Kyle Larson is known for his adaptability across different forms of motorsports, and according to him, there’s a very specific reason behind his trademark precision behind the wheel. He recently opened up about how his driving background has shaped his style and why he believes both he and Christopher Bell have the ‘smoothest hand’ in the entire NASCAR field.
Two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Larson has been regarded as one of the most versatile and complete drivers in modern motorsports, excelling across NASCAR, dirt sprint cars, and midgets. Just like Larson, Bell also comes from very similar racing backgrounds, as the Joe Gibbs Racing driver started in karting and progressed through sprint cars and midgets before becoming a top NASCAR star.
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In an appearance on “The Driver’s Project Podcast,” Kyle Larson offered fascinating insight into the raw data available to NASCAR teams, explaining why he and his rival Bell stand out from the field.
Here’s what Larson said:
“We have all this data that we can look at I can see every driver’s data, telemetry, whatever—the squiggly lines of throttle, brake, steering, RPM, speed, whatever. Bell and I, I would say, have the smoothest hands in the garage. And I would assume it’s from our background.”
While many drivers’ inputs show sharp, jagged movements, Larson and Bell’s data looks completely different.
“Ours will just be nice and round like a round little hill, and everybody else will be like jagged, and I don’t know why that is or if one’s better or not, but I just feel from our sliding, bouncing through holes, lots of shock travel, and tall sidewalls, we just learn a feel; we can kind of just get that down to a fine feel. I’m definitely glad I grew up racing the cars that I did.” Larson continued.
Look into Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell’s 2025 NASCAR Cup Series campaign
Kyle Larson claimed the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship, his second career Cup title, after finishing third at the season-finale race at Phoenix Raceway. His path to the championship wasn’t about dominating every race but maximizing every event. 2025 proved that consistency, clutch timing, and avoiding major pitfalls during the season can trump sheer dominance.
The Hendrick Motorsports star wrapped up his campaign with a second career title, three wins, one pole, 15 top-5s, and 22 top-10 finishes with an average finish of 13.1.
Whereas Christopher Bell had a breakout season, recording the best average finish of 11.1 among full-time drivers in 2025.
Despite missing out on the Championship 4 appearance, his 2025 campaign remains a highly impressive season: a four-win campaign, 13 top-5s, and 22 top-10 finishes and a clear affirmation of his skill and consistency in Cup-level competition. He finished the season at fifth place in the final championship standings.
Edited by Yash Soni
