Kyle Larson: 2025 NASCAR Driver Profile

Given Larson’s success on short tracks outside of NASCAR, it’s a bit of a surprise the majority of his Cup wins come on tracks of a mile or more. 15 of his 29 wins have come on intermediates, most of those on the 1.5-mile and larger ovals. His three wins at Las Vegas are the most at any one track, and his best route to the Championship 4 in this year’s Round of 8.

Larson’s greatest asset outside his obvious natural talent is his fearless driving style. He’s as aggressive as they come and willing to use every inch of available real estate to make a move if it can give him an advantage. His outstanding car control means that those moves typically work.

Kyle Larson career stats

But that same aggression can also bite him. Larson’s willingness to put his car wherever he can sometimes put him at odds with other drivers. He toes the line of going too far with both the racetrack and the competition and that’s a dangerous game. He has seen wins slip away because of overdriving or other drivers returning the favor of using up the track. There were examples of that in 2024, wiping out with the fastest car at the Chicago Street Race and at Michigan, for starters. Culminating with a spin in Homestead’s Round of 8 event, it’s a level of aggression that may need to get balanced out a bit come 2025.

But the reason Larson remains an annual title favorite is simple: he’s going to win races, he’s going to earn playoff points, and he’s going to do whatever it takes to get every position available. While he might overdo it sometimes, he’ll never be satisfied with anything less.

The Kyle Larson file

Car: No. 5 Chevy

Team: Hendrick Motorsports

Crew chief: Cliff Daniels

Years with current team: 5

Best points finish: 1 (2021)

Hometown: Elk Grove, California

Born: July 31, 1992

Scouting report

Anonymous takes from drivers, crew chiefs, and assorted industry insiders:

“The best driver of our generation,” says one peer about Larson. Another rival says they don’t even contest positions with him if he is mid-pack and he knows Larson is charging. “The moment I hear “three back,” we’re letting him go because he will be on your bumper and he’s just going to hold me up, too.”

“He’s the greatest driver I’ve covered in my time doing this,” claims one broadcaster, but also notes that, “he could be even greater if he had better focus and cut back on the mistakes.”

The phrase “checkers or wreckers” was also used. “The list of races he has thrown away is just as long as those he has won.”

As part of this conversation, after a back-and-forth about his driving tendencies, it was decided that Larson would probably drive different in a season-long championship format and that he is the personification of “win at all costs.”

“He is the most talented (driver) I have ever seen,” says one team owner. “He does lose focus at times; he makes some of the silliest mistakes and they mostly come in the middle of the race, almost like he falls into a lull. But also, it feels like a nitpick to even say any of this because when you look at the overall body of work, he’s just so dang great.”

Literally everyone praises his commitment to dirt racing. “He’s never out of energy,” says the same team owner. “Kyle does more for all of motorsports than anyone in a long time,” says another driver.