NASCAR’s Kyle Larson Delivers Blunt Verdict on His Car at Martinsville

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NASCAR champion Kyle Larson delivers a blunt assessment of his car at Martinsville Speedway. Here's what Larson said and what it means for his race prospects.

Kyle Larson said his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet “sucks” during Saturday practice at Martinsville Speedway, a blunt and worrying verdict coming just one day before he can clinch the Cup Series championship.

The defending champion’s honest review arrived with his 73-point lead in the Chase and a single question hanging over Sunday’s Xfinity 500 — can a car short on single-lap speed still produce the points he needs?

Larson ranked 29th on the practice speed chart with a best lap of 19.970 seconds, 0.370 seconds slower than fastest driver Ryan Preece. He completed 88 laps in the 50-minute session. Preece led at 19.600 seconds, 0.079 seconds faster than Josh Berry. With about 33 minutes complete, Larson sat 27th on the overall chart and 30th in 10-lap average speed.

“It sucks!” was Larson’s reply when asked about the car, according to NASCAR.

Martinsville has tested Larson for years, and he said after his 2023 victory there that the track “does not suit my driving style at all,” as quoted by the Los Angeles Times. The 0.526-mile oval rewards heavy braking and precision through slow corners.

Before practice, Larson said a longer session would help “a guy who needs laps to get in the rhythm here,” according to Speedway Media. He expected Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace and the Penske drivers to run fast, and said he typically hovers just behind that group. He said his spring car was loose on corner entry and hard to manage for rear grip on exit, areas the team has worked to fix.

Kyle Larson’s Phoenix and Talladega Recap

Larson voiced a similar complaint Oct. 18 at Phoenix Raceway, radioing, “No grip. No turn. Definitely no rear.” A flat right-front tire sent him into the wall during the Freeway Insurance 500, and the car could not be repaired, leaving him 34th and 31 laps down. His lead over Christopher Bell shrank to five points entering Talladega.

He rebounded Oct. 25 in the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Larson led entering the final lap, fell to 11th, then charged back to beat teammate William Byron by 0.041 seconds in a photo finish. It was his first victory in 59 starts on a drafting-style track and his third win of the season, all coming in the Chase.

Larson’s Championship Scenarios at Martinsville

Larson leads Denny Hamlin by 73 points, Christopher Bell by 74 and Chase Briscoe by 79. Scoring 59 points Sunday clinches the title no matter what his rivals do, which requires a win plus four stage points, or a win with three stage points and the fastest-lap bonus.

Larson also clinches by leaving Martinsville 77 points ahead of the second-place driver. A 76-point margin means he only needs to start the Homestead-Miami finale. No driver has wrapped up a Cup title before the finale since 2003.

Larson has downplayed an early clinch. He said he does not anticipate clinching and wants a solid day without giving up too many points before Homestead. He has also pointed to a Turn 3 stack-up on the first lap as a risk, saying, “I could cave in the radiator and be done,” according to Yahoo Sports.

Larson won the 2023 spring race at Martinsville and has finished in the top-10 in each of his last eight starts there. Hendrick Motorsports has won the last two races at the track, with Chase Elliott taking the spring and Byron the fall of 2025. The 500-lap Xfinity 500 begins at 2 p.m. ET Sunday on NBC.

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