Defending Cup Series champion Kyle Larson was announced as the cover driver for the ‘NASCAR 26 The Game’, developed by iRacing. However, the fans weren’t pleased with the decision to put Larson as the cover driver and conveyed their discontent.
NASCAR 26 The Game is set to be released later this year in September. The stock car racing series revealed the cover driver for the game ahead of the race weekend in Coronado. As the announcement was made, many fans highlighted how Kyle Busch should’ve been the cover driver.
“Should’ve been Rowdy,” mentioned a user
Another wrote, “Shoulda been KyBu (Kyle Busch)”
“Waiting for the Rowdy Edition,” commented another
Kyle Busch suddenly passed away on May 21, 2026, after battling pneumonia, which progressed into sepsis and led to complications. Many wanted Busch to be on the cover as a tribute to the legend. Some wondered whether the Busch family was even approached by NASCAR and iRacing, as they commented,
“I’m not sure if the Busch family was approached regarding the approval of him being on Cover, if they rejected the idea then cool, if not, then he was robbed”
Some questioned how Joey Logano didn’t get to be on the cover of NASCAR 25 as the defending champion, but Kyle Larson gets the spot all to himself for this year’s game. Christopher Bell, William Byron, and Ryan Blaney were the three drivers in last year’s game.
“So Joey Logano didn’t get a cover in 25 as defending champ but Kyle Larson does now?” commented a user
Another mentioned, “Thank god you can change covers on steam😭😭✌🏾”
Kyle Larson was announced as the cover driver on Thursday by iRacing and NASCAR during a live event. The event included Larson performing donuts on the historic USS Midway aircraft carrier in Coronado.
Kyle Larson ‘not stressed’ about winless Cup series streak
Kyle Larson’s last Cup series race win came over a year ago at the Advent Health 400 in Kansas, the 12th round of the 2025 season. While Larson hasn’t won a race since then, he’s been running in the Top 5 and isn’t stressed about the winless streak.
Speaking on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, Kyle Larson said,
“I feel like, man, we’re doing a good job with what we have. We’re sixth in points, we’re not too far out of fourth. So, yeah, sure I want to be winning right now and all of that, but I’m not going to stress myself out about it either because I understand that there’s still work to be done to get to where we need to be. And two, we’re running inside the top-10, we’re not running outside the top-10.”
“I think that would feel more like a slump. I don’t really feel like we’re in a slump at the moment. So, just gotta keep our heads down, stay focused on us, and it will come together,” he added
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Kyle Larson was in the lead for the majority of the first stage at last weekend’s Cup race at Pocono and finished in P5.
