Kyle Larson matches Tony Stewart feat with 'NASCAR '26' cover reveal

For the first time since Tony Stewart in 2003, the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion will have the cover of a NASCAR video game all to themselves. 

Defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson was revealed as the cover driver for "NASCAR '26" Thursday. The game will be released in September. 

While 2020 Cup champion Chase Elliott appeared on the cover of "NASCAR 21: Ignition" alongside Ryan Blaney and Bubba Wallace and Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet appeared on the cover of "NASCAR The Game: 2011," no defending champion has gotten a cover all to themselves since 2002 champion Stewart was the cover athlete on "NASCAR Thunder 2004," which was released in September 2003. 

Stewart and Larson are the only two defending champions to appear on the cover of the next season's NASCAR video game by themselves. Thursday's cover reveal comes ahead of the race weekend at Naval Base Coronado, which marks the first time in NASCAR history that the sanctioning body will hold races on an active U.S. military base.