With NASCAR’s present playoff format, it is troublesome to say that any driver, at any level of the season, will be thought-about the only real championship favourite.
In spite of everything, making it to the Championship 4 is an extremely troublesome activity, and with the championship being determined by a single race, an off-day can derail title hopes even after a robust 35-race stretch.
Following the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, nevertheless, the time appears proper to bestow upon Kyle Larson the title of championship favourite.
The numbers converse for themselves: Larson leads the Cup Sequence in victories with 5 and has led 1,551 laps on the season. The intangibles additionally stand out, as Larson and the No. 5 staff have made the Championship 4 twice within the three seasons they’ve been collectively, and received the championship in 2021. In a sport the place expertise reigns supreme, being seasoned veterans of the championship hunt is a big benefit.
Nonetheless, crucial facet in figuring out Larson’s standing because the championship favourite is perhaps previously. A fourth-place end at Talladega on Sunday netted Larson simply his fourth top-10 in 20 begins on the observe that’s been his archnemesis throughout his profession.
The perfect superspeedway race of Larson’s life places the 2021 champ 52 factors above the minimize line going into the Spherical of 12 finale on the Charlotte Roval. The Roval performed host to a Larson victory throughout his 2021 run, however was additionally the top of his postseason story in 2022 – a outcome that might be partially attributed to a middling 18th-place end at Talladega the week prior.
With a bonus over the minimize line that ensures development into the Spherical of 8 – barring a Talladega-sized catastrophe, that’s – Larson ought to encounter a largely stress-free day in Charlotte earlier than heading to the Spherical of 8. The penultimate spherical of the playoffs traces up higher for Larson than another driver within the discipline – he’s received at Las Vegas, Homestead-Miami and Martinsville because the inception of the Subsequent-Gen automotive in 2022.
If Larson advances to the Championship 4, a repeat of his 2021 championship looks like guess. Larson was the championship runner-up to Ryan Blaney in 2023, faltering late as a consequence of a unfastened automotive that simply didn’t have the dealing with that Larson wanted it to have. With a brand new pocket book and loads of motivation on their facet, crew chief Cliff Daniels would have the chance to present Larson precisely the automotive he must win the title.
No driver’s destiny is ever assured within the wacky world of recent NASCAR racing, however with the hurdle of Talladega cleared, Larson’s path to a second championship has been paved in gold.
