Kyle Larson reflects on 20th anniversary of Drive for Diversity program: 'I think that's really important'

In the last two weeks, three alumni of the NASCAR Driver for Diversity program have won races, including Kyle Larson on Sunday. The other two are, of course, Daniel Suárez at Atlanta in Week 2 and Rajah Caruth in the Truck Series this past weekend in Las Vegas.

Drive for Diversity and its Rev Racing team in ARCA and the Truck Series have done a lot for drivers currently in NASCAR.

This season as a whole has been a big bright spot for D4D alumni. Nick Sanchez, Daniel Suárez, Rajah Caruth, and Kyle Larson have all picked up wins this season and they are all D4D drivers past or current.

After winning the Pennzoil 400, Larson was asked about the 20th anniversary of D4D and the importance of these recent wins.

“Well, now that you mention it, yeah, I think that’s really important,” Larson said in the post-race press conference. “That’s really cool, with Suárez winning last week was super proud and happy for Rajah on Friday night not only because it’s Rajah and everything that he means to the sport, but with Hendrickcars.com on his truck, and then myself winning here today, it is pretty cool for sure.

The D4D program was good for my career. Kind of gave me my introduction into stock car racing and gained a lot of experience not only on the racetrack but off of it, as well, with everything that they offered there at Rev Racing when I was there.

I’m sure it’s changed quite a bit since 2012, but regardless, they’ve produced some great drivers, and it’s cool to see. Hopefully, we can add some more D4D guys on to the new championship list down the road.”

Kyle Larson is hoping to pick up another win for the D4D alumni.

Kyle Larson should be favorite at Phoenix

While we don’t know the numbers yet, I bet Larson is a favorite this week. He was the overall betting favorite for Las Vegas and came up big. The Hendrick Motorsports driver swept both stages and took the win. It looked very familiar to his Las Vegas playoff race from last fall.

Larson not only took the win, he shot up to take the overall points lead in the Cup Series. Based on how well he has done at Phoenix in the past, I expect him to maintain his points lead, and likely earn a top-5 finish.

Now, there are a few factors that could play into this weekend. The first one is William Byron. If Byron is just as fast as he was last spring in this race, then he will be a contender all day. Then there is Ross Chastain. Chastain won the season finale at Phoenix in 2023 and is looking to score another quick win.

Chastain made mistakes on pit road that cost him in Vegas. With his Trackhouse teammate already scoring a win at Atlanta, I think Chastain is even more hungry to go to Victory Lane.

Kyle Larson has started the season off strong. There was nothing but dominance on the track yesterday. Now, he will try and do it again at Phoenix.