BLOG: Young Guns Run at CMS

There's no time like the present, if you're Kyle Larson.

The young driver, who will take over the No. 42 Target Chevrolet next season as Juan Pablo Montoya heads to open-wheel racing, will make his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut next weekend at Charlotte, driving Phoenix Racing's No. 51 Chevrolet.

"We are happy to have an opportunity to get Kyle in a couple of Cup races this year," owner Chip Ganassi said in a statement. "Those races along with an aggressive testing schedule will be invaluable in his preparation for the 2014 season."

The car will be painted white, with red Target logos, a mirror image of the red/white car Montoya has driven the past seven seasons.

Larson is the latest young driver to make time in the Cup Series before he's set to drive it full-time. Ricky STenhouse Jr. did it, and so did Danica Patrick. It's a good strategy. Larson gets seat time, Phoenix gets cash, Ganassi gets a couple of licks in to see how the young feller does in the heat of battle.

Charlotte is an easy place to do this, too. Ganassi's shop is three miles away from the track, everybody (most everybody) lives close by and there's a home-game attitude in place.

The difference between the Camaro that Larson drives in the Nationwide Series and the SS that he'll drive in the Cup series is small, but significant. The NNS cars have shorter wheelbases and different side-draft characteristics. It will be a good test of the driver next weekend.