On Sunday at the Bristol Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson dominated the proceedings. He very nearly swept the whole race weekend when he won the Xfinity and Cup races. It was only Chandler Smith in the Truck Series who ruined what would have been the perfect race weekend for the HMS star.
Had he won the Truck Series race, he would have become only the second driver to ever win in all three national series races on the same weekend. The first and only driver to ever achieve such a feat was Kyle Busch, back in 2010 and 2017. Incidentally, Busch’s triple triumph came at the Bristol Motor Speedway itself, back when he raced for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Well, things changed after 2019 as NASCAR put a cap on the number of races a Cup Series driver can participate in the lower series. At present, that number is restricted to just five races per season, and this is one of the biggest reasons why Rowdy’s record remains untouched. Larson reflected on his weekend after a dominant run on Sunday, winning the Food City 500 and sharing an update about his next attempt to compete in all three races on a weekend.
Rowdy’s record will remain safe and uncontested until 2025
“I don’t know, I race a lot. It’s cool to win two times in a row in the same weekend, but I don’t overthink it or celebrate it too much. I just love to race, and I love Bristol and was really excited by this weekend. Obviously, I wish I could have been one spot better on Friday to join Kyle [Busch]. Regardless, I had a great time this weekend and got to lead a bunch of laps and challenge for wins and win a couple of them. Proud of it, and hopefully get a chance to do it again in the future. Next year, maybe. I’m done racing Trucks and Xfinity for this year. Hopefully, the schedule lays out right and next year we can try again.”
This wasn’t Larson’s first attempt to sweep all three races. His first attempt came at Homestead Miami Speedway, where he had won the Truck and Cup Series races but wasn’t able to get the job done in the Xfinity Series race. Make no mistake, he was dominating that race and had carved up a 16-second lead on the second-place driver after the final round of green lap pit cycle. But, with 10 laps to a spin by Taylor Gray, it set up a blockbuster finish.
Larson was banking on firing late in the restart zone, but Sam Mayer did know about his plan and ran into the back of No. 17 Chevy. This allowed the likes of Austin Hill and Justin Allgaier to pull ahead in the lead, while the HMS driver had to settle for a P4 finish. “I can’t go when my rear tires are off the ground. I know it looks like I choked another one away, but I did everything I thought I could, and the #41 [Mayer] just lagged back and slammed the s— out of me.” Clearly, Larson was frustrated for not being able to win the race.
Kyle Larson finished his Bristol weekend second in the trucks and then the winner in Xfinity and Cup. How he summed up his weekend with two victories and that any thoughts of a tripleheader sweep (only Kyle Busch has done it) will have to wait until 2026. @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/nm4iBU2dd1
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) April 14, 2025
Given how packed the schedule is for Kyle Larson up ahead and the restriction to race in the Xfinity and Trucks, he is not going to mount another run in 2025. However, he sure made it a point to let NASCAR know about his frustrations with the rule and, at the same time, dissed Xfinity Series drivers.
Larson wanted to embarrass NASCAR at Bristol
Ideally, the feeder series should serve as a breeding ground for talented drivers to reach the top level. But for some reason, both Xfinity and the Truck Series have been notorious for turning a race into a demolition derby. The Martinsville Xfinity Series race even forced NASCAR to intervene after they brandished a penalty to Sammy Smith for wrecking out the field on the final lap. Another issues that is crippling these series is that talent alone isn’t enough for drivers to stay afloat.
Take the example of Chandler Smith, who, despite winning two races and finishing 5th in the championship standing, had to step down to Truck Series. For some reason, the drivers in the Xfinity Series have lost track of what success looks like and what it takes to reach the Cup Series level. Well, Kyle Larson certainly schooled them, leading 277 of 300 laps and even lapping multiple cars down.
Sharing his take while speaking to Kevin Harvick, he stated, “I want to embarrass them, honestly. I just want to embarrass NASCAR a little bit. They don’t let the 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 ten seconds leads to let them realize that they got a lot of room to improve.”
Xfinity drivers surely learned a thing or two from Larson’s dominating performance. Although they are being spared for the rest of 2025, he is expected to get back on the hunt for his NASCAR sweep next year.
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