Kyle Larson delivers an unfiltered take on F1's 'fake' DRS reliance in comparison to NASCAR's 'pure racing'

Former NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson was recently featured in an interview on the 'That Guy Garf' YouTube channel. During the interaction, Larson was questioned about Formula One taking up the stock car racing audience. The HMS ace explained his perspective, citing the F1 car's heavy dependence on DRS.

The 32-year-old has had a successful career in stock car racing. He has clinched 32 wins, 128 top-five, 194 top-ten finishes, and 22 pole positions in 383 starts in his 13-year stint in the Cup Series. Additionally, he won ten races during the 2021 Cup Series season and secured the championship title.

During the podcast, Kyle Larson revealed that Formula One has some cool factors, including billions of dollars and celebrities showing up for races, along with top-notch technology. However, he claimed that if fans want to witness pure racing, then NASCAR is their best option.

Larson explained by citing the example of DRS used in Formula One for passing. Notably, NASCAR has no such system. He stated:

"But if you're looking for pure racing, our product is amazing. I mean, there's actually passing, there's battles for the lead. It's tough to pass in Formula 1 — they have to have DRS to even allow passing, so that kind of makes it fake in my opinion." [26:55 onwards]

"NASCAR Cup racing is... and too, I think NASCAR gets a bad rap a lot of times for being, like, redneck or not technical at all. But the amount of data that we have in our cars and the stuff that goes on behind the scenes — with drivers' fitness and the engineering and all that — like, yes, it's not to Formula 1's level on the engineering side, but NASCAR is way more technical than people give it credit for," he added.

Kyle Larson ranks one spot behind the leader, William Byron, in the Cup Series points table. He earned 569 points with three wins, 12 top-ten finishes, nine top-five finishes, and one pole position in 17 starts this season.

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Kyle Larson beleives he has 'a lot more' to prove before claiming the 'greatest in the world' title

Ahead of the NASCAR Viva Mexico 250 race in Mexico City, Hendrick Motorsports ace Kyle Larson was featured in a pre-race interview with Amazon Prime. During the interaction, Larson revealed that he has to achieve greater heights in his career before staking claim to the 'greatest in the world' title.

Larson began his Cup Series career with Phoenix Racing over a decade ago in 2013 and has come a long way. He is among the few drivers to attempt the 'Double' and has been impressing viewers with his remarkable performances.

However, despite having a successful career in stock car racing, Kyle Larson believes he has a lot more to prove. Reflecting on the same, the California native told Amazon Prime:

“Well, I, although the public thinks that I think that, I don’t necessarily think that I’m the greatest in the world. But, no, I’ve heard the accolades and the comments and all that for a long, long time, and being compared to Jeff [Gordon] or Tony [Stewart] or even sometimes Mario [Andretti] and AJ Foyt, guys like that, and it makes me feel really good."

Kyle Larson finished the Pocono Raceway event inside the top-ten, securing a P7 finish. Next, he is set to compete in the Challenge Round 1 - Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart, race scheduled at EchoPark Speedway on Sunday, June 28, 2025. TNT Sports, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90 will cover the 260-lap event live at 7 pm ET.