Kyle Larson is now a three-time Nascar champion.
Larson clinched his third Cup Series title in six years early in Sunday’s 400-mile season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, becoming the first back-to-back champion since Jimmie Johnson in 2010. Johnson won five consecutive titles beginning in 2006.
The 34-year-old Larson also became the 11th driver in Nascar history to win three Cup titles, joining an exclusive club that includes seven-time champions Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Johnson. Jeff Gordon won four titles, while Lee Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Tony Stewart and Joey Logano each won three.
Ryan Blaney won the race for Team Penske, passing Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing with just over a lap remaining as NBA legend Michael Jordan watched from pit road. Reddick finished second, followed by William Byron, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin.
But the biggest celebration belonged to Larson, who finished 12th. He stopped near the start-finish line for a smoky burnout before exchanging high-fives and hugs with his team and children. He then climbed atop his No 5 Chevrolet with the championship flag and all three of his children to celebrate.
Larson had been the overwhelming favorite to lift the Bill France Cup long before the green flag dropped.
He entered the weekend with a 67-point lead over Bell and needed only nine points to secure the championship. He earned one point for starting the race and seven more by finishing fourth in the opening stage. When Bell failed to win that stage, he was mathematically eliminated from contention.
Kyle Larson pits his No 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet during the Nascar Cup Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida, on Sunday. Photograph: Meg Oliphant/Getty Images Larson responded to crew chief Cliff Daniels breaking the news over the radio with a deadpan assessment: “That was anticlimactic.”
Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick, celebrating his team’s 16th Cup championship, radioed Larson to congratulate him during the ensuing caution period.
“Now you can go ride the wall,” Hendrick joked.
Larson obliged, only to cut a right-rear tire and be forced to pit out of sequence, effectively ending his hopes of winning the race.
“I got the word that we clinched it, and I started driving like an idiot,” Larson said. “I’m more mad at myself.”
The mishap mattered little after a remarkable postseason in Nascar’s Chase for the Championship. Larson ended a 51-race winless streak by winning three of the previous nine playoff races and finished in the top 10 in eight of them.
He produced a similarly dominant finish in 2021, his first season with Hendrick, winning four of the final five races, including the championship finale at Phoenix Raceway.
His second title came in dramatic fashion last year at Phoenix. Taking advantage of a late caution, Larson’s crew opted for two new tires rather than four, allowing him to leapfrog sentimental favorite Denny Hamlin on pit road with two laps remaining. Hamlin could not catch him.
This year’s championship was considerably less suspenseful. Larson’s advantage was so commanding that he was the only Cup driver invited to Nascar’s championship media day on Thursday, an experience he described as awkward.
The pit crew of Kyle Larson’s No 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet celebrate his third Nascar Cup Series championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Photograph: Meg Oliphant/Getty Images Any concerns about how Larson and his No 5 Hendrick Motorsports team would handle the pressure appeared unfounded by Saturday’s qualifying session.
“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.”
With three Cup championships secured, Larson’s place among motorsport’s most versatile drivers is becoming increasingly difficult to dispute.
Parnelli Jones, Mario Andretti, AJ Foyt and Stewart are widely regarded among the greatest American drivers for their success across multiple disciplines.
Jones won in sprint cars and stock cars around the time he captured the 1963 Indianapolis 500. Andretti won four IndyCar titles, the 1967 Daytona 500 and the 1969 Indianapolis 500. Foyt won four Indianapolis 500s and the 1972 Daytona 500, while Stewart claimed the 1997 IndyCar championship and three Cup Series titles before moving into top-level NHRA drag racing.
Larson has twice competed in the Indianapolis 500 and has won the Rolex 24 at Daytona, three Chili Bowl Nationals and four Knoxville Nationals. His third Cup title further strengthens his case for a place alongside those legends.
“He wins in everything he does, and they’re all completely different cars and tracks,” said retired driver and NBC Sports analyst Jeff Burton. “And he’s racing against the best in every discipline.”