Kyle Larson had quite a 2024 Cup Series season, didn’t he? The Hendrick Motorsports driver may not have made it to the Championship 4, but he was by far the most consistent driver at NASCAR’s highest level. The 32-year-old showed his dominance across 36 races and even attempted ‘The Double’ by competing in the Coca-Cola 600 and the Indianapolis 500 on the same day. Despite a memorable campaign that ended with a disappointing finish, it seems like Larson isn’t being given the respect he deserves.
Autosport recently revealed its ‘Top 50 drivers of 2024’ and Larson was ranked a lowly 16th, while Joey Logano and several Formula 1 drivers were placed higher. The ranking didn’t go down well with several NASCAR fans, and many took to social media to express their disappointment.
Reflecting on Kyle Larson’s bittersweet 2024
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
Kyle Larson is widely regarded as one of NASCAR’s most talented drivers and rightly so. The 32-year-old may only have one Cup Series championship to his name, but few racers are as consistent or dominant on the racetrack as the California native. Driving the No. 5 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports, Larson secured six wins during the 2024 season, more than any other driver at the sport’s highest level.
It’s not just about how many Kyle Larson won, but also how he did it as well. At the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, the racer broke a longstanding record, held by Dale Earnhardt (1987), Matt Kenseth (2005), and Kyle Busch (2008) by leading 462 laps out of 500, the most at the 0.533-mile short-track in three decades. Despite it all, the California native was only ranked 16th in the standings, prompting The Athletic journalist Jeff Gluck to write, “Autosport’s world driver rankings do quite a disservice to Kyle Larson here.”
Kyle Larson’s sixth-place finish in the driver’s standing doesn’t paint an accurate picture of the season he has had. Such is the Hendrick Motorsports driver’s versatility that he was a constant threat on short, intermediate, road courses and superspeedway tracks, but ultimately fell victim to the playoff format. The No. 5 Chevy driver led a staggering 1700 laps in the Cup Series, more than any other driver in the competition, and could have won the regular series championship had he not missed out on the Coca-Cola 600 while attempting ‘The Double’.
Larson won the 2024 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway when the iconic oval was revived for the first time since 2020 and his triumph at the Charlotte Roval made him a title favorite. However, he narrowly missed out on a spot in the Championship 4 after failing to win any of the Round of 8 playoff races, which may go on to explain why Joey Logano is ranked one spot higher in Autosports’ rankings.
Larson reflected on his season during an appearance on Race Industry Week. “It was a great year. Yeah, I was super, super happy with the performance of our race team all year long. We had a ton of speed from race one to race 38. Obviously, you want to make the final four and have a shot at the championship, but I also understand the format and know kind of how crazy it can be.” The HMS driver showed maturity and pride while dissecting his season. Larson was indeed head and shoulders above his competition but accepts that the playoff format is a different game altogether. The 2021 Champion is also aiming to attempt ‘The Double’ once again this year, but his main goal will be getting back to the pinnacle of NASCAR.
The decision to rank the HMS driver a lowly 16th didn’t sit well with NASCAR fans, many of whom didn’t hesitate to make their disapproval known.
NASCAR fans dissatisfied by Autosports’ rankings
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
Trending
As expected, it didn’t take long for NASCAR fans to defend Kyle Larson on social media after the No. 5 Chevy driver was placed below eventual-winner Joey Logano, who won four times in the 2024 Cup Series season. Citing the win-and-in playoff system as the reason for the Hendrick Motorsports driver’s disappointing ranking, a fan wrote on X, “Another problem with the playoffs … third parties can’t understand how good a year 5 had, because your champion isn’t indicative of your most successful driver.”
Echoing that sentiment, another fan questioned Autosports’ ranking choices by claiming that Larson is a far superior driver than Team Penske’s Logano, even though the latter won his third championship trophy in seven years. The X user wrote, “I’m sorry but Logano ahead of Larson? No disrespect to Joey but this is just comical. Larson would drive circles around most of the guys ahead of him.” Taking note of several Formula 1 drivers such as Oscar Piastri, George Russell, Carlos Sainz, and Charles Leclerc being ranked higher than the HMS star, a motorsports enthusiast couldn’t help but make a subtle dig at them by saying, “Larson is the best guy on the list at driving a racecar that isn’t a high-performance computer.”
Having made a name for himself on dirt tracks, Kyle Larson is known for his versatility, not just in stock cars but across other motorsports disciplines as well, including open-wheel racing. Hailing his talent across different formats and track types, a fan went on to write, “I will go on record in saying that Larson is a top-5 driver overall in motorsports. He can drive anything with four wheels.” Sharing a conspiracy theory about the logic behind Autosports’ ranking system, a fan wrote on X, “The rankings are heavily biased (intentionally or unintentionally) to F1 and Euro-centric racing.”
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
Do you think Kyle Larson should have been ranked higher by Autosport? Let us know in the comments!