Kyle Larson had a humorous moment when he joked with Hollywood royalty Bill Murray prior to Sunday's (September 7), NASCAR playoff race. Murray was there doing pre-race entertainment in the Enjoy Illinois 300 playoff race that Larson was competing in.Bill Murray was made the Grand Marshal of the 2025 Enjoy Illinois 300 NASCAR Cup Series at the World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. The comedy icon was given the privilege of saying the most famous line in the sport of NASCAR on September 7: " Drivers, start your engines!"Elevation to Grand Marshal was not only an honor to Murray due to his glorious career as an actor and comedian, but also because of his relationship to the culture of the race with his voice-acting in Pixar Cars and his fun-loving and unpredictable image in the outside world. In addition to directing the race to begin, he helped in the celebration of the weekend by playing with his blues-rock group, Bill Murray and His Blood Brothers.In a pre-race event, Kenny Wallace mentioned that Bill Murray was a “GOAT” for his work as a comedian and asked him if he felt proud of it. To this, Murray replied in the presence of Kyle Larson:"Well, when you're a goat, it's a lonely occupation. Isn't it, Russ? Isn't it lonely? And it's nice that we're finally travelling in just a small pack today. It feels so powerful. I feel like we could walk through the merch tents and take anything we want. Just walk in." (In a clip shared by Hendrick Motorsports on X)Kyle Larson's 2025 NASCAR season has been impressive to date, with several race wins and consistent performances in various NASCAR series. He started the year off with a 20th-place finish in the Daytona 500 but soon rebounded as he won the 30th race of his career in the Cup Series at Homestead. Larson also took the race at Bristol and Kansas, to have three wins in the Cup Series by the midseason and be a strong title contender.Kyle Larson calls Gateway the ‘one track’ that will determine his team’s fate at the Championship raceKyle Larson views the World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway as the pivotal track that will determine his team's fate in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship race. After a disappointing start to the playoffs at Darlington, where Hendrick Motorsports struggled with setups, Larson sees Gateway as the crucial opportunity to reset and regain momentum before the Bristol elimination race. He linked Gateway's characteristics closely with Phoenix, highlighting that both tracks demand braking stability, clean corner exits and rhythm over long runs, which are essential for competitive performance in the playoffs."I think in the years we've ran Gateway already, it's always to me the one track that shows who's gonna be good at Phoenix," he told Bob Pockrass.Historically, Larson and Hendrick Motorsports have struggled at Gateway, with Larson's fourth-place finish in 2023 being the best among the Hendrick teams since the track's Cup debut in 2022.