Kyle Larson
If any of the eight contenders who are still alive in the NASCAR Playoffs wins on Sunday in the Autotrader Echo Park Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway they will have the advantage of being locked into the Championship 4 race in three weeks at Phoenix Raceway. Obviously, a victory in Fort Worth will provide a big advantage for any of those title hopefuls as they prepare for that final race. But there may be one driver who would benefit most from a victory in Texas.
Kyle Larson and his Hendrick Motorsports have been the talk of the season so far in 2021 after earning the regular season championship and piling up a series-leading seven wins. The No. 5 Chevrolet has led more laps than any other car by a large margin. And, the Elk Grove, California driver is tied with Denny Hamlin in the number of top-5 and top-10 finishes over the course of the season.
Every year or so there seems to be one or two drivers who are considered a heavy favorite to win the championship by those who follow the sport closely. And it seems as if, more often than not, that driver or those drivers do not actually go on to claim the coveted trophy.
In 2018, there were the ‘Big Three’ of Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. who most thought would be the drivers who would decide the championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the fourth driver serving as an afterthought. As it turned out, the afterthought, Joey Logano, won the title.
In 2020, the eventual championship winner was thought to almost certainly be either Harvick or Hamlin after those two stars led the series in wins. Instead, Chase Elliott got hot at just the right time and grabbed the glory. As a matter of fact, Harvick did not even make the Championship 4 and Hamlin finished fourth among the final four.
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This year, Larson is that driver who is considered the overwhelming favorite.
A win in Texas would take away the most obvious concern of having had a dominant season but then not making it to the finale with a shot at the championship as was the case with Harvick in 2020. But there would be more benefits than just the relief of that stress, especially after having survived a close call in the previous round after a crash at Talladega and an alternator issue at the Charlotte Roval.
A win in Texas could leave the competition chasing Larson in Phoenix(Photo: Getty Images)
Locking into the Championship 4 so early would give crew chief Cliff Daniels and the rest of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team two weeks to ready their car for Phoenix. The final race will employ the 750 horsepower/lower downforce package which will also be used at Martinsville the week before. That would prove to be an excellent proving grounds for the following week for a team that does not have to worry about making the final four.
Larson has been particularly strong this year with the 550 horsepower/high downforce package which will be used in Texas as well as the next week in Kansas. If he uses that advantage to win early in the ‘Round of 8’, the competition could be facing an uphill battle as Phoenix approaches.
Richard Allen is a member of the National Motorsports Press Association
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