Kyle Larson talks about the advantage of a good result at WWT Raceway for Hendrick Motorsports 

NASCAR Cup Series star Kyle Larson recently opened up about performing well at Gateway in Illinois. He believes that performing well in the race would improve the team’s confidence going into Phoenix.

Kyle Larson emphasized that they had a positive test result at Gateway earlier this year, and as a result, Hendrick Motorsports decided to approach their short-track program differently. He indicated that their program has improved and become more competitive with this new direction, and hopes to begin weekends even better than they were.

Although Larson admitted that they are still not as good as Team Penske, they have improved and even come closer to Gibbs in terms of performance. He said he was hopeful that their performance at the Gateway would improve their confidence heading to the Phoenix race, which is of the same type.

Kyle Larson told Speedway Digest:

“We had a great test at Gateway earlier this year that led us down a different path with our short-track program. We feel we have learned some things that have made that program a little bit better since then. We should be more competitive and at least start the weekend better than we have. If we can be good at Gateway, that will give us some confidence going to Phoenix.”

Kyle Larson began the year with a 20th-place finish in the Daytona 500, but soon settled in with a 30th career Victory in the Cup Series at Homestead, placing him in the top 30 in the all-time wins list. That was not the end of the winning streak as Larson won the Bristol spring race and the Kansas race and proved to be a fairly consistent performer across different tracks.

Kyle Larson pinpoints “shorter, flatter” tracks as challenges ahead of NASCAR playoffs

Kyle Larson identified shorter, flatter tracks as a potential weak spot for him and Hendrick Motorsports heading into the 2025 NASCAR playoffs. He specifically mentioned World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway) and New Hampshire Motor Speedway as challenging venues because these tracks rely more on braking, throttle control, and mechanical grip rather than aero and downforce-heavy car setups. Although these tracks don’t allow as much banking for speed through corners, traction and tire wear are critical factors.

“I think still the shorter, flatter tracks (are potential weaknesses), so seeing Gateway and New Hampshire in the playoffs is not something that I was thrilled about. But I do think we’ve made our package better on that style of track,” he said via NASCAR.com.

“I look at Iowa, we were fast and (Hendrick Motorsports teammate) William (Byron) won. Chase (Elliott) was fast. Alex (Bowman) was fast. When we went to Richmond, we were all really good again……I do think we’ve gotten our cars better on those places, but we still need to probably be better,” he added.

Larson also offered insights on playoff racing, emphasizing that drivers tend to race more cautiously to avoid major mistakes that could end their playoff runs early.