DOVER, Del. –Kyle Larson won’t sugarcoat that the last two months have been a struggle for the No. 5 team. He considers it the toughest skid in recent memory, predating his Hendrick Motorsports days.
“It’s as tough of a two months that I can remember having, even before [joining] Hendrick,” Larson told a group of reporters on Saturday at Dover Motor Speedway. “It’s been a challenge to stay motivated through it all, but we’re competitors and we love competing and being better. I think that’s what has kept us positive.”
The slip began at the Coca-Cola 600, hours after a disappointing outing in the Indianapolis 500. During the opening laps of NASCAR’s longest race, it looked as though the 2021 Cup champion put Indianapolis in the rearview before tagging the wall multiple times and spinning on the frontstretch. The No. 5 car led 34 laps before getting involved in a second pileup on the frontstretch, ending his evening at 245 laps.
Including Charlotte, Larson has three top-10 finishes in the last eight events. The No. 5 car led for the first time since Charlotte last weekend at Sonoma Raceway (three laps). His average finishing position in that eight-race stretch is 19.75, nearly 10 positions worse than what he registered through the opening 12 races of the 2025 season when the No. 5 team collected a trio of victories and won eight stages.
“It’s definitely the toughest stretch,” Larson added. “When you look at results but even car speed where we rank – I don’t know where we rank, but I can’t imagine it’s at the top.”
With consecutive top 10 finishes in early June at Nashville Superspeedway and Michigan International Speedway, Larson thought the No. 5 team finished better than the speed displayed. The team was still executing a high level.
The misfortune hasn’t been all related to the performance of the No. 5 car. Larson slipped in the rain during the opening laps at Mexico City and was involved in an early incident two races later at EchoPark Speedway. He was spun late in the event at Sonoma Raceway last weekend and placed 35th.
“It’s all snowballed into the next week and it’s been tough to get out of the rut,” Larson stated. “I think through it all, I do believe we will come out the other side even strong. That’s what every team hopes, anyways.
“I’m glad that we’re here at Dover. You never know how the weekend is going to turn out, but statistically it’s been a great track for us.”
Leading into Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark 400 at Dover, Larson has already a busy week. He won Thursday’s Joker’s Jackpot $100,000 at Eldora Speedway in the Kubota High Limit Racing series that he co-owns with his brother-in-law Brad Sweet. Before jetting to “The First State” on Friday evening, he competed in the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car race and finished third. He upset fellow competitor David Gravel with a late battle. The two drivers exchanged words and were called to the World of Outlaws command center to discuss the ending of the race.
Larson considers Gravel a friend and believes the heat has boiled over. He is hoping to attract Gravel to the High Limit series for the 2026 season.
“I do consider him a friend and I would say the hard racing that I show or whatever out there, is more due to the things that have been going on behind the scenes for a year and a half,” Larson said. “I’ve got no hard feelings with David at all. It’s good for the sport to build up the rivalries more, even between the two series and you have two top guys going at it. I think that’s what every sport wants is rivalries and fan bases need it. It’s an authentic one, which is good.”
Inclement weather canceled practice and qualifying at Dover on Saturday. Larson will take the green flag from 25th starting position on Sunday. He has four podium finishes in his last six Dover starts, including a 2019 triumph with Chip Ganassi Racing. Despite the mid-season inconsistency, Larson is only 44 points behind HMS teammate William Byron for the regular season championship battle.