Kyle Larson had a decent run in the 2023 season, but it wasn’t the victory lap he was hoping for. Despite giving it his all in the final showdown at Phoenix, he found himself in a third place in the race, just shy of clinching the championship, landing in the runner-up spot. You can bet that left a sting, fueling his determination not to hang up his helmet even during the off-season. He’s been hitting the track hard, keeping his racing edge sharp.

Now, as he’s back in the NASCAR groove and gearing up for the double-duty challenge, there’s a whisper in the wind that he’s got a soft spot for Indycars, reckoning they might have an edge over the NASCAR stock cars. It’s got him and fans wondering if he’s mulling over what could have been if he’d had an Indycar at his disposal back in November.

Kyle Larson thinks an Indycar Aero would’ve changed the storyline at Phoenix

Remember the Phoenix race? Kyle Larson’s pit crew worked wonders, catapulting him to the front. But then Ryan Blaney swooped in and snagged the lead, leaving Larson in the dust. His crew chief hit the nail on the head: “Our car just wasn’t good enough to give Kyle what he needed to keep the spot that we had.”

Fast forward to Larson’s recent test drive in an Indycar at Phoenix, prepping for his double-duty day. He couldn’t help but be impressed by the car’s aerodynamic finesse. “I needed this aero kit back in November,” he mused sharing a post on Twitter, suggesting he might’ve clinched the Phoenix finale with that kind of tech in his corner.

Well, that’s because Indycar plays a different game when it comes to aero rules. They’re a bit more lenient, offering a wider playground for aerodynamic designs. This means teams can tinker more with their setups, adapting to various tracks, from ovals to street circuits. The introduction of the “universal aero kit” in 2018 aimed to even the playing field, cutting down costs and stirring up closer races by simplifying the aerodynamics.

NASCAR’s Next-Gen car, however, has its aero tricks up its sleeve, mainly under the car. Think stepped splitters and rear diffusers, a fresh approach that’s shaking things up. The new splitter is just the tip of the iceberg in NASCAR’s latest aero innovations. So when NASCAR driver, Kyle Larson, took that Indycar for a spin, it’s no wonder he was leaning towards its aero setup, maybe even dropping a hint for NASCAR to explore similar aerodynamics.

And while on one side he is gearing up for his Indy 500 race, he apparently is not over the first race of the 2024 Cup season: Clash at Coliseum. That’s because it left Larson a bit ruffled, gearing up for a showdown against Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin’s driver.

Watch This Story: Kyle Larson Confesses Bubba Wallace’s Continuous Shenanigans Drove Him to His Limits

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Even as Denny Hamlin took the top spot and basked in the victory, the buzz post-race was all about the tiffs between drivers, especially Larson’s spin on Wallace in the final moments of the 150-lap scuffle. In a heart-to-heart with Lee Spencer on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Larson didn’t mince his words about their latest clash on the quarter-mile circuit.

“It was just another one,” Larson began. “Listen, I got hit three different times by him and it was the last lap and I was going to get my hit in finally. I wasn’t trying to spin him or anything, but just shove him through the corner like he was shoving me through the corner. “If roles were reversed, I would have expected the same thing that he got. I hope he understands that. Yeah, we’ve had our run-ins before and I haven’t talked to him and who knows if there’s even anything to talk about.”

Read More: Kyle Larson Dissects the Consequences of His Actions With Bubba Wallace as Daytona Gets Closer

Kyle Larson will now be gearing up for the Daytona 500 race, which he hasn’t won yet. But who knows, 2024 could be the year Kyle Larson uses his momentum to win one.