Kyle Larson taking a page out of Max Verstappen's book?

It's no secret up and down the NASCAR garage that Kyle Larson is the consensus most talented driver in the Cup Series right now. Quite frankly, he has been for some time.

His statistics, which include one championship, 29 wins, 119 top five finishes, 182 top 10 finishes, and an average finish of 14.05, don't necessarily shine as bright as some of the others on the grid, but if you put everybody on the current grid in equal machinery, Larson would be a safe bet to complete a lap the quickest, and hustle the car the most.

What separates him from the rest, particularly in NASCAR itself, is his versatility and pure passion for other forms of racing. Most drivers would take a few off days, or even an off weekend during the season, and simply chill out and recharge. Larson, however, continues to race whatever, wherever, and whenever he can.

Whether it be the Chili Bowl Nationals, a prestigious dirt midget event which Larson has won several times, the Indianapolis 500/Coca-Cola 600 Memorial Day Double, or any other random, local sprint car events, he does it all, and he does it well.

Sometimes, it can even seem like his passion for these extracurricular races can exceed his passion and enjoyment for NASCAR, even when that's where the spotlight and big bucks are.

That all makes you wonder: how much longer will Larson give himself as a NASCAR Cup Series driver?

To suggest Larson doesn't or has never truly cared about NASCAR or his career in the sport would be bordering on insane. You don't race 38 weekends in a 52-week calendar year for over 10 years if you're not fully invested. You certainly wouldn't be winning numerous races and competing for championships every year since 2021 if that were the case.

If you were to instead say that his ultimate passion and goals lie in other forms of racing, however, there's more than likely some truth there. And there's nothing wrong with that, as long as Larson is still competing at a high level and appears happy doing it, which he very clearly still is.

But when asked by Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass if he would still be happy if won six NASCAR Cup Series races every year but didn't win a championship, which happened in 2024, Larson replied with an interesting take.

"Having a championship already allowed me to get over (the lost title fights), more so this past season. The (playoff) format is really difficult, when it comes down to just one race at the end... I think we could win 20 races in a year, and still not win the championship, and I wouldn't be surprised."

Kyle Larson

We've seen a few drivers over the past couple of years complaining about the controversial playoff format, that championships aren't won like they used to be won, and that they don't matter as much anymore.

But deep, deep down in their souls, they all know they want one, or even need one. In the case of Denny Hamlin, who is still without a title in his otherwise illustrious career, it could even change his legacy.

Larson hasn't specifically complained about anything, but him implying that the pain from several lost title fights doesn't really weigh on him because he already has a championship should raise a lot of eyebrows.

While these feelings are more of an indictment of the playoff format itself in the eyes of the drivers, not being heartbroken after a championship defeat could suggest he's not fully happy with how things are in the sport, and given his love for other forms of racing, potentially feels he has better things to chase.

While very different on the surface, this possible internal dilemma feels similar to the one Max Verstappen may be finding himself in.

Larson and Max Verstappen, while competing in two complete different forms of motorsport, are very similar in the sense that they are the two drivers possessing the most God-given talent on their respective grids.

Larson knows it all too well, given the fact he name-dropped Verstappen in an interview last year by suggesting he could beat Verstappen in a one-on-one showdown, a comment which sparked a huge debate across the racing world.

Oddly enough, the two superstar drivers also find themselves in a similar, theoretical boat, where their times in NASCAR and Formula 1 appear to be in question. While Verstappen has unsurprisingly been much more vocal about potentially retiring from Formula 1 early, it does appear they feel this way for similar reasons.

Both drivers are seemingly dissatisfied to some degree or another with the direction of the sport, both of them have other goals in motorsport they wish to pursue, and in turn, likely feel that the calendars of 38 races for NASCAR and 24 for Formula 1 are too long and demanding.

Of course, any driver from either series could leave at any time for these exact reasons. However, these scenarios need to be taken a little more seriously with Larson and Verstappen because of their young age and just who they are.

If an older driver such as Kyle Busch or Lewis Hamilton, both legends in their own rights, decides to leave, they're probably calling it a career. If Larson or Verstappen leave, however, that particular series instantly loses its most talented driver, with years of their prime still in the tank, to go and do something else, possibly even in a rival series.

Verstappen's situation has lot more proof in the pudding, while Larson has never gone on record and suggested he could leave NASCAR soon. Either driver leaving their sport in the next half-decade at the earliest seems unlikely.

But with the notion of racing into your mid to late-40s becoming more normalized lately, the thought of either Verstappen or Larson doing exactly that, and not at least venturing anywhere else first, seems incredibly unlikely. Their days in their current series may be more numbered than most realize.