Kyle Larson Looks to Embarrass Young Drivers, NASCAR in Xfinity Starts

Kyle Larson spanked the field at Bristol Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series, and NASCAR Xfinity Series this past weekend, as he dominated both races on the path to victories in the Food City 500 and SciAps 300.

After the race weekend, Larson stopped by Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour Podcast to talk about the race weekend, and he had some pretty eye-opening comments on competing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series as a championship-winning NASCAR Cup Series racer. Larson says the goals when he signs up to run a NASCAR Xfinity Series race is to embarrass the sanctioning body and young competitors in the Xfinity Series.

"In Xfinity, I do get motiviated, and this is going to come across like very cocky, but I want to embarrass them, honestly," Larson stated. "I want to embarrass NASCAR a little bit because they just don't let Cup guys run anymore, and the kids they probably think they're in a good spot, and they don't know where the bar is really at, so I like to go run those Xfinity races and get 10-second leads to let them realize that they've got a lot of room to improve, and I think that's only better for our sport."

The reason for Larson wanting to dominate in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, aside from collecting more trophies for his own mantle, is to make sure the current NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers are better prepared for the NASCAR Cup Series when they arrive in the premier series.

"When those young guys can compete with Cup guys, they're better suited for the Cup Series once they get there. Yes, I want to smash the field when I run Xfinity, so that's motivating for me, for sure," Larson explained.

If you'd like to listen to Larson's interview in its entirety, here is a player with the episode of Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour Podcast loaded up:

While Larson's comments seemed a bit brazen, some competitors in the NASCAR Xfinity Series ranks actually welcomed Larson to speak his mind on what he looks to do when he competes in the series.

Ryan Ellis, who drives the No. 71 Chevrolet for DGM Racing, fired off a post on X, where he says that he has found nothing wrong with what Larson said on Harvick's podcast.

"There's literally 0 wrong with what @KyleLarsonRacin said here. It's a race, and we're in a national NASCAR series," Ellis posted. "I know every Xfinity team and driver wishes they had access to the level of equipment and budget his team has, but that's part of racing."

Brad Perez, a part-time racer for Alpha Prime Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series likewise said, "I'm with him," in regards to Larson's comments.

"Tbh I'm with him, I'm not a fan of Cup teams in Xfinity, however, Cup drivers show us how it's done and I'm with that 100%" Perez explained in a post on X. "Any time I've had the chance to mix it up with Cup guys on a level(ish) playing field, it's been a learning experience for me."

So, while Larson's comments on Harvick's podcast seemed quite brash and over-the-top compared to what we're used to seeing from the usually reserved 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, the comments didn't seem to step over the line for the competitors in the NASCAR Xfinity Series ranks, at least from those who have publicly commented on it so far.

Larson led 276 of the 300 laps in last Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series SciAps 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway. While the NASCAR Cup Series is participating in its lone off-weekend of the 2025 season this weekend, the NASCAR Xfinity Series is back in action at Rockingham Speedway for the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 on Saturday, April 19 (how to watch). Larson will not compete in that event.

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