For all his talent, Kyle Larson’s Achilles’ heel is glaringly obvious—superspeedway racing. Despite being one of the most dominant drivers of his era, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion remains winless in 42 superspeedway starts. And now, even Jeff Gordon is starting to worry that this ongoing failure at Daytona is getting inside Larson’s head.
Hendrick Motorsports left the 2025 Daytona 500 with mixed emotions—one car in Victory Lane, another stuck in mid-pack mediocrity. While William Byron stormed to a second consecutive Daytona 500 win, Larson sputtered to a disappointing 20th-place finish—yet another missed opportunity on the sport’s biggest stage.
Even Larson’s own son, Owen, wasn’t sugarcoating it, brutally summing up his father’s superspeedway woes: “Dad isn’t good at superspeedways.”
Jeff Gordon: “It’s Getting in His Head”
After watching one of the greatest raw talents in NASCAR history fail time and time again at Daytona, Jeff Gordon can’t ignore the elephant in the room. The three-time Daytona 500 winner and Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman believes that this winless streak has become a mental hurdle for Larson.
“Gosh, the guy is not perfect. I think now I’m starting to see it’s getting in his head. I’ve had a few conversations with him, and I’m like, ‘Man, just go for it, just forget about it, don’t try to even overthink it.’”
Gordon wants Larson to stop chasing ghosts, telling him to focus on his own game instead of trying to emulate other drivers who have had success at superspeedways.
“I don’t know what advice to give him other than— all I told him today is, ‘Just be Kyle Larson. Don’t try to be something you’re not. Don’t look at what somebody else is doing that’s having success. Just go out there and execute, and the other things will turn around and come your way eventually.’”
That’s easier said than done when Larson keeps walking away from superspeedways empty-handed.
Kyle Larson: “I Won’t Lose Sleep Over It”
Despite the growing scrutiny over his superspeedway shortcomings, Larson remains publicly indifferent. Before the race, he downplayed the importance of ever winning the Daytona 500, making it clear that he isn’t losing sleep over his 0-42 record.
“I’m not going to lose sleep if I don’t ever win this race, but I still want to win the race and have that ring and that trophy and be a part of the names that have won it.”
Instead, Larson is drawing inspiration from Tony Stewart, another all-time great who never won the Daytona 500 but still cemented himself as one of NASCAR’s best ever.
“There’s a lot that goes into winning, and a lot of luck. It’s not a big deal.”
But is it really “not a big deal”?
Hendrick Motorsports Has a Problem to Solve
Kyle Larson is undeniably one of the best drivers of his generation. He’s dominated short tracks, intermediates, road courses, dirt tracks—you name it. But at superspeedways, he remains a non-factor.
At some point, luck is no longer an excuse. While Larson tries to shrug off his lack of results, Hendrick Motorsports has to take a hard look at what’s holding their No. 5 Chevy driver back. Whether it’s strategy, setup, or simply a mental roadblock, something needs to change if Larson ever wants to shake off his superspeedway demons and finally claim a Daytona 500 victory.
Because in a sport where legends are made at Daytona, how long can one of NASCAR’s greatest talents afford to keep coming up short?
