“I really want to do Adelaide,” Kyle Larson enthusiastically said in early April. Nobody could believe then that in barely two months, the Hendrick Motorsports driver’s tone would entirely change. Larson was aiming for a successful Double attempt in 2025, but that went up in smoke. He underwent twin crashes to seal his fate in the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 with DNFs. Now, a Supercars event also slipped out of his radar.

Kyle Larson was set to contest the Adelaide Grand Final as a wildcard with PremiAir Racing. His plans also involved tackling the circuit’s speedway aboard a Jason Pryde Motorsport sprint car. However, both those aspirations have fizzled out with his loss of confidence.

Why pulling the plug made sense to Kyle Larson

Well, this is hardly what fans would usually expect from the 2021 Cup Series champion. After all, Kyle Larson is a trendsetter in the NASCAR Cup Series, the sprint racing world, and also the IndyCar series. However, his 2025 fortunes in IndyCar fell through. During the Indy 500 race, Larson’s No. 17 car got loose and crashed on lap 91, collecting two other drivers with him.

After he flew to Charlotte, his problems did not cease. Despite starting in the front row and leading 30-odd laps, the No. 5 HMS Chevrolet had mechanical problems from the start. The disastrous day climaxed on lap 246 of the Coca-Cola 600 when Larson fatally damaged his car in a ‘Big One’ after Daniel Suárez came spinning into him.

These gigantic losses proved too costly for Kyle Larson’s motivation. Hence, he decided to pull the plug on his Supercars ambitions. According to Speedcafe, Larson informed key stakeholders that he will not be going ahead with his Adelaide racing plans. This marks the second year in a row that a NASCAR Cup Series driver has canceled his Supercars plans, following Kyle Busch’s abandoned wildcard last year.

Larson expressed his realistic opinions about racing in Australia at this point: “I would like to race. It could be fun. It’s just that there is a lot that goes into it, logistically. It’s even tougher than doing Indy. You would have to be down there for two or three weeks.” He added sadly, “If not this year, then down the road. Another time.”

The Adelaide event is the only Supercars race to be held outside the 36-race NASCAR Cup Series season. Along with this convenience, Kyle Larson appeared to be the perfect candidate, given his High Limit sprint car victory in Perth last December. However, he had downplayed his chances from the very beginning: “I know these Australian racers and Supercars drivers are extremely good. So I would not be surprised to run last.” Presently, hints are rising that his teammate Chase Elliott—NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver and also a NAPA ambassador—could be a serious option. However, no deal has surfaced yet.

Even a prominent IndyCar veteran had not been optimistic about Kyle Larson’s chances.

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That level of versatility is hard to achieve

When Shane Van Gisbergen appeared in NASCAR, shockwaves rocked the sport. The three-time Bathurst champion has been a Supercars motorsports phenomenon, so nobody expected him to adapt to a wholly different discipline soon. However, the Kiwi racer shocked everyone to the core when he picked up a trophy on his Cup Series debut at the Chicago Street Race. According to IndyCar veteran James Hinchcliffe, that was not a coincidence. He attributed SVG’s win to his already-established road racing expertise as an expert V8 Supercars driver. In the meantime, his competitors lacked the same road racing skills, having grown up on ovals and short tracks.

James Hinchcliffe talked about SVG’s win: “One of those guys had ever been on a street circuit before. That’s a huge advantage, right? The way the timing played out. There were a couple of things that sort of played into that.” Hence, Hinchcliffe severely downplayed Kyle Larson’s chances of excelling immediately in Supercars. He said in March 2025, “If you’re gonna give him [Larson] a half day of testing at Winton and then throw him to the mountain or any track against some of the best V8 Supercar drivers on the planet who have been doing it their whole careers… Yeah, like, no. He’s not going to win. I’m sorry. Nobody’s that good.”

Evidently, Kyle Larson had several hints that his Supercars ambitions would not play out this year. With all his offshore plans at a halt, he can focus solely on his NASCAR Cup Series season.