Well, it is not a good time to be Kyle Larson. Almost a year ago, the Hendrick Motorsports driver was soaring in the high clouds. Just after clinching his third Knoxville Nationals victory, Larson boldly declared his superiority over Max Verstappen. “I know in my mind I am better than him as an all-around driver,” he said. Several debates ensued as people weighed each driver’s worth. But now, even Larson has withdrawn that confidence.

For the past few weeks, Kyle Larson has been struggling. Granted, he fetched top-ten finishes at Nashville (8th) and Michigan (5th). However, the weekends around these finishes have been too painful to forget. So, Larson is now adopting a humble attitude.

Kyle Larson officially gets off his high horse

Well, at this time last year, many people strongly agreed with the ‘golden boy’s claims. Challenging Max Verstappen, touted as the ‘greatest driver in the world’, is no mean feat, and Larson had the stats to prove it. Besides his dirt racing glory, he qualified sixth and fetched an 18th-place finish and Rookie of the Year in his Indy 500 debut. Both Larson and Verstappen have also won Best Driver ESPY awards. However, Larson’s misfortune in 2025 cast a dark cloud over this competition.

In his second ‘Double’ attempt, the HMS star crashed out of the Indy 500 on lap 91, due to issues with the hybrid engine. Then, the Coca-Cola 600 also attracted disaster as Larson spun out after leading 34 laps and ended his day for good in a lap 245 ‘Big One’. Now, in the past weekend, Kyle Larson met with fresh disaster in Mexico City.

Barely 7 laps into the Viva Mexico 250 race, the No. 5 Chevy got entangled in a multi-car melee spurred by Kyle Busch. After a sordid 36th-place finish, Larson officially withdrew his moniker of being the ‘GOAT’ in the post-race broadcast: “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.”

Kyle Larson reflected on the love he’s received in 2025 for feats such as attempting the double again and winning his third Chili Bowl Nationals. Naturally, he was more pleased to be compared with NASCAR and IndyCar’s legends who have accomplished things similar to his. He continued, “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.” Tony Stewart is the only driver to complete the Double, so it’s no surprise that Larson draws that parallel. Meanwhile, Mario Andretti was also known for his versatility, being the only man to win the Indy 500 and Daytona 500,

Despite 2025 being a disastrous season in terms of results, Larson still ranks highly among the greats and has a long way left. He chose to see the glass as half full: “But I’m still, I’m only 32 and I’ve got a lot of racing left to do, and I hope I can accomplish a lot more to really feel like I’m deserving of that credit, but I do appreciate it and it just makes me kind of have more drive to try and live up to that hype, I guess.”

However, the poor finishes still stand out as stains on his reputation. Kyle Larson reflected on what went wrong in Mexico City.

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New environment, foreign feel

NASCAR made history last weekend as it ventured onto international soil for the first time since 1958. The Cup Series held a points-paying event at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, a racetrack located at 2,240 meters above sea level. This makes it the highest circuit on the F1 and NASCAR calendars. It poses unique challenges, like the lower oxygen affecting engine power or the high altitude conditions requiring greater acclimatization on the part of drivers. Additionally, the reduced air density also affects the downforce in the cars. That is what Kyle Larson pointed out as the overarching problem in the Viva Mexico 250 race.

According to Kyle Larson, the downforce made it quite difficult for drivers to get the braking point correct. The HMS star pointed out how this discrepancy was not accurately shown in the simulators. He said, “I think you can see a lot of drivers kind of struggling with that yesterday. I think the sim kind of under-predicted that. So all the brake zones, we had to work to kind of back up, and then so you don’t lock up your rear tires and your front tires and whatnot. So yeah, that’s been the most challenging piece I think for almost everybody.”

This braking challenge also turned out to be the cause for Larson’s early end to the Viva Mexico 250. After the race was halted because of rain, the resumption under wet track conditions proved to be an added test, and Kyle Busch failed that test early on. The brakes turned to “ice” according to Rowdy, which led to him spinning out and collecting Kyle Larson and multiple other drivers in the aforementioned Lap 7 crash.

Regardless, Kyle Larson is staying optimistic and taking a more realistic approach at present, focusing on tackling his NASCAR season. As 2025 pushes forward, let us see how he can carve out his GOAT status again.