Kyle Larson went an entire 26-race regular season without taking a single win, yet a mere 10 Chase races later, he stood tall as a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion. The 34-year-old Californian secured his second consecutive crown in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Mathematically, the championship was settled at the conclusion of Stage 1. Chase Briscoe’s No. 19 Toyota went up in smoke to bring out a caution on Lap 78, allowing Larson to finish fourth and collect seven stage points. Entering Sunday needing nine total points to guarantee the title regardless of rival results, those seven points proved enough. Christopher Bell finished third in the stage with eight points, while Denny Hamlin took sixth with five, officially eliminating both from contention.
"Good job to you. We’re going to keep our eyes forward, and we’re just going to keep running through this race, how’s that?" crew chief Cliff Daniels radioed to his driver shortly after. Larson replied simply, "Yeah, love it. Let’s go."
Even with the title locked up, the work wasn't finished. The No. 5 machine suffered nose damage from contact on pit road at the end of Stage 2, and Larson ultimately crossed the line 12th in the 267-lap finale. Ryan Blaney won the race itself with a dramatic final-lap pass of Tyler Reddick, taking the checkered flag by 0.314 seconds.
This makes back-to-back Cup champions for the first time since Jimmie Johnson completed his five-title run in 2010. Larson now joins Lee Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Tony Stewart, and Joey Logano as a three-time champion, while delivering Hendrick Motorsports a record 16th Cup title.
Getting here took an incredible reversal of fortune. Larson rode a 51-race drought into September while Hamlin held the top seed. But once the postseason began, the No. 5 team found extraordinary form. He opened the playoffs with a 2.2 average finish through the first five races, scoring 273 points in that stretch. At Kansas Speedway, he swept both stages, led 235 laps, and scored the maximum 76 points.
Obstacles still emerged. Handling problems and a tire failure at Phoenix dropped him to 34th with just three points, shrinking his championship lead to five. Yet at Talladega, a stunning last-gasp rally delivered his first career superspeedway victory and netted 71 points, pushing his lead back out to 73.
In the end, this third title added a completely new chapter to Larson's legacy. As crew chief Daniels noted during the grueling year, the focus remained purely internal, trusting the fundamentals of the team. Forty-two years after Geoff Bodine's victory kept Rick Hendrick's operation alive, the famous No. 5 car number has delivered another championship at Homestead.
