The seventh-generation NASCAR Cup Series car, better known as the ‘Next Gen,’ has been a point of constant contention in the sport ever since its introduction in 2022. Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson recently spoke about how the new concept has affected him as a driver on track, with 2025 marking the machine’s fourth year racing in stock car racing’s top tier.
Advertisement
Along with teammate William Byron, the 2021 Cup Series champion has been the most successful driver behind the wheel of the Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro. Since 2022, both drivers have 11 and 13 wins to their names, respectively. Despite his success, Larson was critical of himself and his car during the early days of the concept’s introduction.
He elaborated how the Next Gen concept was a learning curve for him, coming from the hugely different sixth-generation racers. “I would say in 2022, the first year (with) the Next-Gen car, we were kind of off a little bit then and won one race early in the year, but then it took a long time to win another.”
“I feel like we learned a lot in that first season and 2023 we were really strong, really fast … crashed a lot, but ran up front a lot too,” added the California native. Larson’s progression with the new car concept is evident in his results, with the 32-year-old banking three wins in 2022, followed by four in 2023 and six last year, highlighting his growing confidence.
However, the picture is not all rosy for the #5 Chevy driver. Despite his impressive tally of wins, Larson also has been notoriously the most crash-prone driver in the Next Gen era. Often seen pushing the limits of both the car and his abilities, he steps over the line of control and loses out.
A great example of these unforced errors came during the sport’s visit to Homestead-Miami in 2023 where he smashed into the pit road entry barriers under green flag conditions.
“I don’t know if anybody else had a season like that”
Despite being one of the most accident-prone drivers on the field, Larson seems confident of his progression with the Next Gen car as he heads into the 2025 racing season. While acknowledging areas where he needs to improve, the avid dirt track racer looked back at his year in 2024 and expressed:
“Next year (2025) I would love to crash even less and lead more laps, win more races, win more stages. I felt like we did a great job in the Next Gen era for this year (2024) probably, I haven’t looked at stats of other top guys from the years past, but six wins, led a ton of laps, won a ton of stages. I don’t know if anybody else had a season like that yet in the Next-Gen era,” said Larson.
It now remains to be seen if he can turn a corner during the upcoming Clash at Bowman Gray and the 67th running of the famed Daytona 500, both scheduled to go live in February.
