Phoenix finish showed Larson has learned from past mistakes

NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson. Jamie Harms-Imagn Images

Phoenix finish showed Kyle Larson has learned from past mistakes

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Mar 10, 2025 9:46 PM ET

Kyle Larson's aggression has gotten him in trouble in the past, but he didn't let it get the best of him on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.

Larson lined up third for the race's final restart. With only two laps remaining when the green flag flew, the sense of urgency was at an all-time high.

With a lap and a half remaining, Larson cleared William Byron and Josh Berry for third, and with Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin right in front of him, Larson had a tough choice to make: does he try and make a risky three-wide move that could take out himself, Bell and Hamlin in one fell swoop, or does he play it safe and follow the leaders?

Larson chose the safer option, which ended up costing him an opportunity to win the race. But, as Larson pointed out, it potentially saved him from crashing, too.

There's nothing better than tough, hard-nosed racing for the win.

We saw just that on the final restart yesterday. pic.twitter.com/RsRke6sO5n
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 10, 2025

"I feel like I made the correct decision there," Larson told Fox Sports. "I thought being patient to try and keep them side-by-side down the backstretch was good. I could've shot to the bottom, but I feel like I would've wrecked everybody.

"(We) just kinda gave ourselves a shot for them to get together and squeak by," Larson continued. "Good to finish third, I thought we were going to be lucky to finish top-10."

Larson has seen his over-aggressive driving cost him good finishes before. In the last two races at Homestead-Miami Speedway, late incidents have taken Larson out of contention for the race win. At both Nashville and Michigan in 2024, over-aggressive moves from Larson didn't just have a negative impact on him, but his fellow competitors as well.

Sunday's race was a sign that Larson has learned from those previous occurrences, and while still being an aggressive driver, he's learning when to employ the aggressiveness that makes him so dangerous.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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