Kyle Larson clinches third NASCAR Cup title in six years; Ryan Blaney wins finale

Kyle Larson won his third NASCAR Cup Series championship in six years on Sunday. He secured the title early in the 400-mile season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It is his second consecutive title and Hendrick Motorsports' 16th Cup championship.

Larson, 34, is the first driver to win back-to-back Cup titles since Jimmie Johnson in 2010. Johnson won five in a row beginning in 2006. Larson is the 11th driver with three or more Cup titles. Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Johnson won seven each, and Jeff Gordon won four.

How the title was decided

Larson entered the weekend 67 points ahead of Christopher Bell. The reports say he needed nine points. He earned one for starting and seven for finishing fourth in the opening stage. Because Bell did not win that stage, he had no path to catch Larson for the rest of the day, according to ESPN. The Guardian says this mathematically eliminated Bell.

Crew chief Cliff Daniels told Larson over the radio that he had clinched. Team owner Rick Hendrick radioed congratulations during the following caution. According to ESPN, Larson said "That was anticlimactic." and Hendrick said "Now you can go ride the wall," over team radio.

After clinching, Larson drove close to the wall, cut a right-rear tire and pitted out of sequence. That ended his chance of winning. He finished 12th.

The race

Ryan Blaney of Team Penske passed Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing with just over a lap remaining, while Michael Jordan watched from pit road. Reddick finished second, followed by William Byron, Bell, Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin.

Season and career

In the playoffs, Larson ended a 51-race winless streak. He won three of the previous nine playoff races. He won his first title in 2021 and his second last year at Phoenix. According to ESPN, in 2021 he still faced questions about how his time at Chip Ganassi Racing ended. He has also won the Rolex 24 at Daytona and has raced twice in the Indianapolis 500.

What each side says

Larson blamed himself for the cut tire. ESPN quoted him as saying: "I got the word that we clinched it, and I started driving like an idiot. I'm more mad at myself." He called Thursday's championship media day, where he was the only Cup driver invited, awkward.

Retired driver and NBC Sports analyst Jeff Burton praised his versatility. ESPN quoted him as saying: "He wins in everything he does, and they're all completely different cars and tracks."

What the reports do not say

The ESPN and Guardian accounts appear to derive from a single AP wire report. The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not include official NASCAR results, final standings or the lap of the clinch.

Analysis

Larson's back-to-back titles place him among a small group of multiple champions and end a stretch since 2010 without repeat winners. Whether this marks the start of a longer run, as Johnson's did, cannot be determined from one season. His late-season form, after a long winless streak, may shape how the playoff format is discussed, though the reports offer no data on that question. The early clinch hinged on Bell failing to win the opening stage, which left him no path to catch Larson; official NASCAR figures are not included in the reports reviewed by Vocemundi. Readers should also note that the accounts appear to share one origin.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.