Kyle Larson Lacked Confidence in Car During His Worst Qualifying Run

Kyle Larson entered the Nashville race weekend hoping to recover from a tough Memorial Day, where he crashed out of both the Coca-Cola 600 and the Indianapolis 500. Hopes were high for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, but the weekend started rough.

Larson was only able to reach 24th place in practice and things didn’t improve in qualifying. He ended up 28th out of 39 cars, making it his lowest qualifying effort so far in the 2025 season.

Among his Hendrick Motorsports teammates, he was also the lowest qualifier. Earlier this year, his worst starting spot was 25th at Talladega, a superspeedway event where he managed to climb back and finish second.

For races not held at drafting tracks, his previous worst start was 19th at Darlington, which ended early for him after a wreck.

After qualifying, Larson shared some details about his struggles with the car.

He said, “Yesterday, I don’t know… I was just kind of loose in and then it was just getting my timing off where the center of the corner was, so it just took all of practice to kind of find a rhythm that fit me and then it was just too late for qualifying.”

Larson admitted he “didn’t really have the confidence” in knowing exactly where to enter the corners or what angles to take. That lack of confidence cost him on Saturday.

Despite this, he believes the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet is better than the 28th starting spot suggests. He also talked about his approach for race day, saying there’s still time to move forward.

Larson mentioned the need to be “patiently aggressive,” using opportunities but not forcing moves that could end up in another crash. He stressed that taking calculated risks would be key during Sunday’s long and challenging race at Nashville Superspeedway.

A win from deep in the field would not be unheard of at this track. Last year, Joey Logano captured a victory at Nashville after starting 26th.

That result offers some hope for Larson and the Hendrick team, who will be aiming to work their way up during the race. Qualifying results show that even with a tough start, strong strategy and execution can help a driver contend by the end of the event.

The No. 5 car has shown speed in previous races this year, and Larson has experience making comebacks. Earlier in the season at Talladega, he started 25th and finished second, proving he’s capable of moving forward even on tough days.

For Nashville, the field includes strong competitors, with Chase Briscoe earning the pole and Joe Gibbs Racing teammates sweeping the front row. Larson’s focus will be on steady progress through the field and avoiding the issues that have hurt him in earlier starts from deeper in the pack.

The Nashville race offers an important chance for him and Hendrick Motorsports to get back on track and put a disappointing Memorial Day weekend behind them. All eyes will be on Larson to see if he can make another charge from the back and pick up much-needed points as the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season continues.