Kyle Larson Jokes He Could Give NASCAR a Reason to Change Its Championship Format Again
· Yahoo Sports
Kyle Larson believes Hendrick Motorsports is close.
How close? Close enough that he can envision the No. 5 team ripping off three or four victories during NASCAR’s 10-race Chase.
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But Larson also wouldn’t mind winning the championship another way. A much funnier way.
During NASCAR’s Chase media day, Dirty Mo Media asked Larson about his outlook entering the championship fight. Despite going winless since May 2025, Larson made it clear he hasn’t lost confidence in what his team is capable of over the next 10 weeks.
“We’re like right on the cusp,” Larson said. “Like I still believe we could rattle off three or four wins in the Chase.”
There is a catch.
“The races have to go perfect,” Larson added.
Then Larson considered another possibility. “It’d be sick to win it without winning a race too,” he said.
And that’s when he couldn’t resist taking a playful shot at fellow three-time Cup Series champion Joey Logano.
“We have a new format,” Larson said before smiling. “Joey’s the reason why we changed those. I could be the reason why we changed this.”
That’s quite a goal.
Forget winning four races. Larson is apparently open to becoming NASCAR’s next postseason controversy.
Kyle Larson Sees the Irony in NASCAR’s New Chase
Larson’s Logano reference wasn’t exactly subtle.
Logano won his third Cup Series championship in 2024 despite finishing the season with statistics that reignited criticism of NASCAR’s elimination-style playoff system. The format placed an enormous premium on advancing through each round and then delivering in the winner-take-all championship race.
NASCAR has since moved on from that system.
For 2026, The Chase is back. Sixteen drivers begin the final 10 races with seeded point totals, there are no elimination rounds and the driver with the most points after Homestead wins the championship.
That means a driver does not have to win a race during The Chase to become champion.
Larson knows exactly how that would look.
Imagine NASCAR replacing a postseason system criticized for not sufficiently rewarding season-long performance, only for one of its biggest stars to immediately win the first championship under the replacement format without visiting Victory Lane during the entire Chase.
Judging by Larson’s smile, he understands the chaos that would follow.
Larson Still Believes the No. 5 Can Win Multiple Races
The joke shouldn’t overshadow the other important part of Larson’s answer. He thinks his team is close to breaking through.
Larson begins The Chase seventh in the reset standings with 2,045 points, 55 behind No. 1 seed Denny Hamlin. Unlike the previous postseason, there won’t be another reset to erase that deficit. Every point Larson gains or loses beginning Sunday at Darlington follows him through the championship finale at Homestead.
That makes consistency essential. Wins, however, can change the equation quickly.
A Cup victory is worth considerably more than simply finishing second, and stage points provide another opportunity for drivers to chip away at an early deficit. If Larson really does find the speed to win three or four times over the final 10 races, the championship picture could look dramatically different by November.
But NASCAR’s new system also leaves open the scenario Larson was smiling about.
Ten races. Zero wins. One championship.
Would NASCAR actually change the format again because of it? That’s a conversation for another day.
Larson seems perfectly willing to find out.