Kyle Larson would be fine if NASCAR removed the digital mirror from the Next Gen car. Larson discussed the idea as a way to reduce aero blocking on this week’s episode of Stacking Pennies with Corey LaJoie and Ryan Flores.
The digital rear-view system debuted with the Next Gen car in 2022. Drivers can run the camera, a standard mirror or both. MotorBiscuit has explained how the system works.
Larson said he did not use the camera system at first.
“Rear-view cameras, so when the Next Gen first came out, I did not run it for the first year or two, maybe. I tried it a handful of times and the depth perception of it, I wasn’t comfortable with it.”
He said he has since gotten used to it. He also admitted it helps a driver defend.
“And now I’m comfortable with it, but yes, it does make blocking way easier.”
Larson explained why a standard mirror would make defending harder.
“And I mean, this mirror is vibrating in the car. You can’t really like tell exactly where they are, how close they are, stuff like that, where the digital mirror is locked in solid.”
He said the camera’s picture quality gives drivers a clear view of the car behind them.
“It’s HD. You can literally see their hands and their eyes. It’s that clear. Yeah, if they made a rule, I’m cool with it.”
Blocking has been a topic in recent Chase races. At Las Vegas, Chase Briscoe held off Larson to win, and Larson finished second. Briscoe told NBC Sports that “the aero is such a big deal” when defending. MotorBiscuit covered the race.
Larson said the camera has helped and hurt him over the years.
“It’s definitely won me some races. And then, I also feel like I’ve lost some races from it.”
He was not sure it decided Briscoe’s win at Las Vegas.
“It’s hard to say. I mean, Briscoe is a great defender anyways, so he probably was going to do a well enough job without the digital mirror.”
Larson added that he does not see the need for the camera.
“I don’t even know why we have it, but yeah, I mean, I’d be fine with it if they wanted to get rid of it.”
Larson is not the only driver open to the change. Ty Gibbs said in August that he “would 100 percent be for” going back to traditional mirrors.
The Next Gen car has drawn criticism for how hard it is to pass. Larson recently said Cup races with O’Reilly Series cars would still be great racing. MotorBiscuit has his full comments.