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Kyle Larson gets brutally honest about NASCAR adding gimmicks in future

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Kyle Dalton | Last updated Mar 14, 2025 9:19 PM ET

Kyle Larson has had a rollercoaster of a start to the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.

After finishing 20th in the season-opening Daytona 500, the Hendrick Motorsports driver had a strong showing the following week at Atlanta, where he finished third. A week later at Circuit of the Americas, the 2021 champion lost a wheel and struggled to a 32nd-place result. On Sunday in Phoenix, he once again finished third.

On Thursday, the No. 5 driver made an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and talked about his race in the desert. One of the topics discussed was one of the big storylines coming out of the race and NASCAR’s use of the softer option tire versus the prime tire.

Larson said it was interesting to see the different strategies used by the teams throughout the race around the mile-long track. At the end of the conversation on the option tire, show host Dave Moody asked the driver if he’d be okay having two sets of tires similar to Sunday when returning to the desert for the championship race in November.

“I don't love that. I don’t love that,” Larson emphasized. “I don't love that it already comes down to one race for a champion. And then I feel like you're just adding another gimmick to have some unlucky strategy call or unlucky timely caution kind of play out not in your favor. I don't like that but our sport’s built on entertainment. So who knows?”

This week on @SiriusXMNASCAR, @KyleLarsonRacin candidly admitted what he thought of @nascar adding more gimmicks in the future, especially for the championship race at @phoenixraceway. pic.twitter.com/nL4ARvBwC7
— Kyle Dalton (@kdsportswriter) March 14, 2025