Kyle Larson supports "trying something new" with NASCAR Cup car

Larson will lead the field to the green flag at Kansas, but before earning pole position, he offered some thoughts on the current state of Cup Series racing

Criticism surrounding the Generation 7 Cup cars (more commonly known as the Next Gen) has been constant since it was first introduced in 2022. While most of the problems were resolved over time, one remains -- it's insanely difficult to pass. While moving through the field is easier at Kansas, most tracks leave drivers frustrated, feeling stuck and unable to control their own destiny.

Larson, who has won more races than any other driver in the Next Gen era, gave his thoughts on the pushback, which has intensified over the last few races.

“I don't read the media a whole lot, but I would say us drivers were part of the controversy because we were complaining about it just as much as everybody else," said Larson.

"I don't know ... it’s weird. Racing could totally flip this weekend. We could have the next three to five races be really exciting, and everybody's forgotten about the boring races we've had before then. I'm not sure, but I think we all would love to see better racing at every track and all that. We're all greedy people. We're humans. But yeah, just finding that solution, I think, is always tough.”

Watch: Larson: 'It takes everything' to be dominant at 1.5-mile tracks

More horsepower?

Several drivers and many fans have called for NASCAR to increase the horsepower, which currently stands at 670HP. It's up from the 550HP package that defined the end of the Gen-6 era, but still far down from what these cars are capable of.

Larson didn't call for that exactly, but others have floated the idea of increasing power to 750HP. "I think we would be all for trying something new," said Larson. "I don't know if it's going to change the racing drastically or anything. It's a decent size increase, but it's not massive.

"I'd be open for it. I know we all are. I think it's gotten a little bit stale.. the racing obviously, the product and all that. So I think we're in need of a change, a drastic change, to try and help. But yeah, I don't know, I think it would help. It would be a good to start there.”