Kyle Larson now owns the most wins in NASCAR’s Next Gen car, breaking a tie with Denny Hamlin at Talladega Superspeedway on Oct. 25 and ahead of Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia.
The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports driver reached 19 victories in the car since 2022, one more than Hamlin’s 18. “Kyle Larson now has the most wins in the Next Gen car (19),” NASCAR reporter Kelly Crandall wrote on Thursday. William Byron and Tyler Reddick follow with 14 apiece, while Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell and Joey Logano each have 13.
Larson won the YellaWood 500 by 0.041 seconds over Byron, his Hendrick teammate, after dropping from first to 11th on the final lap of overtime. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished third and Ross Chastain fourth. It was Larson’s first superspeedway win in 59 starts and his third victory of the 2026 season, lifting his career total to 35. Two races remain in the Chase, starting with Martinsville.
The Next Gen Car and How It Differs
The Next Gen car, also called Gen-7, made its points-race debut in the 2022 Daytona 500 and replaced the Generation 6 car, which had run since 2013. The change was the biggest overhaul of the Cup car in decades.
The Next Gen body is fully symmetrical, with composite panels that resemble the Camaro, Mustang and Camry, while the Gen 6 body was asymmetrical to suit left-turn ovals. Independent rear suspension replaced the solid rear axle, rack-and-pinion steering replaced a recirculating-ball system, and a five-speed sequential transmission replaced the four-speed H-pattern manual. Wheels grew from 15-inch steel with five lug nuts to 18-inch aluminum with a single center-lock nut, which speeds up pit stops. A flat carbon underbody and rear diffuser also add downforce.
The engines stayed largely the same, with pushrod V8s built by Ford, Chevrolet and Toyota, rated at 510 horsepower on superspeedways and 670 elsewhere. NASCAR designed the car to cut costs and tighten competition through standardized, single-source parts. The design also aimed to improve driver safety. Every Cup Series team must run it, while the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck series use different competition vehicles.
The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series uses cars based on the 2010 “Car of Tomorrow” formula rather than the Cup Series’ Next Gen platform. These cars retain a traditional 4-speed H-pattern transmission, 15-inch five-lug wheels, solid-axle rear suspension, and a conventional underbody without a rear diffuser, producing roughly 650 horsepower. As a result, they look and drive more like pre-2022 Cup machinery than the modern Next Gen cars.
The Craftsman Truck Series races purpose-built pickup trucks on steel tube-frame chassis with integrated roll cages.
Kyle Larson’s Gen 6 Record and the Cup Series Win Leaders
Larson ranks fifth among active drivers with 35 career wins, behind Hamlin at 64, Kyle Busch at 63, Logano at 40 and Brad Keselowski at 36. Nineteen of Larson’s victories have come in the Next Gen era, compared with 18 of Hamlin’s 64.
Larson debuted in the Cup Series in 2013, won for the first time at Michigan in 2016 and had 16 victories when the Gen 6 era ended after 2021. He won four races in 2017 and one each in 2016 and 2019. His 2021 season produced 10 wins and the championship.
“I think if we would still have the 2021 car, I would have about 50 Cup wins right now,” Larson said after winning at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2025. “I think switching to this car has limited us from winning.”
Beyond Larson, the active career list continues with Martin Truex Jr. at 34 wins, Chase Elliott at about 23 and Ryan Blaney above 20. William Byron has 16, while Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick each sit at about 14, rounding out the top 10.
Kyle Larson Quietly Sets NASCAR Record, Passes Denny Hamlin Before Martinsville