After the race length in NASCAR’s race at North Wilkesboro came into question, it’s reigning Cup champion Kyle Larson whose comments have come under the scanner for fans. 

Traditional NASCAR fans want things to continue just the way they were, and longer race lengths, which test the endurance levels of both drivers and cars, are an essential part of keeping things the same. 

Kyle Larson was asked for his opinions on the same during a media interaction in Indianapolis ahead of this weekend’s Brickyard 400. The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports driver replied, “Yes, I agree a lot of our Cup races are too long. Three hours is too long.”

Jeff Gluck of The Athletic posted Larson’s response on X, and the comments section was flooded. One fan posted a picture of Red Byron, the first-ever NASCAR-sanctioned race winner from 1948, and wrote a long comment calling out Larson for complaining. 

The fan wrote, “@KyleLarsonRacin has a streak of crashing and fading and then complains the races are “too long.” Coincidence? Larson would have really complained in the manual steering days when real men drove real stock cars without cool suits for four, five, and six hours. So many of today’s @NASCAR millionaires are pampered prima donnas.”

It wasn’t the only comment that went hard at Larson for sharing his opinions on reducing the length of races.

Larson’s criticisms come when the talk centres around two factors: one is the race length, the other is the extended amount of time it takes to complete a race with long cautions for both incidents and stage changes. 

Not only that, but NASCAR also faces an issue of not having cool suits that are reliable. Rather, the mechanics of the car often lead to cooling system mechanics not being prioritized despite high temperatures within the cockpits. 

Fans left annoyed with discussions around race length

NASCAR traditionalists think that the current drivers have it too easy. Cars are reliable, power steering, amped up safety measures, and minimal contact leading to cautions are just a few of the things that make the life of modern-day NASCAR drivers easier. 

Fan comments on Gluck’s post of Larson’s comment didn’t just take a dig at Kyle Larson but also modern-day drivers on the whole. One comment read, “These drivers are so soft nowadays what a damn shame.”

Another comment highlighted how fans want the issues to be addressed. “Just now seeing this. Not looking at other comments, just going to give you my opinion for what it’s not worth. 3 hour races are fine. 10 minutes per caution is not fine. Constant wrecking and riding around under yellow for 1/3+ of a race is not ok.”

A fan’s comment centred around another solution. The comment read, “We have 4, count em 500 mile races & the 600. Wasn’t that long ago 500 miles were the norm. IMHO we’ve contracted enough. If you want to cut back something let’s start with length of the season. Don’t cut races but compact the schedule, could be done with creative thinking.”

Another opinion was on why fans, especially those who travel to the racetracks deserve to see longer races. A fan wrote, “Because as fans that are going to the races and spending hundreds of dollars nobody wants to spend all day in traffic for a 2.5 hour race and if yall that get paid good money covering the sport or the drivers don't like it go to nhra so its 3-5 seconds a race”

The fans have made it clear that they don’t have an issue with the race lengths. 

What are your thoughts? Let us know. 

Read more at RFK Racing Digest.

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason