Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell sit neck and neck atop the playoff standings, separated by a single point, with cushion margins of 36 and 37, respectively. Yet, the equation at Martinsville is extremely thin; if a driver from below the cutline snags a win, only one of them will advance. But if either Larson or Bell takes the checkered flag while the other finishes just behind, both could punch their tickets to the Championship 4.
Advertisement
Even so, Larson doesn’t see Martinsville as a do-or-die situation. Laying out his approach for the weekend, the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports driver said,
“I mean, you’re always going to go for a win if it’s in front of you. So, I don’t think that changes, but I think just you keeping an eye on you what’s going on with Bell and I throughout the night is equally as important, because if I can score more points than him, I don’t have to rely on a win. So, we’ll see. It’ll be exciting.”
Despite the thin gap, Larson insists the math doesn’t faze him. He stated that it doesn’t really matter to him who wins the race as long as he can score more points than Bell. It doesn’t matter if there’s a new winner or not.
In his ideal world, Larson would outscore Bell while watching a Hendrick teammate, the No. 9 or No. 24, take the win. Still, his top priority remains staying ahead of Bell in points, and if a victory presents itself, grab it.
“But we’re not in a must-win,” he reiterated. “We’re not even in a must to score more points than him. But you know, I would like to pat ourselves.”
The numbers suggest an even duel. Both drivers share an average finish of 15.5 at Martinsville, Bell in 11 starts, Larson in 21, with one win apiece. However, Larson holds the edge in consistency, tallying seven top-five finishes to Bell’s two. With both men chasing the same goal and only one point between them, Sunday’s race is sure to be a dogfight from start to finish.
