Larson pulls out Talladega win to take control of Chase
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Kyle Larson’s team needed directions at Talladega Superspeedway to find the NASCAR driver after his first victory at the mammoth 2.66-mile oval.
“It’s hard to believe,” crew chief Cliff Daniels said after Larson gained 10 spots on Sunday’s final lap for his first victory in 24 starts at the treacherous track in Alabama. “I had to ask where victory lane was. I’ve never seen the place; didn’t even know where it was.”
The Chase points leader won’t need help finding his way if Larson celebrates a third Cup Series championship during the next two weeks.
Larson and Hendrick Motorsports know their way around the season’s final two tracks as well as anywhere on the NASCAR schedule.
With a 73-point lead over Denny Hamlin, a strong performance Sunday at Martinsville Speedway could make Larson the first driver in Chase history to clinch the title before the season finale.
Hendrick is NASCAR’s winningest team at Martinsville with 31 victories (including wins in seven of the past 12 races). Larson has eight consecutive top 10s (including a 2023 win) at the 0.526-mile oval.
He is even better at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where the Cup season ends Nov. 8. Larson has two wins at the 1.5-mile track, is tied for second in top fives (six) and ranks fourth in average finish.
Martinsville and Homestead are stronger fits for Larson’s aggressive style than the unpredictable draft of Talladega, which ranked among his worst tracks in Cup and seemed a major title roadblock.
A disastrous 34th-place finish at Phoenix Raceway left Larson clinging to a five-point lead, and five former Talladega winners were within striking distance.
It’s no wonder he was much looser after surviving the caution-plagued stress of 500 miles at Talladega, where the nine drivers behind him in the Chase standings were involved in incidents Sunday.
“I feel good,” Larson said. “Never in a million years would I have imagined leaving here plus-73. That makes the win feel even way cooler.”
Kyle Larson, right, celebrates with his children Owen, Audrey and Cooper after his win in a NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday in Talladega, Ala. (AP photo)