Despite boasting 29 Cup Series wins and one Cup Series Championship, Kyle Larson is grappling with a glaring weakness in his racing career – his performance on superspeedways. The racing prodigy, often referred to as ‘Yung Money,’ has struggled to make his mark on these high-speed race tracks, a situation that has left him envious of his Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) teammate, William Byron’s consistent success.
Byron’s second consecutive win at the season-opening crown jewel event only deepened Larson’s frustration, leading to speculation about a potential mental block for the 2021 Cup Series winner when it comes to superspeedways. This speculation was further fueled by Larson’s recent poor performance at the Daytona International Speedway.
Larson had entered the 2025 season with high expectations, following his six wins in 2024. However, his performance at Daytona was far from impressive. He started the race in 22nd place, led no laps, and was involved in a disastrous incident on Lap 197 that caused fellow racer Ryan Preece to go airborne. Larson finished the race in 20th place, the worst among the HMS drivers, further underlining his superspeedway woes.
His frustration was palpable when he spoke on the Stacking Pennies with Corey LaJoie podcast, “Every move I made at Daytona, of which there weren’t many, was the wrong one. Then you see guys like William [Byron], who was right next to me, avoiding the wreck every time. Why can’t I ever line myself up in the right lane? There’s definitely more than just luck involved.”
This Achilles heel of Larson’s was brought to light even more starkly at the ‘World Center of Racing,’ the season-opener. Despite being hailed as a “generational talent” by Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Larson’s struggles with superspeedways have been a lingering issue.
Jeff Gordon, Larson’s mentor and vice-president for Hendrick Motorsports, believes that these struggles are starting to affect Larson mentally. He commented, “I think now I’m starting to see it’s getting in his (Larson) head.”
While Larson’s performance has shown some improvement at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, his longing for a superspeedway triumph remains unfulfilled. He managed to win Stage 2 and lead 12 laps at the 2025 AmBetter Health 400, yet he narrowly missed out on the top spot.
Reflecting on the difference between Atlanta and other superspeedways, Larson noted, “This is totally different than Daytona and Talladega. I do have more confidence when we come here… it’s not just like luck of the lane that you get in necessarily, where Daytona was a lot of that last week.”
Despite his superspeedway struggles, Larson remains one of NASCAR’s most talented and dominant drivers. His failure at these tracks may be a blight on his otherwise illustrious career, but it is unlikely to overshadow his impressive achievements. For now, Larson’s focus will remain on overcoming this hurdle and securing his first superspeedway triumph.
