Jeff Gordon Confesses the Double Duty Failure ‘Humbled Kyle Larson’

2025 NASCAR Cup Series season was one the most chaotic year of Kyle Larson’s racing career. The Hendrick Motorsports veteran survived a tough mid-season performance slump, to secure the championship despite not winning a single race since Kansas in May. It was the supreme consistency and bad luck of Denny Hamlin in the finale that earned him the Cup.

The major reason for the slump, was his failed Indy 500-Coke 600 Double attempt, when his poor luck ruined his chances in both events. According to Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon it was a humbling moment for Kyle Larson, and it was the first time ever he has seen the confidence of the two times champion going down.

You think about the double, the month of May, the 600. It’s the first time I saw his confidence brought down a notch. I think it was a humbling experience.

Jeff Gordon said via nascar.com.

The two times Cup Series champion though doesn’t have the same feeling about the mid-season challenge. He admitted that the performance drop that followed him everywhere he raced in the 2025 mid-week has more to do with the timing, that it being caused by his poor Indy 500 run, which also ended any hopes of him coming back to race in the iconic event anytime soon.

I would say ‘No,’ but then it’s hard to argue with the timing of all that. I had a great season going to that point, then had a couple of bad weeks at Indy and went into the 600, and then all my racing kind of took a dip — Cup racing, sprint car racing, all that.

Kyle Larson said.

The veteran racer admitted that it was not just his performance that dropped in the time, as the car he got were also weren’t good enough. Kyle Larson reiterated that the couple of bad weeks he has had was just bad timing.

You could argue that, OK, our cars took a dip in performance as well, but still … I guess maybe it did, but it was just bad timing — I don’t know.

Kyle Larson added.

Kyle Larson never expected to win 2025 championship

In a separate conversation, the Hendrick Motorsports driver also shared how unexpected the 2025 championship win was for him. Though it wasn’t as dominant as his 10-win 2021 season, he earned the second career title with grid and determination. Being a two-time champion was never on the table when he was racing at Chip Ganassi Racing.

Second one was cool just because it was a bit unexpected. The way our race was playing out, we still had a great year, but like not as dominant when we won the first time…I’m a two-time NASCAR champion because… like never really never really thought of winning a championship back when I was racing for Ganassi.

Kyle Larson said.

This is a feeling many in the racing community as shared, as a handful expected Kyle Larson to win the championship despite going winless in the last 24 races of the season. It would be interesting see how the title win is going to remembered when his legacy is being discussed.

Also Read: Kyle Larson Confesses He “Never Really Thought” of Being Two Times Cup Champion When at CGR

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Join our newsletter to receive exclusive updates and curated insights directly to your inbox.

Subscribe NOW