Kyle Larson Points to Ty Gibbs as Example of NASCAR Xfinity Series Not Developing Drivers

Kyle Larson finished second in the NASCAR Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. He won the next two races – Xfinity and Cup – in dominant fashion.

On Monday, the Hendrick Motorsports driver didn’t hold back on Kevin Harvick’s “Happy Hour” podcast when discussing his Xfinity Series win and the message he tries to send each time he gets into one of the Xfinity cars.

“This might come off cocky,” Larson said. “I want to embarrass them honestly. I just want to embarrass NASCAR a little bit. They don’t let Cup guys run anymore, and the kids probably think they’re in a good spot. They don’t know where the bar is really at. So, I like to run those Xfinity races and just get 10-second leads to let them realize that they got a lot of room to improve.”

A day later during an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, the 2021 Cup Series champion was asked about his previous comments. Interestingly, he used Ty Gibbs, the 2022 Xfinity champ, as an example.

“Xfinity guys, I don’t feel like are as good as they once were and definitely not as prepared for Cup as they once were,” Larson suggested. “I think that’s why you see, you know, a guy like Ty Gibbs. I really like Ty Gibbs. He is an Xfinity Series champion, but he’s yet to win a race. And, you know, I think a lot of that comes from just the limits that NASCAR’s put on.”

As Larson pointed out, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has yet to win in 96 races in the series. He does have 13 top-five finishes, including his most recent result at Bristol where he finished third for his best finish of the 2025 campaign. 

Larson and Gibbs are off this week and return to Cup Series action on April 27 at Talladega. 

Related: Kyle Larson Calls Out NASCAR Officials for Killing Good Bristol Race and Fans Agree

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