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Kyle Larson wins 3rd NASCAR title
Victory allows driver to stand beside legends
MITCHELL NORTHAM USA Today
Kyle Larson didn't need to do much on Sunday to capture the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series championship.
With comfortable leads over Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin, all the 34-year-old native of Elk Grove, California had to do was earn a handful of stage points or, without stage points, finish the race in 28th place or better at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
At arguably his best track on the circuit, where he's led more laps than any other driver, Larson left no doubt. He put the pedal to the floor on his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and clinched the championship by finishing fourth in Stage 1 of the final race of the season. The seven stage points Larson scored put Hamlin and Bell out of reach of passing him in the standings.
After doing some quick math, NASCAR informed Larson's crew chief, Cliff Daniels.
Surprised, Larson responded: "It's done? ... Well that was anticlimactic."
Indeed, for the third time in his career — and the first time in the revived Chase format — Larson is the champion of NASCAR's toplevel Cup Series.
"I'm just so proud of my team, first and foremost," Larson said after the race. "Hendrick Motorsports, you know, this was statistically probably one of our worst years, and to still come away with a championship just shows how resilient everybody at the race shop is, everybody on my five team, all my teammates, 24, the 9, the 48, and GM too, Chevrolet, all the key partners there. So we absolutely could not have done what we did in the Chase without the teamwork that it took."
Larson ultimately finished the race at Homestead in 12th, putting him 49 points ahead of Bell and 56 points over Hamlin. Ryan Blaney won the season finale and finished fourth in points on the year.
Larson now joins an exclusive group of drivers to win at least three championships in the Cup Series. His name is now alongside legends and Hall of Famers of the sport like Lee Petty, David Pearson, Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and Joey Logano. Larson is the 11th driver in the history of the sport to own at least three titles.
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