“I was trying really hard to pace myself.” Kyle Larson said these words about the last section of the Ambetter Health 400 race at Kansas. Despite leading for 221 of 267 laps en route to his season’s third victory, the Hendrick Motorsports star almost lost his sparkle after the second stage. His teammate, Chase Elliott, toppled his lead, and Larson had to work hard to get it back. This struggle lies nowhere but in NASCAR’s much-criticized 2022 innovation, as Chase Briscoe believes.
NASCAR may be the apex circle track series, but its speeds are far lower. While the Next-Gen car produces 670 hp at 3200 pounds, a sprint car can reach up to 900 hp with a 1400-pound weight. This simple contrast can create a great disparity in speed. Chase Briscoe believes that Kyle Larson’s experience in handling both helps him.
Chase Briscoe delivers blow to NASCAR’s innovation
Well, the Joe Gibbs Racing recruit had some tough shoes to fill from 2025 onwards. Chase Briscoe took over the No. 19 Toyota from 2017 Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. However, Briscoe’s background not only in NASCAR but also in sprint racing made him perfect. So Briscoe understands well why Kyle Larson was super busy heading to the Cup Series event in Kansas. He enrolled in High Limit Racing’s race at Lakeside Speedway on Friday. Wheeling the No. 57 sprint car for Silva Motorsports, Larson faced a wild crash involving his brother-in-law, Brad Sweet, and Kerry Madsen. He could eke out a 24th-place finish while Rico Abreu led the final 20 laps to win. After this speedy mess, Larson could probably take on anything.
Sprint cars, as aforementioned, operate at way higher speeds than NASCAR’s stock cars. Similarly, IndyCar vehicles can go over 230 MPH while NASCAR cars max out at 200 MPH. In 2024, Kyle Larson himself achieved the highest speed, 190.36 MPH, in Texas while also competing in the Indy 500. In a post-race interview, his rival Chase Briscoe highlighted this factor, bashing NASCAR’s Next-Gen car. “I feel like he goes and runs the sprint car, obviously the Indy car…For me, when I run the sprint car a lot, you come here, and it just feels like slow motion. It feels slow. I mean, obviously, we’re going way faster. But just the rate of speed that things happen in a sprint car, and I’m sure an IndyCar as well – it makes this feel very slow, truthfully. I feel like that makes it where it’s just way easier for guys that are doing it all the time.”
“[@KyleLarsonRacin]’s willing to risk it all, and he doesn’t even think about it.”@chasebriscoe on Larson’s dominant speed at Kansas, finishes fourth after holding on to worn tires in the end. pic.twitter.com/GgovuYOyCV
— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) May 11, 2025
So, Kyle Larson probably found the NASCAR Cup Series a piece of cake after his Lakeside chaos. He swept up all three stages and finished with a comfortable margin over his competitors. Chase Briscoe, who finished in the top-five himself, hailed Larson: “I mean, Kyle’s an incredible race car driver. I always say he’s the greatest of all time. But yeah, me and my dad talked about it a lot where Kyle goes and runs a sprint car race, right? And it could be for 5000 to win or 100, it doesn’t matter to him. Like he’s willing to risk it all, and he doesn’t even think about it. It definitely separates him.”
Clearly, Chase Briscoe is head over heels in praise for Kyle Larson, like everyone else. The JGR driver himself had a very fateful day, recovering from early damage/
Defying an early-race disadvantage
Kyle Larson overcame a wild sprint car race wreck on Friday to win on Sunday. Similarly, Chase Briscoe also had to cross immense hurdles. During the Cup Series practice on Saturday, Goodyear’s flat tires plagued several drivers, including Briscoe. He ranked 31st on single-lap speed and 32nd on 10-lap averages. Crew chief James Small also took a risk as he elected to make unapproved changes overnight, knowing Briscoe would drop to the rear come the start of the Advent Health 400. During the first stage, an issue on pit road during a cycle of green-flag pit stops, Briscoe improved to 17th. In Stage 2 again, Briscoe could go no further than 17th. During the final stage, however, Briscoe dodged a trio of wrecks.
Chase Briscoe displayed his best performance in the final march to the checkered flag. He wheeled the No. 19 Toyota to a 4th-place finish. Briscoe reflected on his struggles post-race: “We just started in the back, so it made it tough to know what we needed. Even that first stage, we had a terrible pit stop during the green flag pit cycle and we came out about three-quarters of a straightway behind [Kyle Larson] and we were able to run him down and pass him and get back on the lead lap, then in the second stage, we kind just lost our magic.” But at the end, it all worked out: “Finally, [in] the third stage, we kind of found [our magic] back and our car started going forward again and was able to go from 17th or 18th back up to fourth.”
Joe Gibbs’ driver was in a determined stance at Kansas, defying the obstacles in his path just like Kyle Larson. We can only imagine the heights that Chase Briscoe will achieve in the rest of the season.
The post “This Feels Very Slow” – Joe Gibbs’s Wild Card Uses Carefree Kyle Larson to Fire Shots at NASCAR’s Incompetence appeared first on EssentiallySports.