The school of hard knocks, I guess.
This week, NASCAR driver Kyle Larson joined Kevin Harvick for a Victory Lap interview following his win at Bristol, his second win of the season. Larson competes in the Xfinity series pretty often too, in addition to his full-time slot at the Cup level, and he had quite an answer when he told Harvick why he chooses to do so, even when it’s becoming less common for Cup Series guys to do that.
Apparently, Kyle is out to teach the younger boys a lesson, and says he wants them to understand that, while they might have consistent success in Xfinity, it’s nothing like the big leagues and they shouldn’t get a big head, so to speak, in terms of thinking that they can just jump to the next level and start wining. If anything, we’ve seen in recent years that it’s tough for the young guns to win in the Cup Series. William Byron is 27, but most of the top drivers in the Cup Series right now are over 30. Reddick is 29, Chase Elliott is 29… but you have to climb pretty far down the standings to find some drivers in their early 20s. Ty Gibbs is 22 and sitting at 20th… well outside playoff contention.
Obviously, it takes years of hard work and racing every weekend to gain the experience you need to compete against the likes of a Ryan Blaney or Kyle himself, so it’s probably a good dose of reality for the lower-level guys in all honesty… I imagine you’d start to get a little cocky after winning several Xfinity races, and start thinking that you could easily take it to the next level, but like any other sport when you move up a level, it’s MUCH easier said than done.
Larson can be a polarizing figure, and he’s not my favorite driver by any means, and I’m not so sure it’s the smartest thing to say you want to “embarrass NASCAR” for not letting Cup guys run as much in Xfinity anymore, but I do think his larger point is actually pretty legit, and I tend to agree that somebody’s gotta give ’em a taste of what it’s really like if they’re thinking it’s going to be just as easy to go the highest level in racing:
“In Xfinity, I do get very motivated, and this is going to come across as very cocky, but I want to embarrass them, honestly. I just, I want to embarrass NASCAR a little bit, because they just don’t let Cup guys run anymore, and the kids probably think they’re in a good spot, and they don’t know where the bar is really at.
So I like to go run those Xfinity races and just get ten seconds leads to let them realize that they’ve got a lot of room to improve, and I think that’s only better for our sport. Those young guys can compete with Cup guys, they’re better suited for the cup series once they get there, yes, I want to smash the field when I run Xfinity. That’s motivation for me for sure.”
Is it a little petty? Yes… but clearly Larson still has the fire under him to be the best, and push others around him, especially the younger guys, to be the best drivers they can and that’s pretty respectable, and good for the sport.
Kyle Larson tells @KevinHarvick he runs Xfinity Series races to embarrass the competition … and NASCAR. pic.twitter.com/hBjn95ad7R
— HarvickHappyHour (@HarvickHappyPod) April 14, 2025
You can watch the full interview here:
