“It’s mentally more difficult for me; I wish I was better at it”: Kyle Larson’s teammate gets 100% real about his crucial weakness

Kyle Larson's Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Alex Bowman, opened up about his racing drawback. In a recent interview, the HMS star said that he wished he were "better" at it, and acknowledged some drivers, including Larson, are "really good" at racing.

Bowman races alongside Larson for Rick Hendrick's team in the NASCAR Cup Series. He drives the #48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, whereas Larson drives the #5 car. While the #5 driver has been thoroughly consistent and successful in the Cup Series, Bowman was far from it.

After his success in NASCAR, Kyle Larson tried his hand at IndyCar, something Bowman seemed to have appreciated. However, this was a quality Alex Bowman thinks he lacks, especially when it comes to the mental side of it. Speaking about this, the HMS driver said, as per Frontstretch on YouTube (6:30-7:40):

"I think it's I think Kyle does a really good job of that, I'd say, that's something that is mentally more difficult for me. I wish it were right, like I wish I were better at it than I am, but Kyle is really, really good at that. So yeah, I'm excited to watch him all week in Indy, obviously cheering him on the best we can, and yeah, but to see him crash, but glad he's okay, and I think I saw him already get more laps."

"I definitely take everything to heart. I just care a lot about how we run and how we perform, and I'm not good at being able to not care, I guess is the best way to put it, like, I'm not good at being like "Oh well, we struggled this week or whatever." Like it's just not okay, so I don't know. I think everybody's different with that. I wish I were better at it, that's certainly not my favorite thing about myself, but yeah, some guys are better at it than others," Bowman added.

Kyle Larson's outing in IndyCar was underwhelming, with the Arrow McLaren driver crashing his IndyCar on Fast Friday. This was his second crash leading up to the Indy 500 he is trying to aim for this year.

Interestingly, this is Larson's second attempt at the iconic Indy 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His first attempt was in 2024, when he tried his hand and became the Rookie of the Year.

---

Amid Kyle Larson's victory, Alex Bowman left frustrated after a poor Kansas outing

Alex Bowman had a bittersweet outing at the AdventHealth 400 at the Kansas Speedway. The HMS driver started his race from 21st place, but made it to sixth by the end of Stage 1. In Stage 2, he went down a place, but ended in fifth place in the final stage, whereas his teammate, Kyle Larson, claimed the victory.

Alex Bowman, however, was hoping for a better finish and voiced his frustration towards multiple drivers during the race. In the end, he was content with the top five.

"I’m frustrated on that side of things, but super proud of everyone at Hendrick Motorsports,” Bowman said. “It’s not something we did or that the car did. Two guys under me decided to drive us straight into the fence. That’s Next Gen racing, though. The restarts get pretty crazy, and unfortunately, it just kind of hurt the rest of our day.”

Alex Bowman is in eighth place in the drivers' championship with 325 points. He has secured two top-fives, seven Top 10s, and led 110 laps in 12 races this season. Kyle Larson is leading the standings with 469 points.