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NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson is publicly advocating for more significant changes to the NextGen car, arguing that the current platform has made the racing experience “the same thing” at every track. Speaking ahead of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 18, 2025, Larson expressed cautious optimism about the new rules package being tested this weekend but made it clear he wants broader adjustments across the entire season.
“I’m just excited to try something new. I feel like so long in the NextGen era it’s just every track we go to, it’s just the same thing,” Larson said during a media session Friday at Daytona. “I’m happy for a change. I would be open to changing packages at other tracks just to spice things up, because it gets kind of repetitive each year.”
The Hendrick Motorsports driver, who pilots the No. 5 Chevrolet, specifically pointed to the lack of competitive variety as a key reason for his stance. He noted that the same drivers tend to dominate week after week, using Ryan Blaney’s victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway as a recent example.
“You see Ryan Blaney win Loudon. He won Loudon last year. It’s like the same guys run up front every week that did the year previous,” Larson said.
The new rules package for Saturday’s Daytona race is designed to reduce downforce, theoretically encouraging more pack racing and potential chaos. Larson, while intrigued, admitted his team’s simulations suggested the change might not be as dramatic as hoped.
“I was like, ‘Tell me how crazy it’s going to be this week.’ They’re like, ‘Yeah, it’s less downforce, but then you just raise the front of your car and you get all that downforce back, or a lot of it back. I’m not sure. I hope it’s a lot different,” Larson explained.
Ironically, Larson — who has often criticized the wreck-heavy racing at superspeedways — now finds himself hoping for the kind of chaos that could break the monotony. “It’s weird because a lot of us complain that Daytona and Talladega and tracks are too chaotic and there’s crashing and all this stuff. Then, it’s like it got so boring, we want the chaos, so that’s why we’re at this point of changing the package,” he said.
The 32-time Cup Series winner’s comments come as NASCAR continues to gather data on the NextGen car, which debuted in 2022. While the car has been praised for closer racing on intermediate tracks, critics — including Larson — argue that it has reduced the distinctiveness of different venues. The defending champion’s call for more variation aligns with broader industry discussions about the future of the sport’s technical regulations.
“I think we need to keep experimenting,” Larson added. “Not every track needs the same package. We’ve got short tracks, road courses, superspeedways — why treat them all the same? It makes the season feel like a loop.”
Industry analysts note that Larson’s voice carries weight given his status as a two-time Cup champion and one of the most marketable drivers in the series. If he continues to push for changes, NASCAR may be forced to accelerate its planned evolution of the NextGen car.
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 will serve as a key test case. If the reduced-downforce package produces the kind of unpredictable, multi-car racing Larson hopes for, it could pave the way for similar experiments at other tracks later this season. If not, the pressure for more dramatic overhauls will only grow.
For now, Larson is keeping an open mind but making his stance clear: “I’m ready for more. Same thing every week gets old. Let’s try something different — at Daytona, at Loudon, everywhere.”
With the green flag at Daytona set for Saturday evening, all eyes will be on whether the new package delivers the shake-up Larson and many fans are craving.
