Kyle Larson had an underwhelming outing in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway, finishing in 35th place. It marked his fourth finish outside the top 10 in the seven races since his failed attempt at completing the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
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And the fraternity has taken note of the low point he is enduring. Kyle Petty spoke about Larson’s recent form on NASCAR’s Inside The Race segment with Alex Weaver and Todd Gordon after Sunday’s race.
“If we go back to everything that happened at Indianapolis and then come to Charlotte and everything, they’ve just not been where we expect the No. 5 team to be. And I think that’s key, too. It’s where we expect the No.5 team to be,” said Petty about the performance expectations people have from Larson and how it has changed since the attempt at completing ‘The Double’.
Petty referred to Larson’s failure to meet expectations as the Jimmie Johnson syndrome. When the seven-time champion went through a string of top-5 finishes back in the day, his fans were disappointed that he wasn’t winning races.
Such temporary downfalls in form aren’t worthy of criticism and are pretty much inevitable. It stems from the high standard that a driver sets for himself. The consensus among the fraternity is that Larson will bounce back from this rut.
“It’ll come back around. Todd knows it. We all know it. Racing is a cyclical sport, man. You are king of the hill for three races, and then that streak goes cold,” Petty added. He further used Christopher Bell to make his case.
Bell had won three races in quick succession in the early part of the 2025 season. This led the racing community to brand him as the favorite to win the championship at the end of the year. But the following months have seen him experience a drop in results.
This showcases how long a Cup Series season is and serves as a reminder that quick judgment seldom ends well. Coming back to Larson, Gordon believes that the No.5 team doesn’t have much to worry about.
He said that a little bit of disappointment in the middle of a season can motivate a driver to perform better heading into the postseason. He reminded everyone that Team Penske doesn’t have dominating summers and still ends up winning championships.
This argument is valid since we all know how competitive Larson and his crew chief, Cliff Daniels, are as individuals. They aren’t going to lie down and accept things without a fight.
Hopefully, it doesn’t take long for Larson to go back to being who he is on the track with just six more races left in the regular season.
