The Xfinity Series keeps gaining more fans than the Cup Series with every week of racing. Following the races at the Texas Motor Speedway last weekend, Kyle Larson spoke about how impressed he was with the racing product in the second tier.
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Larson had participated in the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 and reached Victory Lane. His words echoed the sentiments that Denny Hamlin expressed last week.
Larson said, “You can run much closer to people in Xfinity, which is nice. Kind of run in their wake a little bit better, and not be upset.
“So, the Cup [Series] car is much tougher to get to people and pass them. You can’t really manipulate their car. So, yeah, that makes it fun. When you get to come back to Xfinity and kind of not worry about dirty air quite as much.”
He had also said after the race that the Next Gen car isn’t able to run as high as the Xfinity Series car in Turns 3 and 4 of the Texas Motor Speedway. He pointed out a bump just past the center and mentioned that it upsets the Next Gen car a lot. The driver also reasoned that it was what caused a lot of accidents in the Cup Series. These are the kinds of opinions NASCAR likely doesn’t want to hear.
Despite the problems he has, Kyle Larson finished Sunday’s race in fourth place. He led 90 laps and was poised for the win. The closing laps of the race had four cautions. In the first restart, he was beaten by Michael McDowell, and the Spire Motorsports driver maintained the advantage over the next two restarts. Larson eventually faded into fourth place.
Denny Hamlin wants to check off a box before retiring
Hamlin has never been shy to express his concerns with the Next Gen car. On multiple episodes of Actions Detrimental, he has voiced his issues and demanded change from the promotion. After the set of races at the Talladega Superspeedway, he got on the case again.
The Cup Series race at the Alabama track was a good one by many standards. But it waned in comparison to the Xfinity Series race. Or so many, including Hamlin, thought. He said, “I used to think there was no way I would sign up for Superspeedway racing, but I would love… Joe Gibbs Racing, if you’re hearing this, sign me up for an Xfinity superspeedway race.”
“That is how racing used to be. That’s how good we used to have it. We just never knew it. Like these cars are moving around. You can create runs. I want to do it before I retire. I want to do it. One more Xfinity race.” This continual preference for the second-tier over the premier tier by big names is bound to unsettle NASCAR.
