Kyle Larson didn’t mince words when he dropped the bomb on Kevin Harvick’s podcast, fresh off a dominant sweep at Bristol in both the Xfinity and Cup Series.
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While many fans argued that winning in Hendrick Motorsports equipment makes the job easier, and suggested Larson wouldn’t fare as well in underfunded rides like most Xfinity drivers have, the #5 driver stood his ground.
Now, doubling down during his appearance on the Dale Jr. Download, Larson made it apparent — he meant every word.
On Harvick’s Happy Hour, Larson laid all his cards on the table, bluntly stating that the Xfinity Series still fires him up. And while he admitted it might come off as arrogant, he said his goal is to “embarrass” the field. This is not out of disrespect, but because Cup drivers are no longer allowed to compete regularly in Xfinity, someone needs to remind the younger drivers of what the benchmark really looks like.
Speaking to Dale Earnhardt Jr., Larson elaborated on how racing against the likes of Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, and Matt Kenseth during his own Xfinity days pushed him to raise the bar.
Watching them come down and completely dominate the field, Larson confessed, lit a fire under him. It motivated him to step up and chase their level of speed and racecraft — something he believes today’s Xfinity talent still desperately needs.
Larson asserted, “I didn’t beat them as often as they beat me. I definitely feel like they helped elevate my skill set, and pushed me to get better because you’re only as good as your competition, and NASCAR is limited cup guys from running Xfinity and trucks…”
“And when you don’t allow the great competition to come compete with them, you’re just limiting the runway of those kids getting better.”
According to Larson, shielding Xfinity and Truck Series drivers from the true caliber of Cup-level competition does more harm than good in the long run. Without exposing them to the highest standards early on, the sport risks watering down its talent pipeline and sending underprepared drivers into NASCAR’s top tier.
He also pointed out that, with the reduced presence of organizations like Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series, the developmental ladder has lost much of its bite.
Reflecting on a time when Cup veterans routinely raced — and dominated — in the lower series, pushing young drivers to up their game, Larson admitted he doubts the series will return to that level of intensity anytime soon, still “I like to take advantage of the couple that I get to run a year and uh try to smash the field,” the #5 driver said.
Dale Jr. has challenged Larson to compete in more Xfinity races
To some extent, Dale Jr. saw eye to eye with Kyle Larson’s view that Xfinity drivers should be battle-tested before stepping up to the Cup Series.
However, he couldn’t quite wrap his head around why Larson doesn’t have more Xfinity races lined up. During their conversation, Junior even nudged him to race at Martinsville, only for Larson to quip, “Well, I would probably get smashed there.”
Consequently, Dale Jr. couldn’t resist throwing a jab. He noted that Larson handpicked tracks like Homestead and Bristol — venues made for success — because he had his sights set on sweeping both weekends.
By doing so, he aimed to match Kyle Busch’s record of two tripleheader sweeps. Yet, as Junior pointed out, Larson currently has no additional Xfinity starts on his calendar, despite declaring, “I want to embarrass them every time I drive.”
Junior didn’t mince words — he wants Larson to suit up for a few more races. As the owner of an Xfinity team with 160 people in his corner, he made it clear: they’d love nothing more than to take another crack at dethroning the #5 Cup driver.
