Kyle Larson clinches third Cup title in six years at Homestead
Kyle Larson clinched his third NASCAR Cup Series championship early in Sunday’s 400-mile season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, securing the title in the opening stage of the race. He became the first driver to win consecutive Cup championships since Jimmie Johnson in 2010.
The 34-year-old Larson is now the 11th driver in NASCAR history to capture three Cup titles, joining a list that features seven-time champions Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson, four-time champion Jeff Gordon, and three-time winners Lee Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Tony Stewart and Joey Logano. Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick celebrated the organisation’s 16th Cup championship following the clinch.
Ryan Blaney won the season finale for Team Penske, passing Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing with just over a lap remaining; Reddick finished second. William Byron placed third, followed by Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin, while NBA owner Michael Jordan watched from pit road and Larson crossed the line in 12th.
Larson performed a smoky burnout and stopped near the start-finish line to exchange high-fives and hugs with his team and his children, then climbed atop his No 5 Chevrolet holding the championship flag with all three of his children. Earlier, after Hendrick radioed “Now you can go ride the wall,” Larson obeyed and cut a right-rear tire, was forced to pit out of sequence and effectively ended any chance of winning the race.
Larson entered the weekend with a 67-point lead over Christopher Bell and needed only nine points to clinch 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, a fact Larson’s crew chief Cliff Daniels conveyed over team radio and to which Larson responded, “That was anticlimactic.”
Larson’s title capped a strong postseason: he ended a 51-race winless streak by winning three of the previous nine playoff races and finished in the top 10 in eight of those events. He produced a dominant late-season run in 2021, winning four of the final five races including the championship at Phoenix Raceway, and secured last year’s title at Phoenix after his crew opted for two new tires late in the race, allowing him to leapfrog Denny Hamlin on pit road with two laps remaining; Hamlin could not catch him.
Larson has broadened his résumé beyond stock cars, having competed twice in the Indianapolis 500 and recorded victories in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, three Chili Bowl Nationals and four Knoxville Nationals. “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.” His third Cup title further strengthens his case for a place alongside those legends.