HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — Kyle Larson is on the verge of becoming a three-time NASCAR champion.
Larson needs nine points in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday to clinch his third Cup Series title in six years. He gets one point for starting the race and could secure the Bill France Cup long before the checkered flag drops on the 400-mile race.
Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin are the only other drivers who could win the championship, but they are ultimate underdogs.
Larson is looking to become the first back-to-back champion since Jimmie Johnson in 2010; Johnson won five in a row beginning in 2006.
The 34-year-old Larson also would become the 11th driver in NASCAR history with three Cup titles, joining a list that includes seven-time champs Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Johnson. Jeff Gordon has four. Lee Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Tony Stewart and Joey Logano have three.
Larson put himself in position for his latest title with a historic postseason, which is dubbed NASCAR’s Chase for the championship. He won three of the previous nine playoff events and finished in the top 10 in eight of them.
He enjoyed a similar finish while winning it all in 2021, his first season at powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports. He won four of the last five races — including the finale at Phoenix Raceway — while still dealing with questions about how his time ended at Chip Ganassi Racing.
His second title came in stunning fashion last year at Phoenix. He took advantage of a late caution — his crew put on two new tires instead of four — and leaped sentimental favorite Hamlin on pit road with two laps to go. Hamlin didn’t have enough time to catch Larson.
Larson’s third title would be far less shocking. Securing the title was so much of a slam dunk that Larson was the only Cup driver invited to NASCAR’s championship media day Thursday, leading to a parade event that Larson called awkward.
The biggest question was how Larson and his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team would handle the pressure. Larson put that to rest during qualifying Saturday.
“They were debating on if a hot dog is a sandwich and if cereal is a soup,” Larson said. “So I would say they were pretty relaxed. I was surprised by all that.”
Where did Larson weigh in on the discussion?
“The hot dog is not a sandwich and absolutely cereal is not a soup,” he said.
A better question: Would a third Cup title put Larson in the conversation as one of the best drivers in motorsports history?
Parnelli Jones, Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt and Stewart are widely regarded as the best of the best, guys who proved their worth by winning across varying racing series.
Jones won in sprint cars and stock cars around the same time he won the 1963 Indianapolis 500. Andretti won four IndyCar titles, the 1967 Daytona 500 and the 1969 Indianapolis 500. Foyt won four Indy 500s and the 1972 Daytona 500. Stewart won the 1997 IndyCar championship, three Cup Series titles and currently is racing dragsters at the top level, the NHRA.
Larson raced twice in the Indy 500 and has won just about every dirt-racing event around the world.
“I think he’s the best race car driver in the world," retired NASCAR driver and current NBC Sports race analyst Jeff Burton said. “He wins in everything he does, and they’re all completely different cars and tracks. And he’s racing against the best in every discipline.”
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