Unlucky. One word that sums up Kyle Larson’s 2024 season. Sure, while he won six races and competed in IndyCar, he missed his shots at two NASCAR titles! If that wasn’t enough, Larson went out in the Round of 8, meaning the most dominant driver of the year, one with 400+ laps led in a single race, did not compete for the Championship. And thus, when Joey Logano was crowned the champion, fans went after NASCAR and the Penske driver for coming out of nowhere and picking up the win. With all the drama and controversy of 2024, Kyle Larson has laid out a verdict on one of NASCAR’s biggest problems.

As per Kyle Larson, the current playoff format simply devalues the championship.

Kyle Larson sends a wake-up call to NASCAR

With eight drivers competing for just four Championship 4 spots, the margin for error was thin. Three spots were claimed by race winners in the Round of 8, leaving only one available through points. Larson finished 11th at Las Vegas, followed by a 13th finish at Homestead and third at Martinsville. Larson’s difficulties went on to be more grave at the Round of 8, mainly due to the lack of stage points. At Las Vegas, a pit-road error led to an additional stop. This had put nearly two laps down and limited him to just one stage point. At Homestead-Miami, there was a major tire failure in stag. This caused him to hit the wall. It required repairs that left him mid-pack for most of the race. Although he fought back to the front, a late spin with 13 laps remaining ended his dreams. 

Speaking about the situation, Larson said, “If anything, I just think the format in a way devalues a championship. Especially in the Next-Gen era. So, I think obviously you’d like to win the most races and win the championship and all that, but I think winning six races, that’s extremely tough to do, and we were a factor in many more than that. So, I’m proud of the season, proud of the effort from the team, and looking forward to next year too. We’ll hopefully start off strong and carry it on through the playoffs like we did this year”. 

At the same time, Joey Logano, the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Champion, had a completely different trajectory. Sure, Logano did win races, but he wasn’t at his best throughout the season. He had an average finish of 17. As per fans, the problem of drivers not performing consistently taking the Cup Series title by clutch performances in the final few r0unds. Compared to Larson’s multiple wins during the Regular season, Logano fell short. In a way, Larson’s words did come true. With fans constantly bickering amongst themselves if Logano deserved the win, it casts a shadow on the work he put in behind getting the title.

Even Richard Petty couldn’t help but acknowledge Logano’s situation. Having made it to the Round of 8 thanks to Alex Bowman’s disqualification, Joey Logano knew he had his work cut out for him and he made it happen. Petty explained, “Probably the best 2 cars overall was up front runnin’. I look at it, they won it like they’re champions. It was luck to get there, to run for it but once the luck got em there to run for it, they took advantage of it and stepped their program up and got the job done. Next year’s gonna be a whole different deal because all these people are gone set down all winter long and they gone have all these engineers and they go through every cotton picken’ thing they’ve done throughout the year and pick out the bad things and throw em out.” 

Ultimately, the Next-Gen format, with its unforgiving playoff structure and emphasis on stage points, denied Kyle Larson a shot at the 2024 championship trophy. Larson had to give in despite his undeniable talent and particularly impressive statistics. 

Larson opens up about how he felt after the 2024 title blockage

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When you miss the championship title even after being the best driver undoubtedly, it does take a toll on your mental health. However, it seemed as though Kyle Larson has quite a strong head and he is the ultimate embodiment of sportsman spirit. Recently, Kyle Larson opened up about how he was not bothered very much despite this narrow miss. 

Speaking of how he felt, Larson said, “I think we had a great year. You led the series in a lot of categories, most all the categories, so, yeah, it was a little disappointing to not get the chance to race for a championship at Phoenix, but at the same point, I understand the format”. 

He further added, “I really wasn’t that upset during the week of Phoenix because I knew no matter the result, we were going to end the season with the most wins. And to me, these days, that’s as important as winning a championship”. Larson had been able to mark his 2021 Cup Series victory, however, rightfully the current playoff format was not reigning back then. The 2025 season holds new hopes and aspirations for the much-loved Hendrick Motorsports driver.