Kyle Larson is regarded by many as the greatest race car driver of this generation. Sometimes, NASCAR can do so too. The Hendrick Motorsports driver is the favorite to win the Cup Series championship this season and NASCAR’s social media handles have gone over the top to make that clear.
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A recent tweet from the promotion equates his performance in the ongoing season to the one in his championship-winning 2021 season. Unfortunately, the post did not get a positive response from fans. Larson commands a lot of respect in the racing community and many are fans of his work.
But the issue is that NASCAR is allegedly forcing the No. 5 driver a bit too much on the fans. He might be the favorite, but seven other drivers also have a chance to become the champion, and NASCAR appears to forget that often. In defense of the promotion, there are a lot of similarities between Larson’s performance in 2021 and this year.
His first win of the season came at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on both occasions. He was the top seed in the playoffs back then as well and he had also won the races at Bristol (Round of 16) and the Roval (Round of 12). All he needs to do now is win the first two races of the Round of 8 to create a replica.
Well, well, well … pic.twitter.com/TmzEW2rppg
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 19, 2024
But would that guarantee him the title? It won’t. All one has to do is look at William Byron’s heartbreak last year. He won more races than anyone (6) but failed to get the job done at the Phoenix Raceway. So, maybe NASCAR could listen to the fans and go a bit easy on the Larson hype.
Fans slam NASCAR for promoting Larson too much
Fans have had enough Larson content from the official handle of NASCAR and they made their opinions clear under the X (formerly Twitter) post. “Y’all aren’t tired of shoving Larson down our throats yet?” one user wrote. “I swear a 5-year-old runs this account,” quipped another. One of the main qualms fans had was the lack of attention to the seven other drivers still in the fight.
“Again, you guys know other drivers compete too right?” one fan asked. “We all know the NASCAR bosses (tools) will do anything to help the Golden Boy win!” commented another. While blaming the organizers of favoritism might be seen by some as an accusation gone too far, it is understandable why fans are frustrated.
Of course, this has nothing to do with Larson, who is only going out on track and driving to the best of his abilities. Even those critical of NASCAR in this regard would probably agree that the Hendrick driver is on a whole different level currently. And there’s no denying that he is indeed the favorite for the 2024 Cup Series championship.
