Kyle Larson failed to impress at a superspeedway once again. He brought the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro home with a 20th-place finish in the Daytona 500 after struggling to make ends meet. Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon spoke to the press after the dismal performance and launched a passive attack on the continuing woes.
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Larson had lamented on his radio during the race that every move that he made seemed to be the wrong one. His words have made Gordon doubt that he is letting the defeats get to his head. He said, “Gosh, the guy is not perfect. I think now I’m starting to see it’s getting in his head.” Overthinking is the last thing Gordon wants him to do.
He continued, “I don’t know what advice to give him other than — all I told him today is just be Kyle Larson. Don’t try to be something you’re not. Don’t look at what somebody else is doing that’s having success.” The driver appears to be having trouble following these instructions. All three of his teammates had a better outing than him.
In any other race track, Larson would have most likely won the race or finished in the front of the pack at the very least. But superspeedways continue to be his kryptonite. Gordon believes that if he just goes out and executes, things will eventually fall into place. But he also conceded that the No. 5 team has a lot of soul-searching to do to find success.
#BluntGordon tonight
Jeff was asked about Larson’s superspeedway struggles and said ‘I don’t know’ and ‘it’s in his head now.’
Larson said over his radio that every move he made was the wrong one.
Jeff: “I noticed”
He says he loves Kyle and he’s great but this is a challenge
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) February 17, 2025
Fans on social media were not very receptive to the icon’s tough love for Larson. They defended the driver by pulling up various factors such as Dale Earnhardt’s lackluster Daytona 500 record. A fan wrote, “Even Dale Earnhardt only won 1 Daytona 500.” Another said, “Kyle is a great racer and Superspeedway racing isn’t racing it’s roulette with racecars.”
The opinion that luck decides the outcome of superspeedway races is more prevalent now than ever. A section of the fandom blames Larson’s struggles on the track type on this. A comment read, “Once we go to a racetrack where the driver actually matters, Kyle will be back up front dominating.”
Another added on similar lines, “That’s because he’s a racer and not a rider. There’s no actual racing on a restricter track.” It has become a pattern of late. Larson is predictably bad on superspeedways while he is simply brilliant on most of the other tracks. He will need to fill this gap in his skillset to have a better chance at winning the championship again.
