At Bristol Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson placed second in the NASCAR Truck Series race. He dominated the next two races, the Cup and the Xfinity. Speaking candidly on Kevin Harvick’s “Happy Hour” podcast on Monday, the Hendrick Motorsports driver talked about his victory in the Xfinity Series and the message he tries to convey every time he gets in one of the Xfinity vehicles. “This could come across as arrogant,” Larson said. “To be honest, I want to make them look foolish. All I want to do is somewhat disgrace NASCAR. The kids most likely believe they’re in a wonderful place because they no longer allow Cup men to run. They have no idea where the real bar is. In order to obtain 10-second leads to let them realize that they got a lot of room to improve”, I enjoy running those Xfinity races.
When the 2021 Cup Series champion appeared on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio a day later, he was questioned about his earlier remarks. It’s interesting that he gave the example of 2022 Xfinity champion Ty Gibbs. “I don’t think the Xfinity guys are as good as they used to be, and they’re definitely not as ready for the Cup as they used to be,” Larson said. I believe that’s the reason you see someone like Ty Gibbs. I think Ty Gibbs is great. Despite winning the Xfinity Series, he has not yet taken home a race victory. And I believe that a lot of that stems from the restrictions that NASCAR has placed on it. Larson noted that in 96 races, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has not yet claimed a victory in the series. He does have 13 top-five finishes, including his most recent result at Bristol where he finished third for his best finish of the 2025 campaign.
Larson and Gibbs are off this week and return to Cup Series action on April 27 at Talladega.
