Kyle Larson is again a victim of NASCAR's championship hangover

To put things in perspective, defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson is in the midst of his worst season since 2015. 

Larson finished 33rd on Sunday at Iowa Speedway after a crash, his fifth consecutive finish outside of the top 10 and his fourth in that five-race span of 33rd or worse. He's tumbled to 10th in the standings and is on pace for a career-low in lead lap finishes, as he currently has 13 in 23 races. 

His average finish is 17.7, easily the worst it's been in his Hendrick Motorsports tenure and a mark that's on pace to be the second-worst average finish of his career behind his 19.3 mark in 2015. 

When Larson is fast, he's fast, as evidenced by his eight top five finishes this season. Yet, he's winless over the last 46 races and the consistency that propelled him to the 2025 Cup Series title has eluded him so far this season. 

The No. 5 team looks to once again be falling victim to NASCAR's dreaded championship hangover. 

Not the first time championship hangover has impacted Kyle Larson

The championship hangover bit Larson back in 2022 as well. After a 10-win campaign in 2021, expectations were sky-high for Larson in 2022. In a vacuum, his season was a good one: three wins, 13 top fives and 19 top 10s — but he was eliminated in the second round of the playoffs, and his average finish dropped from 9.1 to 14.1. He's experienced a similar 4.5 position drop in average finish this season. 

There's not necessarily a reason for the No. 5 group to hit the panic button. Larson still has speed. He qualified second at Iowa and finished third in Stage 1 before hitting the wall. 

But at some point, results are going to have to materialize on a consistent basis if he's going to defend his 2025 title, and the winless drought that he's tired of answering questions about will only continue to demand answers until it's broken.