Joey Logano\u2019s title run last year set a bar for all the fans to question the championship format. And then on top of that, Kyle Larson\u2019s charge to the 2025 Cup Series championship caught attention for all the wrong reasons, including the championship format awarding the title to the drivers who didn\u2019t perform that well. The surprise had little to do with Larson\u2019s r\u00e9sum\u00e9.<\/p>\n
The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports driver already proved he could carry a season on his shoulders, dominating the 2021 campaign en route to his first championship and leading sizable chunks of the year that followed. What raised eyebrows this time was the swoon that gripped his season after mid-summer, a slide that became difficult to ignore once his second double-duty attempt unraveled in ways he never envisioned.<\/p>\n
Many believed the weight of the Indy 500\u2013Coca-Cola 600 crossover hung heavy on him. When neither race lived up to the billing, it sparked conversations about whether the setback dented his confidence. Recently, Larson admitted as much during a candid conversation with Brad Gillie on The RACER.<\/p>\n
Larson said, \u201cI mean it\u2019s really hard for me to know for sure, but I mean, it all kind of all my racing kind of took a dip after May. So, yeah, I think just probably my confidence took a hit personally. Yeah, just cuz I didn\u2019t feel like I performed how I could have or should have at Indy and I made a lot of mistakes throughout the couple weeks there and crashed a few times.\u201d<\/p>\n