspeedway weakness after Daytona. Gordon said, “I think now I’m starting to see it’s getting in his head,” and he did have every right to be worried as well.Larson got wrecked out of his last four races at Atlanta, finishing outside the top 30. So you can feel the relief in his voice when he said, “To finish a race here and make it to the third stage feels good.” Despite the superspeedway win still eluding him, Larson can take the positives that he was fighting right till the end. However, that might have more to do with the nature of Atlanta as a track. “I think [NASCAR] probably made the right decision tonight” – @KyleLarsonRacin on the final lap caution call.: @FSBradH#NASCAR pic.twitter.com/QcHfGbn2mc— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) February 24, 2025Kyle Larson agreed with Brad Keselowski. The latter claimed recently that Atlanta is a breath of fresh air after Daytona’s wreck fest. Larson said, “You know, it’s not like Daytona or Talladega where it’s just a choo-choo train three-wide. Here it’s like people’s cars handle bad, there’s accordion, there’s gaps, you can plug holes and stuff. So it’s much more strategic in the driver’s seat to try to get to the front. And it’s just intense. The laps are going faster, it’s a smaller track. So yeah that was fun.” The shorter nature of the track, in contrast to traditional superspeedways, makes it a unique spectacle on the NASCAR grid. This year’s Atlanta race involved over 10 different leaders and 50 lead changes as everyone found their way to the front of the pack. Although Kyle Larson felt relieved, he had achieved this success earlier. And a rival had hailed him for his versatility.Just one piece missing from the gauntletNASCAR hosts a variety of different racetracks. These include superspeedways, intermediate, ovals, short tracks, and road courses. Mostly, drivers ace at one or two of these racetracks, developing a signature style of racing. However, few are legends among them who dominate almost any motorsports venue. Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing driver/owner, emphasized this back in 2022. “It’s a really difficult challenge to be an elite NASCAR driver because it’s kinda like you’re a Jack-of-all, and rarely do you become master of all of them or even one. But you have to, and that’s what separates the best.”Kyle Larson is definitely one of the best. In April 2022, he proved that he could even tame a drafting track like Talladega Superspeedway. Entering that race, the No. 5 team put less emphasis on qualifying and more on the race. That led to Larson notching his first-ever top-five at Dega. Keselowski hailed Larson for his lack of weaknesses: “I look at a guy like Kyle Larson, and I think what makes him special is that he can win, realistically, at four out of the five types of tracks. And that’s pretty impressive. Most of the drivers say, ‘I can win at two. I can win at three.’ But to be able to win at four out of five, that’s pretty good.”Larson’s prowess on dirt tracks is well known as he is a 3x Chili Bowl Champion but on the NASCAR grid itself, his versatility hits different levels. From dominating road courses like Watkins Glen with 2 wins and 3 top-5 finishes in 10 races. To glide through intermediate tracks like Las Vegas and Homestead with 10 wins at intermediate ovals. Then comes short tracks where he boasts another 5 wins, three of them at Michigan. His latest quest is tackling superspeedways and slowly but surely, he’s getting there.Evidently, Kyle Larson has proven yet again that he can overcome any challenge. Let us see what magic he can conjure in the next superspeedway race in Talladega.The post Kyle Larson Backs NASCAR’s Controversial Call as He Puts Jeff Gordon’s Worry to Rest appeared first on EssentiallySports.