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Kevin Harvick Reacts To Kyle Larson's 'Embarrassing' Comment

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Apr 15, 2025 6:04 PM ET

NASCAR superstar Kyle Larson is extremely passionate about the sport. But his desire to spark a bit of rivalry between the Cup Series and the Xfinity Series has led to some interesting discourse.

Larson won both the Cup Series and Xfinity Series races at Bristol this past week. After his wins, he joked that he wants to "embarrass" the drivers on the Xfinity tracks in order to motivate them more since Cup Series racers can't usually compete with them.

“In Xfinity, I do get motivated, and this is going to come across like very cocky, but I want to embarrass them, honestly,” Larson said on the Harvick Happy Hour podcast yesterday. “I want to embarrass NASCAR a little bit because they just don’t let Cup guys run anymore, and the kids probably think they’re in a good spot and they don’t know where the bar really is at.

“So, I like to go run those Xfinity races and just get 10-second leads to let them realize that they’ve got a lot of room to improve. I think that’s only better for our sport. When those young guys can compete with Cup guys, they’re better suited for the Cup Series once they get there. … I want to smash the field when I run Xfinity. That’s motivating to me, for sure.”

Kyle Larson tells @KevinHarvick he runs Xfinity Series races to embarrass the competition ... and NASCAR. pic.twitter.com/hBjn95ad7R
— HarvickHappyHour (@HarvickHappyPod) April 14, 2025

Harvick found those comments from Larson absolutely brilliant. On today's episode of his show, he asserted that Larson might be exactly what the Xfinity drivers need in order to get better.

“When I started Xfinity, there was 20-25 (Cup Series) guys in every Xfinity race,” Harvick said. “The thing that happens there is they teach you where to run on the racetrack, they teach you that you can drive your car harder, they teach you that you can run down pit road faster. They teach you all the things you need to be taught. Right now, we’re on a three-year plan for the Xfinity guys to be ready to race a Cup car.

“… Cup is hard, but the drivers are great. Having those drivers in the Truck and the Xfinity races, yeah, we get tired of seeing them win, but it also teaches them how to do things the right way. Apparently, that’s on Kyle Larson’s agenda.

Since 2018, when he started making sporadic appearances in the Xfinity Series, Larson has made 16 starts and won eight races, finishing in the top five in another five of those races.

Larson certainly seems to be doing a better job of embarrassing the Xfinity Series drivers than ensuring they can outrace him.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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