Kyle Larson Publicly Concedes Roger Penske’s & Co.’s Slip Up Behind Homestead Crown

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“Given past history, I just wanted to take the green flag and kick everybody’s a– today.” This was Kyle Larson’s response after snagging his first win of the 2025 season. It was an up-and-down weekend for the driver of the No. 5 car as he was attempting to clean sweep – winning Trucks, Xfinity, and Cup Series races at Homestead Miami. But a late race restart in the Xfinity race foiled his plans to draw level with Kyle Busch.

This win by Larson wasn’t his trademark, where he dominated the procedings, led multiple laps and was out-n-out favorite to win. He just led 19 laps, had to come from a 14th-place starting position, and endure a sketchy pitstop to win his first race at Homestead since 2022.  The driver of the No. 5 car did put on a show for the fans in the grandstand after riding the wall and banging doors with Alex Bowman.

After passing his teammate, Larson held onto the lead and beat Bowman to the finish line. But, this wasn’t the race-defining moment for the HMS star, rather it was a major slip up by the rival camp, Team Penske that helped him to stage a late race comeback.

Kyle Larson admits that Ryan Blaney’s disaster worked out in his favor

Blaney has a history with the 1.5-mile racetrack in Miami. Only last year, during the crucial playoff race, he was cruising towards a win and sealing his spot in the championship race. But Tyler Reddick had other ideas as he made a darting run on the last lap and stole the win from the Penske driver. With a new year came new opportunity to make amends at Miami, and leading 124 laps, he looked like a real threat.

As Larson was trying to find a gap to pass on the No. 23 of Bubba Wallace, Blaney was biding his time to make his move. But, before he could’ve had a shot at contesting for the lead, the engine on the No. 12 car blew up. And this allowed Larson to bid his time and plan out the rest of the race.

“I was just never be able to get to the lead, it’s so difficult to pass there in the Next Gen car. So that third stage, I was just riding behind Bubba and was just kinda waiting for the green lap cycle to start. That didn’t happen because Blaney blew up which was probably beneficial to me because it made that final run extra long. I know I need long runs at Homestead to really stand out.” Larson said this in an interview with Kevin Harvick.
This win also acted as a redemption for Kyle Larson, as he was disappointed after not being able to bag the win in the Xfinity Series race. Sam Mayer certainly played his role in stopping Larson in his tracks, but a win in the Cup Series, along with a playoff spot, was reason enough to celebrate. “Proud of myself. Proud of the team. Just a lot of gritty hard work there today. Super pumped. One of the coolest wins I think in my Cup career just because of all the heartbreak I’ve had here, the heartbreak yesterday. To just keep my head down and keep digging feels really good.”
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – AUGUST 26: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, greets fans as he walks onstage during driver intros prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on August 26, 2023 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
On the flip side, you had Blaney, who just couldn’t get the job done due to mechanical failures. After a decent start to the 2025 season on superspeedway, the Penske star has been mired by bad luck on traditional oval tracks.

All eyes on Martinsville

Out of all drivers, Ryan Blaney, in particular, will be glad to see the NASCAR caravan headed to Martinsville Speedway. After a streak of DNF and engine woes, the driver of the No. 12 car needs a breather and a place where he can feel comfortable. The short oval of Martinsville is just the place where Blaney can finally reinvent himself.

Coincidently, last year, after the Homestead disappointment, the #12 team staged a massive comeback run at Martinsville to book a spot in the championship 4. Well, this was a repeat of 2023 when he won at the track and finished runner-up in Phoenix to clinch his first-ever Bill France Trophy. In the Next Gen era, the worst Blaney has finished at Martinsville is P7. And the other five races have ended in top 5 finishes or race wins.

Right now, the 2023 champ could do with a good points day and a solid top 5 run. But, given his past record at the racetrack, it is just hard to keep him out of clear favorites to win this weekend.

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