“Maybe it will benefit us somehow,” said Kyle Larson who seems to be expecting a change going forward in the NASCAR Cup Series, previewing the upcoming 2025 season of stock car racing.
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The underlying sentiment over the feasibility of the Playoffs system came under question once again as Team Penske’s Joey Logano clinched the 2024 title, rounding off three career championship victories.
“God this makes my blood boil”; “Championships mean nothing anymore,” were some of the reactions from the fans after the title decider in Phoenix in November.
None other than the Hendrick Motorsports’ Larson should feel more strongly about the issue. The 2021 champion led the year with the most wins of any driver in the series yet failed to clinch the championship silverware as the final race approached after failing to make the championship 4 round.
The California native acknowledged his and the #5 crew’s achievements despite not having the title to go with it and said, “I know we had one of the best if not the best season. We led the series in most every category. So, really proud of the team and their hard work.”
“We left some out on the table, too. I’m excited about next year and hopefully, we can continue to evolve and get stronger as a team and yeah. Win some more races, lead more laps, and who knows? Who knows what the new format will be?” added the 2021 champion of the sport, possibly hinting towards future tweaks to the format.
.@KyleLarsonRacin indicates new championship format coming next year (via u/FarAwaySeagull-_-) https://t.co/TjjKpv62iV #NASCAR
— r/NASCAR on Reddit (@NASCARonReddit) December 2, 2024
Fans did not take kindly to Larson’s comments as several theories and ideologies flew on social media, with some fans questioning NASCAR’s alliances going forward after one manufacturer dominated the two others for the past three years.
“lol ford wins 3 straight titles so now we gotta change it to cater to JGR & HMS that’s hilarious,” wrote one fan. Another exclaimed about how Rick Hendrick, owner of the Hendrick Motorsports team could also be the one pulling strings behind the scenes and wrote, “Fat Rick the felon must approve any changes.”
At this point NASCAR should just put a list of 5 championship formats in a hat and draw one out at Daytona every year. 😂
— Jason Walker (@jwalker55) December 2, 2024
Another fan seemed to prefer grassroots racing to the Cup Series and opined, “Dirt late model is where the real racing is these days, napcar is dead.”
While Larson’s comments could merely be a case of overinterpretation by the fans, it could also mean a few changes from the governing body could be imminent after the outcry and debate over Joey Logano‘s championship win and the format that allowed it.
While the #22 Team Penske driver played the format to perfection, the sport could benefit from a more traditional championship format, or so we think.
