Kyle Larson Leaks NASCAR’s Plan to Shut Down Joey Logano’s Hunting Ground, Fans Go Wild

Call it destiny or luck, Joey Logano is our undisputed 2024 NASCAR Cup Series champion. After all, the ‘how can a champion win the title sitting 17th in points?’ gimmick has aged quite a bit. This is just how the Playoff system is; sometimes, it rewards chance occurrences over consistency. And besides, Joey Logano seems to have a key that no one else does.

But if there’s one person you can’t help but feel for, it’s Kyle Larson. Can you imagine? The winningest driver this season did not even have a direct shot at the championship, with no vacancies in the final 4? His teammate, William Byron, fought for the title instead, but even he fell flat to the #22 team’s ‘even-year’ magic at Phoenix. However, from the sounds of things, Kyle Larson is prepping with a clear vision for the next season. And with him, NASCAR might even implement a few changes to their often-criticized system.

Kyle Larson’s 2025 hopes, with a new Playoff format lurking in the background

Rick Hendrick must have been eager to claim the ultimate prize on his race team’s 40th anniversary. But this year brought forth a rollercoaster that even the most imaginative Hendrick Motorsports fans wouldn’t have been able to draw out. From securing that 1-2-3 sweep at Martinsville to Alex Bowman’s DQ at Watkins Glen, which helped put Joey Logano through the Round of 8 in the Playoffs, the Hendrick boys have seen it all this season.

Unlike all other four-car teams at the highest level in 2024, all four HMS drivers scored themselves at least one win this season. But Kyle Larson racked himself 6—the highest of anyone else the entire year. That makes him a content man, regardless of his points standings at the end of the year. As he explained to Brad Gillie of RACER.com in a recent virtual interview, “I was super happy with the performance of our race team all year long. We had a ton of speed from race 1 to race 38, really. So, yeah, I was happy. Obviously, you want to make the final 4 and have a shot at the championship. But at the same point like, I also understand the format and know how crazy it can be…” Indeed, the Playoff system has been an adversary for Larson this year.

“So I don’t let finishing sixth in point take anything away from our season,” he asserted. “I know we had one of the best, if not the best season. We led the series in most every category. So, you know, really proud of the team, in their hard work, and yeah, I think we left some out on the table too…” To think of it, Larson probably wouldn’t have made a Playoff run in the first place, had NASCAR not granted him a waiver for his no-show at the Coca-Cola 600. But the story unfolded the opposite way, and the guy returned with a different type of vengeance. Two weeks after that controversial weekend at Charlotte, Larson was victorious at the Sonoma road race. It only bolstered his record further since he had secured his Playoff berth early into the season with that dominating display in Vegas.

But thanks to his advances falling one round short of a championship bid this year, the #5 driver has an entirely different outlook for next season. His motto is simple: “Hopefully, we can continue to evolve and get stronger as a team, win some more races, lead some more laps, and who knows what the new format will be? So maybe it will benefit us somehow.”

Now, it’s no secret that NASCAR is looking at potential tweaks to their post-season format for the 2025 season, after all the outcry, and Sports Business Journal suggests bigger changes are coming as soon as the year after.

Everything else only serves as headline fodder for now, and nothing is 100% certain. Regardless, Larson’s ambitions of total domination could spur something special next year. The record for most wins in a season in the Next-Gen car stands at six, set by his Hendrick teammate William Byron in 2023. Can Kyle Larson break that record? Well, he most certainly can. But the guy’s interview is trending on social media for different reasons.

Yung Money’s comments stir up the grandstands

The RACER Channel’s ‘Race Industry Week 2024 Livestream Webinar’ made its way to the NASCAR subreddit, where a user attached the video to their post and titled it: “Larson indicates new championship format coming next year.” While it’s not necessarily ‘breaking news’ that NASCAR is considering a new Playoff format, Kyle Larson’s recent comments bring even more attention to the idea, making it feel more real than ever for fans. The complaints and grievances must wait because the sport has listened to its loudest stakeholders in the grandstands.

And now, the fans are speculating about all the potential changes that may soon arrive under NASCAR’s experimental control. So, “let’s hear some overreactions as to what it will be.” One fan hilariously wrote, “Wasn’t one of the main rumors that the playoffs guys will get an independent point system? I think that’s even stupider but I see that as something NASCAR would do.” Sure, a dedicated points system for the post-season would make much sense in the grander scheme. However, we already have a points system tailored for the Playoffs, although the effectiveness of that method remains up for debate, especially after Joey Logano’s championship. 

Another fan had a more logical demand for an overhaul. “In all likelihood, it’s probably just changing how some points are handed out and putting some caps on win and you’re in. Major changes like making the F4 3 races would likely take more than a season to decide on, but I hope that’s what happens.” Essentially, this fan wished for a three-race final 4 round instead of a winner-takes-all finale. That sure is an impressive idea, but there are more questions than answers with that adjustment. For starters, would that mean extending the schedule by three more races?

Other voices from the grandstands sarcastically mused, “It’s really not that hard for NASCAR to significantly change the format, but then again, we have people with IQs of 50 running the sport.” But we assure you, the people making all the decisions at the highest level have plenty of experience and oversight to make the calls they do. It’s just sometimes, even the best minds can get it wrong. In NASCAR’s case, it might happen a bit too often. But hopefully, things will change soon.

Besides, as a certain member of the NASCAR community opined, “If we get a system that rewards the best driver over the course of a season I can see why Larson would be excited.” And it is true. Year-in, and year-out, Kyle Larson is one of the most consistent wheelmen out there, driving his car to the limit in pursuit of glory. Will he redeem himself next year? Now, that is certainly the question he must answer when the season roars around the corner, with a few fresh changes for everyone to adjust to.