Kyle Larson's yearlong winless streak a reminder that NASCAR Cup racing isn't easy

Kyle Larson is in the midst of his longest winless streak — 35 races, 363 days — since he joined Hendrick Motorsports in 2021. There were times when the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion made racing at NASCAR's top level look easy, such as when he won 10 races and the title in 2021. 

But Larson's current drought is a reminder, he says, that NASCAR racing is anything but easy.

"It's not like we're not trying to win," Larson said Saturday at Watkins Glen. "We've made this sport, the Cup Series, look easy at times. I've never thought it was. I'm glad that we can show you that it's not easy."

Inconsistency defining Kyle Larson in 2026

Larson has led 499 laps through the first 11 races of 2026 but is eighth in the series standings. And while consistency defined his 2025 championship run, his 2026 campaign has been somewhat inconsistent. 

Larson has finished 40th and 34th in the last two races at Talladega and Texas, which followed three consecutive top 10s. Larson also has a pair of 32nd-place finishes this season and a 16th-place effort in the season-opening Daytona 500. 

There still have been times when Larson and the No. 5 team have made things look somewhat easy, however. Larson led a race-high 284 laps at Bristol on April 12 before finishing third behind Ryan Blaney and Ty Gibbs. He then led 78 laps the next week at Kansas before finishing as the runner-up to Tyler Reddick in overtime. 

But a win has yet to come for the two-time Cup champion and 32-time race winner, who will have gone a full calendar year without winning on Monday if he does not win Sunday's Go Bowling at The Glen. 

Larson will start 23rd in Sunday's race (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). 

Quotes provided by NASCAR Media.