There’s clear distinction between the Cup and Xfinity Series in NASCAR, and drivers competing in the Cup are a step above. Do they get to show it often? Not really. And Daniel Suarez feels that it’s actually not good for the sport.
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When Kyle Larson stormed to victory in an Xfinity race in Bristol, beating Carson Kvapil by more than two seconds, he didn’t mince words afterward. On Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast, he said he wanted to embarrass the Xfinity Series drivers and NASCAR to remind everyone what Cup-level racing looks like.
Larson’s remarks lit a spark across the garage, even drawing a nod from Daniel Suarez, who once fought Cup regulars in Xfinity. Suarez agreed with Larson’s sentiment about raising the bar.
Under current rules, Cup drivers with more than three years of full-time experience can enter no more than five Xfinity or Craftsman Truck Series races per season. NASCAR created the rule to prevent Cup veterans from dominating the feeder series and taking home most of the prize money.
While well-intentioned, the rule also stripped younger drivers of a valuable measuring stick, the chance to battle the best before joining them.
Suarez, who earned his first Xfinity win against Kyle Busch and claimed his championship while racing Larson, argued that the old system hardened him.
“The cup drivers back then, they were allowed to race as many races as they wanted. So, I believe that I would have won way more races if there were no Cup drivers like there is right now… My curriculum will look way nicer, but I wouldn’t have learned what I learned. Like I was racing against the best of the best every single week. So, it’s different now.”
“I don’t dislike the new rules of NASCAR of limiting the Cup guys. With that being said, now the guys from Xfinity and Trucks, they go to Cup and the jump is bigger… because they don’t really know where is the bar… They think that okay that’s it. But once they go to a cup series, a completely different level, not just in drivers, but in engineers in big cruise and everything.”
That gap is soon to be narrowed again. NASCAR announced a policy change for 2026, according to which, full-time Cup veterans with over three years of experience can run up to 10 races in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (name to be changed from Xfinity), double the current limit.
In the Craftsman Truck Series, they’ll be permitted eight starts, a three-race increase. However, restrictions will remain for playoff events, keeping the regular-season finales and postseason free of Cup interference.
With the adjustment, NASCAR insiders and drivers hope the presence of Cup stars will accelerate the development of younger talent, especially vital now that entry ages are dropping.
Beginning in 2026, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will allow 17-year-olds to compete on road courses and ovals 1.25 miles or shorter, while the Truck Series will lower its minimum to 16 under the same conditions. The Cup Series will retain its age limit of 18.
For a sport that lost its testing freedom decades ago, “seat time” is still the greatest teacher. Letting rising stars rub fenders with proven Cup racers is an education. And for drivers like Larson and Suarez, that’s what keeps the ladder system honest: learning the ropes from those who already know how to climb them.
