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Former NASCAR champion Kyle Larson believes matching his record of 10 wins in a single NASCAR season, although still possible, would be difficult for drivers in the NextGen era.
NASCAR brought into play the Cup Series seventh generation cars, the Next Gen, in the 2022 season. This move came in a bid to enhance the level of competitiveness between drivers on the circuit.
The Next Gen cars replaced the Gen 6 cars which were used from 2013 to 2021. It gave NASCAR's three automakers a car that is more faithful and relevant to their street equivalents.
Intriguingly, the cars were introduced in the season following Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson's dominant 2021 campaign which saw him win a ridiculous 10 races and clinch the championship. Larson, who has since gone on to secure a runner-up finish in 2023, recently reflected on the possibility of another 10-win campaign on the horizon with the introduction of Gen 7. He told Peter Stratta:
"I think it's always possible. I look at William won, what, six races last year and probably could have won more. So if things are going right, do it. I don't know. I mean, it'd be tough, maybe tougher than before, but there's always an opportunity for it."
Kyle Larson wishes to "never run a race like Bristol"
The 31-year-old driver secured a fifth-place finish in the recent Food City 500 race at Bristol Motor Speedway. However, despite a respectable top five finish, Larson hopes to never race at a circuit like Sunday's Bristol surface.
The race, which was marred with tire issues for several drivers, featured a total of 54 lead changes between 16 drivers. While NASCAR's Senior Vice President John Probst found the race to be of elite quality, numerous drivers had varying opinions.
Kyle Larson, who secured a total of 44 points from the short-track concrete race, told Autoweek after the race:
"I’ve never ran a race like that. I hope I never have to run a race like that again. To have to run a race like that every week would not be good, and it’s honestly probably a black eye to Goodyear just with all the rubber that couldn’t get laid down and just wearing through tires and all that."
Despite his frustrations, Kyle Larson currently leads the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 185 points. He won the third race of the season in Las Vegas.
