Kyle Larson shakes off his Xfinity ‘disappointment’ with a ‘tough’ Cup Series win 

Hendrick Motorsports star Kyle Larson shines once again at the Homestead-Miami weekend, triumphing at the Straight Talk Wireless 400 race. The No. 5 Chevrolet driver clinched his maiden NASCAR Cup Series win of the season on Sunday (March 23).

Following his intention to sweep the tripleheader weekend at the 1.5-mile asphalt track in Florida, the 2021 Cup Series champion Larson drove through the victory lane for the Baptist Health 200 Truck race on Friday. However, the 31-year-old failed to replicate the same the next day for the Hard Rock Bet 300 event even after dominating the Xfinity race for HMS. While that ended his aim to sweep the Homestead-Miami weekend, Larson bounced back with a much-needed win in NASCAR's premier division.

In a post-race conversation, the 30-time Cup race winner Larson was asked to reflect on his thoughts about the near-sweep miss for the triple weekend. He said (via Speedway Digest):

"I mean, maybe as I go home tonight and lay down and think about the week more. But honestly, right now I don't think about it at all. I wasn't thinking about that as I took the lead, anything like that."

While Kyle Larson undoubtedly had the best car in the Xfinity race and was the frontrunner in the closing moments of Saturday's race, a late race caution and a restart stumble jeopardized the HMS star's plan. He continued:

"Yeah, I was pretty disappointed all of the time after the race yesterday, but I woke up this morning feeling for the most part fine. Motivated, but fine. Kind of over the finish of yesterday. Yeah, I'm sure when I lay down tonight, I'll probably think about it. But I'm just happy to get a Cup Series win. They're so tough to get."

NASCAR: Straight Talk Wireless 400 - Source: Imagn

The win at Homestead-Miami secured his 30th Cup career win, however, Kyle Larson believes if the No. 5 team had had his 2021 Championship-winning car (Gen-6), the HMS team would have had "about 50 wins right now".

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Kyle Larson claims switching the car has limited the winning

MAR 23 NASCAR Cup Series Straight Talk Wireless 400 - Source: Getty

In his 2021 season with the Chevy roster, Kyle Larson lifted his maiden Cup Series title and garnered 10 wins. Since then, he has had not more than four wins in the two following years and most recently secured six wins in the 2024 season.

In the same post-race media interaction, Kyle Larson was asked if he's able to fit in the Next-Gens which were introduced in the 2022 NASCAR season. He said:

"I don't know. I think if we would still have the 2021 car, I would have about 50 Cup wins right now. I think switching to this car has limited us from winning."

Nevertheless, Larson acknowledged his and the No. 5 team's adaptative nature in the current stock-car program. He added:

"I think just being with a good team and being able to adapt to new things is something you try to pride yourself on. I think that's an area where the 5 team really excels and the 24 as well. I think we probably share or are top two in most Next Gen wins. Young, adaptable drivers and teams."

As things stand, three Hendrick Motorsports drivers - William Byron, Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman have taken the top three spots in the points standings. Meanwhile, Chase Elliott is ranked sixth.