Notice to any young, up-and-coming drivers trying to make a name for themselves: Kyle Larson wants to destroy you.
Kyle Larson, the 31-time Cup winner, was the guest on Kevin Harvick's "Happy Hour" podcast this week, where the former champ turned FOX broadcaster asked him what motivates him to drive in the Xfinity Series, the second-tier NASCAR series that runs the day before Cup.
The usually mild-mannered and reserved driver was blunt about his intentions, even warning that he knew his feelings were a bit "cocky."
"I want to embarrass them honestly," Larson remarked. "I just want to embarrass NASCAR a little bit ... because they don't let Cup Cup guys run anymore ... I want to smash the field when I'm in Xfinity."
Larson referred to the rules that NASCAR put in place over the last 15 years that limit Cup drivers from earning points in the lower series, as well as only allowing them to run in a limited amount of races in the Xfinity and Truck series each year.
Kyle Larson has an axe to grind with NASCAR
"The kids, they probably think they're in a good spot, and they don't really know where the bar is really at," Larson told Harvick, who won two Xfinity titles while racing full-time in Cup in 2001 and 2006.
"So I like to go run those Xfinity races and just get 10-second leads to let them realize that they've got a lot of room to improve," Larson said. "And I think that's only better for our sport too is when those young guys can compete with Cup guys, they're better suited for the Cup Series once they get there."
Larson has been trying to achieve a weekend sweep this year -- meaning wins in Cup, Xfinity and Trucks over the course of three days, but he has come up just short. At Bristol, Larson came in second in Trucks, but won the Xfinity and Cup races. At Homestead a few weeks earlier, Larson also went 2 of 3, coming in fourth in the Xfinity race despite leading over 100 laps.
Since moving to Hendrick in Cup, Larson has appeared in 10 Xfinity races, winning four of them, but only finishing outside the top five once.
"Buschwhacking" was a controversial issue in the lower national NASCAR series in the 1990s and 2000s, when Cup drivers went up against younger talent and less well-funded teams and usually won easily. For example, in 2006, Cup drivers won nearly every single race: Harvick won nine times, Carl Edwards four, Matt Kenseth three, Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin and Jeff Burton twice.
So when David Gilliland, a part-time Xfinity driver in 2006, pulled out a win at Kentucky up against Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Greg Biffle, it was deemed an incredible upset that launched him to a full-time Cup ride the following season.
Nowadays, Cup drivers are still winning a few races a year in Xfinity, but Larson's Bristol win this past Saturday was actually the first win by a current full-time Cup driver in 2025. Larson isn't due back in an Xfinity car this season.