Kyle Larson is returning to Kansas Speedway this weekend, determined to improve his recent results and bolster his playoffs push as the NASCAR Cup Series season intensifies. His Kansas Speedway performance will be under the spotlight, with fans and rivals alike watching for signs of a breakthrough at the track where he last found victory.
Larson’s Recent Challenges Behind the Wheel
Since claiming victory at Kansas in May, Kyle Larson and his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team have found themselves struggling to match their earlier dominance. Despite successfully earning a place in the NASCAR playoffs and advancing beyond the Round of 16, Larson has not managed to secure another win in the last 18 races. This is a notable dry spell for a driver who has won more Cup Series races than anyone since his championship run in 2021.
Early in the season, Larson was viewed as a strong contender for the championship after capturing three wins in the first 12 events. However, his performance has dipped significantly since then, resulting in only three additional top-five finishes and five results outside the top 30. During the most recent playoff round, Larson did not register any top-10 finishes, relying heavily on the playoff points accumulated earlier in the year to advance.
“The beginning of the season until the end of May was really good,”
— Kyle Larson, Driver
Larson acknowledged that the first part of the season played to his team’s strengths, with several races at mile-and-a-half tracks and venues where Hendrick Motorsports traditionally excels. He noted the team faced steeper challenges at tracks where their historical performance was less impressive.
“And then the tracks that we haven’t been ‘lights out’ at, we were probably just a little bit worse than we have been in years prior. So, that just challenges you and your team mentally and emotionally sometimes.”
— Kyle Larson, Driver
He also emphasized the adversity his crew, led by Cliff Daniels, has navigated in 2024.
“dealt with a lot as a team this year,”
— Kyle Larson, Driver
Larson detailed several disruptions, including the loss of a team member, multiple pit crew swaps, and various personnel changes, which he believes contributed to their setbacks.
“I don’t know what other teams have dealt with,”
— Kyle Larson, Driver
He remarked on the difficulties they’ve faced, saying there may be no other team that has had to overcome as much as they have off the track. Despite the lackluster results, Larson remains confident that their efforts are building toward an eventual turnaround.
“But I feel like we’ve worked really hard. And although the results may not show it all the time, I feel like we are building and better than we were, say, in June.”
— Kyle Larson, Driver
Kansas Speedway Offers an Opportunity for Redemption
Entering the next playoff race, Larson sits second among those who have yet to automatically secure a spot in the Round of 8. He holds a 41-point cushion over the cutoff, but advancement is not guaranteed, and a win at Kansas Speedway would secure his progression and potentially mark a return to form for the No. 5 team.
Kansas holds particular importance for Larson, as this track is where his last Cup Series victory came, and it was no ordinary win. In May, he led 221 of 267 laps from the pole to decisively capture the checkered flag, leaving the competition in the dust. That dominant performance stands out as a peak in a season that has since been marked by struggles.
“A DOMINATING WIN AT KANSAS FOR KYLE LARSON! pic.twitter.com/wgtyBFs9Ub — FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 11, 2025”
— FOX: NASCAR
Larson’s history at Kansas since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2021 is impressive, with three wins at the 1.5-mile speedway. These triumphs reinforce hopes that returning to Kansas City could be the catalyst for another championship-caliber surge.
“It gives you some confidence that it’s a place that we’ve ran well at for a long time now,”
— Kyle Larson, Driver
Looking ahead to the Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN Bet, Larson will start third on the grid, expressing optimism based on his team’s work at the shop and wind tunnel during the week.
“We’ll hopefully have similar speed to what we had earlier in the year. It sounds like we had a great week in the shop and in the wind tunnel.”
— Kyle Larson, Driver
Although the current losing streak is not something Larson dwells on, he admits that a win at Kansas would provide much-needed momentum and lift team spirits heading into the critical playoff stages.
“It would be impactful because I haven’t won a race since Kansas in May and really haven’t been that consistently good since this race earlier this year,”
— Kyle Larson, Driver
He added that the team’s ongoing efforts to regain their early-season dominance have been relentless, with hopes that their hard work will soon be reflected on the track.
“We’ve been working extremely hard the last few months to get back to the point of where we were leading a bunch of laps and winning stages. And I feel like we’ve learned a lot along the way.”
— Kyle Larson, Driver
What’s at Stake at Kansas This Weekend
The Kansas Speedway performance of Kyle Larson is more than just another race; it represents a chance at redemption for him and his Hendrick Motorsports crew as the stakes rise in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. With a proven track record at Kansas and supportive comments from his team leadership, the next chapter in Larson’s season may be decided this Sunday. Should he capture his fourth win at this venue, it could reignite his championship campaign and cement his place as a front-runner for the remainder of the year.
A DOMINATING WIN AT KANSAS FOR KYLE LARSON! pic.twitter.com/wgtyBFs9Ub
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 11, 2025
