NASCAR champion Kyle Larson reveals what makes Bristol Motor Speedway so tough

NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson has revealed what makes Bristol Motor Speedway such a tough track to master in the next-gen era.

All three national NASCAR series are in action at the Tennessee short track this weekend, with Cup qualifying on Saturday, followed by Sunday's main event, the Food City 500.

Larson has won three times at the track in total, and twice in the next-gen era, so he knows a thing or two about what it takes to have success around its banked turns.

However, the Hendrick Motorsports star suggests its far from an easy place to go out and win races.

Kyle Larson on 'tough' Bristol Motor Speedway

“Bristol’s tough, at least in the Next Gen era," Larson said ahead of this weekend's action, via NASCAR News Wire.

"You really don’t know what you’re going to get in track and race conditions until you get into the race.

“I feel like every practice we’ve had there, maybe with the exception of one or two, is really high tire wear, and you’re like scratching your head, ‘Oh, my gosh, what’s the track going to do? Do we change our car a bunch overnight to accommodate that wear?', and then you get into the race, and conditions are normal.

“And then you come back the next time, and you’re like, ‘The race is going to be normal. It’s going to be no tire wear. It’s going to get back to normal', and then the race is high tire wear, and you’re changing your race strategy.”

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Larson looking to snap long wait for Cup victory

Larson heads into Sunday's race at Bristol Motor Speedway looking to snap a long winless streak in the Cup Series.

It has been 31 races and 11 long months since the Hendrick Motorsports star last won a Cup Series race, a fact perhaps masked by the fact he won the championship at Phoenix in November.

The 33-year-old has three previous Cup victories at Bristol, though, as mentioned above, including two in the last two seasons, so that streak could well be reset come the black and white checkered flag on Sunday.

The reigning champion is ninth in the points pre-race, and could make up some ground on the likes of Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin with another victory this time around.