"It’s easy to look on paper": Kyle Larson looks to silence critics and join NASCAR Hall of Famers with Talladega breakthrough

Kyle Larson has not won a race at superspeedways in NASCAR. However, the Talladega race weekend will mark his 400th Cup Series race start in the championship, and he wants to bite back at his critics for calling out his failed ventures at superspeedways by claiming a victory around the 2.66-mile oval.

Larson is a revered name in the motorsports sphere and has a Cup Series title already in his bag, which he won in 2021. Moreover, since then, he has emerged victorious at the end of a myriad of races in the Next Gen era.

Despite this, one stat has plagued his racing career. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has never won at a superspeedway in his Cup Series career.

On the other hand, he would be making his 400th race start at the race in Talladega, so what better occasion to end this unfortunate streak of results than to win at the Yellawood 500 and join respected Hall of Famers to have completed this feat.

Reflecting on how critics have slammed him for his lack of a win at a superspeedway, he said (via NASCAR's official website):

"It’s easy in the past to look on paper and say, ‘Kyle Larson is the worst ever on superspeedways’ but if you really watch the race, we’ve been a top contender, in the Next Gen era, especially. Hopefully, we can stay lucky." "I would like to go to, like, Bristol for my 400th start, but it would be extra special to get my first win on a superspeedway in my 400th career start. It would be awesome. We will give it our best effort tomorrow and hopefully join that list of Hall of Famers. That would be incredible."

Kyle Larson finished second in the spring race in Talladega, which was his third top-five at the track in his racing career.

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Kyle Larson just wants to get the superspeedway victory for the sake of winning

Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson at the 2025 Cup Series Playoff Media Day - Source: Imagn

Kyle Larson has won 32 races in his Cup Series career. Moreover, a fair chunk of these victories have come in the Next Gen era. But this luck has not carried over to superspeedways, where he has often had near-misses.

So, sharing his thoughts on how he just wants to get the victory in his bag and leave the matter for once and for all, he told the media ahead of the qualifying session (via Speedway Media):

"I will take it anywhere… I would take it here [at Talladega]. I’ll take it at the Daytona 500 or Atlanta… like I don’t even care at this point, I just would love to get a win."

Larson sits 35 points above the cutline and is slated to make it into the championship four unless he has two terrible races in Talladega and Martinsville.

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Edited by Geetansh Pasricha