2025 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson recently appeared on a podcast with Mike Bagley and Pete Pistone. During the interaction, Larson discussed the “desperate plea” made by the No. 5 Chevrolet team during the Championship 4 race that sealed its title victory.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver qualified third for the season finale race, 0.07 seconds behind pole sitter Denny Hamlin. He completed the first stage of the 319-lap race in P5 while teammate William Byron secured the stage victory. Larson then moved up a spot in the second stage and finished in P4. He emphasized that the tire strategy helped him seal his victory, and the team made an early pit stop with two tires.
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However, the outcome changed when Hamlin made a four-tire pit stop. Kyle Larson claimed his team made a two-tire pit stop, giving him a lead over the race-dominating driver. Reflecting on the early pit stop, Larson explained that he was skeptical about whether or not it was going to work and said [00:25 onward]:
“I was like, just walking into my pit, and I think they said, ‘Your right sides are gone on the track and I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is a desperate call, and I don’t think it’s going to work. But, you know, it’s gone. And then, yeah, it worked so well that when the caution came out for the next one, it was really a no-brainer to do two tires again.’
But the decision worked in favor of the No. 5 Chevrolet team, and Larson added:
“And I had come on the radio with our code words just to get an idea, but also you would give me a direction and where I wanted to go, and I think they might say I wanted to run two tires, and yeah, we were on the same page.”
Kyle Larson finished the 319-lap race three places ahead of title rival Denny Hamlin. Larson came in third while Hamlin was sixth, making the HMS driver the 2025 Cup Series champion.
‘I don’t think there’s ever one hundred percent certainty’: Kyle Larson gets candid about NASCAR’s single-race championship format
In November 2025, Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson was listed on the Rubbin is running podcast on YouTube. During the interaction, Larson spoke about the championship format that NASCAR has followed in recent years.
The current format includes three elimination rounds with three races followed by a championship race. Each round eliminates the four lowest-performing drivers until only four remain to compete in the final race. However, this format has come under intense scrutiny from fans in recent seasons, and the stock car racing association aims to change it next season.
Following this, Kyle Larson spoke about his ideal championship format on the podcast. He claimed that NASCAR should add more races rather than following the single-race championship format. He further explained:
“I don’t think there’s ever a one hundred percent clear, you know, perfect format that everyone will agree on. But I think what we can all agree on, I think what you know, Sunday may have proven that we need more than one race, yes, whether it’s 36 or 10 or four or whatever the number is, there should be more than one because of times like that.”
Kyle Larson has recorded three wins, 22 top tens, 15 top fives and one pole position at Kansas Speedway in 36 starts this Cup Series season. Additionally, he led 1,105 laps with a starting average of 11.389 and a finishing average of 13.194.
Edited by Karan Yadav
