Kyle Larson entered Homestead-Miami boasting an average finish rate of 13.0 across ten starts. However, he ended up 13th in the second race of the Round of 8 and now finds himself seven points below the elimination line. With only one race left to secure a spot in the Championship 4, the pressure is high on him.
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Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick have already nailed two of the spots for this year’s finale. Larson now faces the challenge of surpassing Christopher Bell, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Elliott in Martinsville.
When questioned about his strategy for the penultimate race of the season, Larson shared, “I don’t know. Martinsville is a tough place for me but we’ve run pretty well there actually over the course of my career at Hendrick. So, we’ll see! It’s going to be tough no doubt. I mean you got Chase, Denny, Ryan, William, Bell. Like, everybody’s so good there. So, it’ll be a battle.”
“But if it’s meant to be it’s meant to be. And if it’s not it’s not. So, we’ve had a great season to this point and we’re going to go there next week and try to fight our a** off.” He heads to Martinsville with an average finish rate of 16.7 across 19 starts, highlighted by a win in 2023. Bell matches these numbers boasting an average finish rate of 16.2 over nine starts, also with a win.
Hamlin, on the other hand, has an average finish rate of 10.2 and a tally of five wins. Both Blaney and Elliott have previously displayed solid performances at Martinsville, with average finish rates of 8.8 and 12.7, respectively. Each of them has secured a victory there as well.
How Larson’s bid for a victory in Homestead-Miami failed
Starting the race from second place, an early flat tire in Stage 1 sent Larson tumbling down to 25th place. However, he clawed his way back to 15th by the end of Stage 2. An incredible comeback seemed to be on track as he fought his way to second and challenged for the lead, battling teammate Chase Elliott.
As he attempted to surpass Ryan Blaney, who was merely 0.13 seconds ahead, Larson was pinched between the lapped car of Austin Dillon and Blaney. The jostling caused him to spin, bringing out an untimely caution with 13 laps to go.
He initially chose to not pit based on his crew chief’s counsel to “keep rolling,” and only slipped one spot. Nonetheless, a delayed pit stop for adjustments after the spin dropped him to 10th, and he ultimately crossed the finish line 13th, slipping further in the final laps.
