NASCAR CHAMPIONSHIP MEDIA DAY

November 5, 2026

Kyle Larson

Press Conference

An Interview with:

Q. You've been through this before, these championship things, but usually you're accompanied by the other finalists, doing different various events. You're by yourself, and the other guys in the O'Reilly Series and the trucks all have people with them as well. You're by yourself for a reason. What is it like going through this knowing there's a reason you're by yourself?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, it's definitely been the most unique media day for me because in the past it's been the Final Four and you're there and you don't really know -- all you know is you just have to beat them on the track, where this you're still having points involved and all that, it's different, but then the gap that is there, yeah, I'm solo, which is a great thing.

But yeah, I'll be honest, it's an awkward sort of media day for me. But we've earned the right for it to be awkward. I like awkwardness, or I'm okay with it. So it's all right.

Q. I know when you got out of the car at Martinsville, you said, hey, we're going to go to Homestead, and I'm going to kind of do what I do at Homestead. I'm going to run the wall. I'm going to run the race how I run the race here. Now, days later, maybe having talked to Cliff and the team and knowing the points situation even clearer, what is your mindset going into Sunday, and are you going to be more cautious maybe in Stage 1 and Stage 2 to make sure you're there?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I'm not sure. I haven't been on track, so I think a good portion of it comes down to what your balance is, where you qualify, and then you kind of have sort of a plan for how you're going to approach the race when you get there.

But for me right now, I always -- although it doesn't look like it because I run so close to the wall, I'm always trying to get to the end of the race. That's the main objective. So I would say there's no difference in that for me.

The most grip is against the wall, so usually where the most grip is is a little bit easier. For me, I don't view Next Gen racing like running next to the wall is that risky. The cars are tougher than they used to be.

I think with the old previous car, yeah, most of the grip is still at the top, but there's way more risk up there. Now there's still risk, but a lot less.

Yeah, I foresee my race looking like any other Homestead race for me. Try to get to the front and manage the race from there, and hopefully the first stage goes well and then you can really just race free after that. I still don't think it's going to change the approach of the race, but you can race with less worry at that point.

Q. If it is Stage 1 when this happens, what do you think that'll be like to be able to clinch a championship during the race and then have those emotions and then be able to be free for the rest of it?

KYLE LARSON: I don't know. I hope I get to experience that at some point in the first two stages. I don't really know what it will all feel like or sound like and what Cliff might say.

Knowing Cliff, I'm sure it'll be locked in, like, Hey, man, here's what just happened. Let's stay locked in, we're going to take four tires here, and stuff like that.

So I hope that's robot Cliff on the radio and we can just stay locked in. Because still, I want to have a great day. I want to win the race and win the championship. But we'll see.

I'm trying not to think ahead. Just trying to approach the weekend like any other weekend and go do a good job.

Q. Your average finish and things like that are up with the greats of the Chases so far. Does it matter to you when you get out of the car, like hey -- where that will rank or what that looks like for your overall body of work for this Chase? Do you care about that?

KYLE LARSON: I don't at this point. I care about winning the championship. I really don't care about what the average finish is because that's really not something -- that's not something that's talked about every year, and -- I haven't paid any attention. I don't know who has the best average finish in the past. It doesn't really matter. It's just that they were or were not champion. That's kind of how I feel about it.

Yeah, the championship is what matters, not the average finish.

Q. Obviously you've been in positions like this before, but I'm very curious, do you change your life in terms of coming here? Are the kids all together with you? Do you have to kind of chill out? Do you do something consciously to change the vibe you create going into this race?

KYLE LARSON: Well, yeah. It's different. I would say this year just me being in championship contention in Florida versus Arizona, I have my own plane now, so Katelyn and I flew down last night. And then it'll go back home, and then the rest of the family and nanny and stuff will come Sunday.

Where in the past you're racing in Phoenix, got to rent a house, it's a long flight, so everybody has got to come out early in the week, it's a bit more hectic, all of that. A lot more noise in a typical Phoenix championship for a week, which is okay. But I don't know, I also like it to be quiet.

Yeah, whether I was in contention or not, I think Katelyn and I would have just came down early here because it's fun to spend a few days away like a vacation.

Q. I just wanted to ask you, has your mental approach to this changed at all over the years and certainly now with your third really great opportunity to win the championship? Do you kind of chill? Do you do anything differently? Do you not want a bunch of people around you the night before the race? Are you drinking something differently, whatever? You know what I'm getting at, for you personally, for mental approach.

KYLE LARSON: Well, I'm sure it's all changed slightly over the years, but also maybe less than you'd think, I guess. I've always -- I think in the playoff format, obviously wins would advance you to the next round, but still, winning is obviously really hard. So if you couldn't win, you're trying to score a lot of points. The mindset of that hasn't changed, so the approach and preparation I don't think has really changed.

But I don't know. I've always had something going on to where I don't have my mind completely on racing all the time, whether that has been golf or cycling, and then right now it would be running. I think it's good to always have things to take your mind off of it. So I've been -- although everything kind of leads to Sunday, my mind has not been on NASCAR as much, but yeah, it's been a good balance.

Q. You have mentioned pressure since Sunday at Martinsville. What pressure are you feeling, or where is it coming from?

KYLE LARSON: Well, I think the pressure and where it comes from would be like, man, you've done such great work to this point to put yourself in position. I would just hate for something crazy to happen, to eliminate all the work that we've gone to get ourselves in a great position to where you don't have to score a ton of points. I think that's the pressure, like man, don't f--- it up at this point. (Laughter.)

But yeah, I've kind of felt pressure every -- I'm sure all of us have, all the drivers have felt some sort of pressure leading up to the week or leading up to the race, and for me -- I can't speak be for others, but for me, once I get in the car and put my helmet on, I completely forget about what's at stake.

I know it's on your mind and stuff because you're trying to execute a good day, but I haven't really felt any pressure once I get behind the wheel. I've just kind of been like, I'm going to do the best job I can. I know Cliff is going to do the best job he can.

Hopefully that's a great day. But if not, it's just racing. I think I've had that mindset when I get in the car, but I think about all the things outside of the car.

Q. Going back to Chase media day before Darlington, you made the comment that you are not as confident as you have been in years past. Do you remember when that started to change over the last nine weeks of this is going better than I expected and we have a legitimate shot here?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I really had no confidence, zero, before the Chase. Hope, but no confidence.

But I would really look at Darlington as like that was the turning point of my confidence. I know we didn't win, but I feel like we executed a really good day. Like we maximized what we had going for us that weekend and that day.

And I remember leaving that race thinking, man, that's the first time it's felt like the 5 team in forever. We were calling a race to win. We really I didn't feel like had been in that position for a long time.

Then we got a good finish, and yeah, I was just like, man, if we can hopefully have some close speed and continue that, strategy calls and execution, we'll see where it goes. Then the following week was Gateway, I believe, and again, felt like the 5 team. Felt like the 5 team of old.

Then getting that win, you propel yourself up the points, you're like, all right, yeah, we're legitimately in this now, and it leads into Bristol, a track that I know we can go perform at. It was just like confidence was building really quickly.

But so often in my Next Gen career but Cup career, you get all this confidence, like boom, you have a crappy race and you're right back to square one. We were able to kind of build on it all throughout the Chase.

I think too when the 5 team is in contention, other teams can feel that pressure, and it seems they kind of caved into that pressure a little bit. But we just stayed kind of focused on us, and I think that was good.

Q. I think there's probably going to be a lot of comparisons to the 48 team and the run of success that they've had, and obviously Cliff being a part of that too. How have you and Cliff established the identity of what this 5 team is, and what does that identity mean to you?

KYLE LARSON: Well, yeah. I think there's been those comparisons -- well, I think there's been the comparison of Cliff to Chad for a long time, and then just our team in general. I don't think I get -- I don't think I'm as similar to Jimmie as Cliff would be to Chad. But our teams get compared a lot together, and I always believed that as well.

But then I did hear an interview where -- with maybe Gluck, where we have our own identity. I was like, yeah, he's right. Sure, it's great to have those comparisons, but we are a completely different team than what that team once was.

Just the way Cliff kind of leads us, and I don't know what the word for our identity is, but I don't think there's a team like ours that's ready for moments like our team is. I've said it a lot throughout my career at the 5 team, but it's due to Cliff, and he's always evolving as a leader, and there's no better leader in the sport than him. I have a lot of trust in that.

Q. How does that differ from at least what your Cup career was previously, because this is year six with Hendrick Motorsports, now you have a chance to be batting .500 as a champion with them, and you also had six full seasons at Ganassi previously. What differs? What's different about his leadership that separates this team from anything else really in the sport?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I think every Cup team has a high standard, but I think Cliff -- it's easy to buy into his leadership and what he holds everybody to the standard that he believes we should all be at. There's just a lot of accountability, and when you see him working so hard on not only race car stuff but his personal being, of being a leader, yeah, it just gives you a lot of motivation to not let him down.

Then like I said, just between the little things that bring a team together that he does I think puts us in a good spot. Also, though, being at Hendrick Motorsports and the success that they've had and the leadership even above Cliff with Rick Hendrick, I think it definitely starts with him and trickles down between Jeff Andrews, Jeff Gordon, Chad Knaus and then into the crew chiefs and other engineering leaders and stuff. It's just a great setup there, and yeah, everybody strives to do a great job each and every week, and we've just been fortunate to have Cliff be the guy leading us.

I don't think that really answers your question, but he's just a great -- I'm very blessed to be with him for sure.

Q. Talking about you and Cliff together, how has winning that first championship made you guys wiser? How did it affect you guys moving forward towards the second and heading towards what could be your third together?

KYLE LARSON: No, that's a really good question because I think in 2021, I was new to the team, and our car was just stupid fast and maybe gave us unrealistic expectations for the following year when we went into the Next Gen body and we had a pretty poor season. I think we still made the Final Four maybe.

But he was just super intense that year, like overly intense. I think not only on me but on everybody, and I think slowly over time he recognized that's not the leader that he wanted to be. It wasn't like he wasn't leading in a bad way at all, it was just a totally different type of leadership than it was today. Each year he's progressed and molded into something a little bit different.

I really look at the 2022 season as like his eye-opening year. I'd be curious what his answer would be, but just from me being the driver, I remember seeing him get mad a lot. He would get mad. I don't see him getting mad really anymore.

I think he learned through those '22 and '23 of like a different approach to keep people motivated and keep people working down the right path.

So yeah, I think -- I don't know, I look at 2021 into '22 as being pivotal for us.

Q. Going back to the identity question, do you consider yourself the greatest driver in the sport right now?

KYLE LARSON: I don't know. I mean, I think we all have the belief -- all of us drivers, I'm saying, have the belief, if we're the fastest car in the field, there's going to be nobody better than us. Yeah, I feel that way, I'm sure Denny feels that way, I'm sure anybody feels that way. You should have that belief and confidence in yourself.

So short answer, yes, I believe it. But I don't know.

Q. All year long, I don't know how much you follow betting odds and stuff, but all year long you've opened the points, the gambling stats as the favorite. You've been the most bet-on driver all year long. This year you opened at negative 10,000 to 1 to win the championship, for today, to win the championship on Sunday. When I looked it up just a few minutes ago, people have to bet 10,000 to win 100 bucks for you. You'll be the least bet-on driver this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Do you keep track of that? Has there been any part of your time that you said, hey, I might actually have this? Have you let yourself enjoy that already?

KYLE LARSON: No, I don't pay attention to gambling odds because I don't gamble so I don't even know what all that means.

No, I don't know. I just really mentally -- I think us and our team have tried to block out the noise more than anything and just tried to stay focused on our goal.

Yeah, not that any other team hasn't done the same thing, but we've just stayed locked in and been able to execute. Hopefully I've made some people money here lately.

Q. None of us do what you do, and so going around a racetrack and focusing the way you do, lap after lap, we can't climb into that head. But in the same mode, you not letting outside influences or thoughts affect what you do this weekend, is that the same ability where you can come to the racetrack and you're not in the car the first laps of the race thinking, oh, what if, or you're snapping into it? Are you able to do that to that extent?

KYLE LARSON: I don't know. I mean, like I said earlier, I'm not going to hide from the fact that, yeah, I have all those good and bad thoughts during the week. But I don't know, once you put the helmet on, you're worried about what your car is driving like and you're worried about trying to get to the next lap and run good corners.

That's sort of it. I think it's in the past not been too hard to focus on the goal, and that's to win, ultimately.

It becomes easier though, I would say, as you've had success and had wins and championships. It's much easier to stay relaxed in those moments.

Q. What do you feel like you have done a better job at this season and evolved as a driver to help get you to this point?

KYLE LARSON: I'm not sure. Cliff could probably answer it better than me because he sees it. He would have a better opinion, I would think. But for me, I feel like I'm just putting more time and effort into Sundays. I mean, I have for -- at the end of last year and all of this year and didn't see results from it that you wanted to see. Maybe it's just all kind of been circumstantial to come together like it has.

I don't know, I just feel like I'm preparing more and more, just driven to put more of a majority on Cup racing, and thankfully it's paid off.

Q. How has that paid off?

KYLE LARSON: We're leading the points.

Q. You feel like it's made a difference?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I just think I have more time to dedicate to it, just with different life decisions of a little bit less sprint cars, owning an expensive plane, which is crazy. But just being able to be home more. I've put more focus on being home more, and I really do think that's made me feel more balanced but then also dedicate that time to Hendrick Motorsports and to the 5 team.

In the past, yes, I didn't do much sim, but I also didn't have the time to do a whole lot of sim or have the time to -- I felt like I didn't have -- I probably just didn't make the time for fitness and stuff. But I feel like all of that, just being mentally in a better space for Cup racing.

Q. To kind of follow up on that, was there a catalyst for that? I remember when you won the championship last year, you almost thought it was Denny's to lose, and no one is going to question the legitimacy of you winning that championship, but there's not the confidence that we're seeing in you now. You're coming in here feeling like a champion. Nobody is going to question Kyle Larson as the champion. Was there a catalyst or --

KYLE LARSON: Well, yeah. I think also, I think it was just the timing of it all. I was ready to kind of limit my dirt racing a little bit and focus more on NASCAR, but also, I would say, yeah, winning the championship like we did last year and hearing about how it wasn't legit and seeing it and all that, it fueled, I think, all of us a lot.

That's not something that I thought about every day, like I'm going to the gym because last year wasn't legit. But it was just also, all right, we're going into a new format, and I want this to be different.

So far, it's been good. Just been happy that you see fruit from the work that you put in. We're all working hard. I'm not sitting here acting like I'm working harder than anybody, like everybody in the field from 1st to 38th or however many cars on the track are working hard. But yeah, just been able to shift some of my life around to put more emphasis on this.

Q. Can you just expand on what this track means to you? There's so much rich history with the championship being here from 2002 to 2019, and you were there for a lot of that. Can you just expand on some of your favorite moments and also some of the moments of the legendary drivers that have made their mark here?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, well, it's a great track in an amazing part of the country. Yeah, the championship weekend was held here for so long. Even before I raced here, I always looked forward to championship weekend, in the years of like Kurt Busch, when he won, how crazy that was. And then when Carl and Tony came in here being tied maybe or something, that was awesome. Brad Keselowski drunk on ESPN, that was sick. There's been a lot of cool moments from this place.

Then getting to race here, this track is awesome too. Definitely was a different feel whenever it wasn't championship weekend, so I'm glad it's back and we can all have some fun.

Q. You talked earlier about Darlington being a turning point. You also talked about less dirt racing. But I feel like another mini-turning point of the season was the second half of Richmond and then going to win Knoxville and completing that double. Was that a mini-turning point?

KYLE LARSON: No, I never felt that way. I was just happy it turned out the way it did. But it could look like that because I was sucking until Cliff told me that Knoxville was getting rain.

No, that's not the one that I look at. I really just look at Darlington as, like, that's the shift in my confidence, and I assume that was the shift in even everybody on our team's confidence.

Q. Not many people in history have been a three-time champion, as you potentially will be this weekend. It's easy to imagine maybe the details of the seasons from the first two might make one stick out from the other, what was happening in life, what was happening in your season. Do you have any idea yet of what might make this potential third championship kind of be memorable from the others if it comes together on Saturday?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, for sure. They all are equally memorable in different ways. 2021 was just a dominating season and back in the Cup Series, which made that one memorable, first championship, memorable.

The second one, just being in the fashion that it was, we kind of struggled up until -- we still struggled at Phoenix, but just the surprise of that championship and the elation at the end of that is definitely a reason -- main reason why I'll remember that one forever.

This one I'll remember forever because of just the season that it was and the struggle that it was, and then just building as a team to be ready for the Chase, and then to go execute like we have. I think that's what I will remember this one for.

And hopefully there's other championships down the road for us. And I think those will each mean something different. I'm sure you can ask Jimmie Johnson and he can break down all seven championships and what made that one different than the others. Hopefully we have more and we can keep comparing.