MARTINSVILLE, Va. — The cars of the drivers that vie for the title Sunday at Phoenix Raceway will sport yellow windshield banners and yellow spoilers.
But only Kyle Larson’s uniform among the four drivers will carry this distinction: Champion.
Larson is the only former Cup champion vying for the Cup title, but whether that makes a difference is debatable, as he faces three drivers who can point to their seasons and say they should be the favorite.
Can Kyle Larson get into victory lane for another Cup title at Phoenix?
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin (most wins this year with six), JGR’s Chase Briscoe (most top fives with 15) and Hendrick’s William Byron (most laps led and regular-season champion) can argue their years have been more consistent than Larson’s.
But Larson, who carries a 23-race winless streak into the title race (the best finisher Sunday among the four at Phoenix wins the title), isn’t just the only driver who has won a Cup title. His Hendrick crew chief, Cliff Daniels, is the only crew chief among the four who has won a Cup title in that role.
Larson won his title in 2021 in his first season with Hendrick. He also made the Champ 4 in 2023 and finished second among the four finalists.
Larson eyes adding another piece of hardware to his trophy case.
“Having a championship under your belt and doing it at Phoenix the way the [No.] 5 automotive [of Larson] has accomplished previously, all that have and data is sweet to have in your again pocket,” Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon stated.
“It should be an epic battle. You bought 4 vehicles, two organizations, which might be going to offer it every little thing. It should be a captivating week of preparation, seeing the way it unfolds on the racetrack in Phoenix.”
Larson has introduced the pace recently with seven races within the 9 playoff occasions the place he has began within the first three rows.
“I actually do not assume [my title matters],” Larson stated. “It has been so lengthy and all of us have [experience]. Chase would not have any Championship 4 expertise however I do not even assume that issues both,” Larson stated.
“We’ll see. I want to win a championship and never have a brand new champion subsequent week, however it is going to be powerful, for positive. It all the time is.”
If Ryan Blaney had prevailed Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, many would have pointed to him as the favourite due to Crew Penske’s dominance at Phoenix within the championship races the previous few years.
Larson teammate William Byron received to earn his championship spot. Larson is the one driver among the many Champ 4 who didn’t win within the semifinal spherical.
“The door is vast open,” Larson stated. “I actually could not let you know who can be the favourite now. The place I feel if Blaney would have received, all of us would say he is the favourite.
“We’ll see. It should be a enjoyable week of prep.”
In the case of prep, few would argue with the flexibility of Daniels, who hopes that having a championship on the resume will help Larson and the workforce get by means of the weekend.
“It’s good to have that have, and that may form of numb out a few of the highs and lows of what the emotion could be,” Larson stated. “And that is definitely not a time for emotion. That is time to place our nostril down and get to work.”
However Daniels stated the preparation is totally different than when Larson received in 2021 — the final race with the earlier era of Cup automotive the place the groups made many of the elements and items.
With the present Subsequent Gen automotive, groups purchase the vast majority of their elements and items from a single-source provider, that means there’s much less tailoring of the automotive to a driver’s particular wants.
“I might hope that that have would go together with us, however I’ll say that from the Gen 6 period to the Subsequent Gen period, there’s only a distinction within the race weekend,” Daniels stated. “It is onerous to clarify. It is simply totally different from what it was in 2021.
“We have realized fairly a bit yearly within the Subsequent Gen period, definitely what principally we have accomplished fallacious and what we have to do higher.”
Daniels indicated that whereas having received a title 4 years in the past may imply one thing, it received’t imply a lot in opposition to the opposite three drivers, contemplating the season these drivers have had.
“To be trustworthy, the tokens in no matter that class can be most likely is simply going to be a slim margin in comparison with how robust the sector of the 4 actually is,” Daniels stated. “Should you actually flip up the microscope on every one in all these 4 groups, they’re actually good groups, nice drivers, nice crew chiefs.”
So is Larson the favourite?
“It’s onerous for me, even in our place, to offer anybody the higher hand,” Daniels stated. “I might by no means guess in opposition to myself. So on this case, I understand how battle examined [our No.] 5 workforce is.
“I understand how powerful we’re. I understand how powerful Kyle is and the way good he’s. So I might think about us the favourite, however on the finish of the day, it is going to be a very tight discipline. It should be an amazing race. I am wanting ahead to it.”
Larson feels the identical. He is not somebody who’s going to boast that he’s the favourite, however it is usually fairly straightforward for him to investigate the sector.
“You may make a case for any of us and why they deserve being within the championship,” Larson stated. “We’re all 4 deserving, and all 4 groups are as properly.
“So, you understand, could the most effective man win.”
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports activities. He has spent a long time overlaying motorsports, together with over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting Information, NASCAR Scene journal and The (Daytona Seashore) Information-Journal. Observe him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
