Kyle Larson 2025 NASCAR preview: More Cup Series wins, Indy double redemption the goals

CONCORD, N.C. - When scrolling through the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series statistics, it's pretty easy to make a case for Kyle Larson having been the best driver over the course of the year. 

After all, the driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet led the series with six victories (two more than any other driver) and 1,699 laps led (554 more than any other driver). His 15 top-five finishes were tied for the most and the No. 5 team was also the best in qualifying as his average start of 8.8 was tops in the Cup Series. 

But in since the start of the Gen-7 era (2022), a model that has promoted parity in the sport, coupled with a playoff system predicated on wins at the right time, championships have never been more difficult to win. 

So, when Larson looks back at his 2024 season, he doesn't let not making the Championship 4 cloud what was by nearly any other metric, a banner year. And he knows more of the same in 2025 will have the No. 5 squad right back in the hunt come playoff time. 

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"If anything, I just think the format in a way devalues a championship," Larson said. "Especially in the Next-Gen era. So, I think obviously you'd like to win the most races and win the championship and all that, but I think winning six races, that's extremely tough to do, and we were a factor in many more than that. So, I'm proud of the season, proud of the effort from the team, and looking forward to next year too. We'll hopefully start off strong and carry it on through the playoffs like we did this year." 

There was no disastrous finish or untimely wreck that knocked Larson out of the playoffs in 2024. In fact, he won in each of the first two rounds in dominant fashion, crushing the field at Bristol Motor Speedway and the Charlotte ROVAL to advance to the Round of 8. 

However, with eight drivers gunning for four spots, excellence is required in the penultimate playoff round and Larson and the No. 5 team just didn't quite hit on all cylinders. 

Three of the Championship 4 spots were taken by winners in the Round of 8, leaving just one spot available for a driver to earn a bid on points. And on the surface, finishes of 11th (Las Vegas Motor Speedway), 13th (Homestead-Miami Speedway) and third (Martinsville Speedway) certainly weren't awful. But in the end, Larson would miss out on the Championship 4 by a handful of points.

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The issue on the Round of 8 boiled down to a lack of stage points. At Las Vegas, Larson managed just one and spent the latter portion of the race fighting back from a pit-road miscue that required an extra stop and put the team nearly two laps down. 

The following week at Homestead-Miami, he cut a tire and slapped the wall in stage one, necessitating repair work with the damage keeping Larson mired in the field throughout the first two stages. Then, after rallying all the way back to the front, he spun while challenging for the lead with 13 laps to go. 

A combined one point across those four stages went a long way in ultimately coming up short at Martinsville, despite a top-five finish, 12 stage points and leading 71 laps. And yet, as the series finished up at Phoenix Raceway the following week, Larson was already at peace with the season he'd had. 

"I think we had a great year," Larson said. "You led the series in a lot of categories, most all the categories, so, yeah, it was a little disappointing to not get the chance to race for a championship at Phoenix, but at the same point, I understand the format.

"I really wasn't that upset during the week of Phoenix because I knew no matter the result, we were going to end the season with the most wins. And to me, these days, that's as important as winning a championship."

If there is anything for Larson to rectify in 2025, it's gunning for a little redemption in the Memorial Day Double. Larson's rookie effort in the Indianapolis 500 earned him Fastest Rookie of the Year honors, though a late pit road speeding penalty relegated him to an 18th-place finish. 

Mother Nature was also heavily involved in the day, pushing back the start time of the Indy 500 and by the time Larson arrived in Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600, the same storm was bearing down on the Queen City. Ultimately, the race was called without Larson ever running a lap as Justin Allgaier filled in, finishing 13th. 

Obviously, the hope for 2025 is that the weather cooperates, and Larson can capitalize on the speed he found at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But as much as a second attempt at the Double will loom over his season, he said he's far away from thinking about that just yet. 

"I probably won't even think about it until April or something," Larson said. "It wasn't too different this year, I think it's pretty natural transition from a Next-Gen car to an IndyCar. So, yeah, I don't think you have to get, mentally prepared or anything like way out of the ordinary of a normal race."

Kyle Larson 2024 NASCAR Cup Series statistics