Inside The Garage: How Will Kyle Larson Handle Points Lead With 2 Races Left?

Talladega Superspeedway (Talladega, Ala.) — Kyle Larson and Hendrick Motorsports might have to work over the next week (maybe two) to remember that the championship isn’t over yet. In the first season back to a more traditional postseason where NASCAR doesn’t guarantee four drivers with a shot at the title in the championship race, Larson takes nearly a full race lead into the final two races. First up is Martinsville and then the finale is at Homestead. A driver can earn a maximum of 76 points in a race, and Larson enters with a 73-point edge on Denny Hamlin, a 74-point edge on Christopher Bell and 79 points ahead of Chase Briscoe. Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Tyler Reddick are all at least 100 points behind. Larson needs 79 points over the next two races to clinch the title no matter what anyone else does. For Hamlin to catch Larson, he would need to earn max points in sweeping the stages and the final two races. To put that in perspective, Larson earned 71 points with the win at Talladega but just three points a week earlier when he struggled and eventually crashed out at Phoenix. “There’s still two races,” Larson said in his post-race news conference on Sunday night. “It’s so easy to look at it and be like, ‘Oh, the 5’s got it.’ We could go to Martinsville, there’s a stack up in Turn 3 on the first lap. I could cave in the radiator and be done. “I’m just saying there’s still a lot of racing left and so much in The Chase. All you guys in here [in the media] are like, ‘This person is out, that person’s out, this person has it locked up.’ Then they win or something happens, boom, the picture completely changes. I’m not getting ahead of myself at all. I’m not going to let you guys get me ahead of myself either.” So how does crew chief Cliff Daniels approach Martinsville Speedway this weekend? Does he hope to clinch the title and not have to sweat at all at Homestead? Daniels, in his post-race news conference, said they are always looking to win. “In a lot of ways, we have to make sure we’re still playing offense,” Daniels said. “There’s still stage points to go get — hopefully, a good finish to go get. That’s really been the case every week for us. Regardless of where we are in points, we try to prepare well, understand what it would look like to call just an offensive-type race. “If I’m remembering correctly, we reviewed it a little bit this week. There have been some alternate things that have worked out at Martinsville, depending on when cautions fall, pitting to flip a stage, pitting at a stage, tires or not at the end.” Team Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon, a four-time Cup champion, indicated that the pit strategy could be a determining factor since a pit stop under green followed by a caution could result in Larson going a lap down. “How do they play out the strategy because Cliff can be super aggressive and try to be a guy that sort of puts himself on the offense?” Gordon said in his post-race news conference. “That can put yourself at risk a little bit. “If you go there and have a great car, you have the ability to control a little bit more of your destiny. I’m just curious of what they’re thinking when they look at strategy and what the tires are going to do. Some of that may not play out until they get on the track and see how the car is. If I know them, for the most part, they’re right now probably going to ramp up the intensity.” The fact is, they have such a big enough points gap, that playing offense should be a safe strategy. If Larson wins some stages, that pretty much will put the title away unless another driver sweeps the final two races. “They know their competitors are fierce and there’s no given,” Gordon said. “There’s no points lead big enough at this point.” Because the 10-race final round format without additional eliminations and resets is the first time being used since 2013, Larson has never been in a position to just nurse a points lead to the championship. Neither has Daniels. Larson, who has won at both Martinsville and Homestead in the Next Gen era, will enter Martinsville trying to keep his points lead out of his mind. “I also don’t want to let that be clouded in my thoughts as we prepare this week and run in the race at Martinsville because [I want to] really have a good day and give ourselves a good shot at Homestead,” Larson said. “Never in a million years would I have imagined leaving here plus-73, though. I was shocked when I saw that on the screen.” Alex Palou Has New Engineer For 2027 Alex Palou will have a new lead engineer in 2027, as Julian Robertson will retire from the role. Robertson has guided Palou to all 25 of his career INDYCAR wins and five INDYCAR championships at Chip Ganassi Racing. “I’m very happy for Julian for the amount of work he has done for this team,” Palou said in a virtual media availability focused on the 2027 schedule. “He was here since the beginning. He already told me the first year I got into CGR that he was going to retire, and I kind of tried to always say, ‘Hey, Julian, let’s do one more, let’s do one more, let’s do one more.’ “And at the end, he reached a point of like ‘Alex. I think I’m good. I think I had a lot of success. I had a lot of fun’ and he’s just ready to enjoy watching the races.” Palou knows who will lead his team next year but CGR has not announced Robertson’s replacement. “I learned a lot from him,” Palou said. “I won a lot because of him, and… I’m very excited for the new person. I’m very thankful for Julian. Honestly, like, what can I say? It’s just been incredible times with him.” Ganassi Performance Director Chris Simmons and engineer Ross Bunnell (most recently assigned to Rosenqvist at MSR) are also both leaving CGR. JGR Seeks $150 Million In the Joe Gibbs Racing lawsuit against former competition director Chris Gabehart and his new employer Spire Motorsports, a Spire filing last week indicated JGR is asking for about $150 million in damages. Spire states that “JGR’s damages expert opines that JGR’s damages are $47.4 million” as far as the worth of the trade secrets. Punitive damages can be added at double the rate of the actual damages. The judge has set a Dec. 15 hearing date for summary judgment and motions pertaining to evidence and has scheduled the trial to begin Feb. 1. In The News — Brad Keselowski has tried to buy RFK Racing, about a month after he couldn’t come to a deal to remain as a driver for the team and RFK officials announced they would try to buy him out. And while no deal, he indicated his ownership search continues with pretty much anything possible. — NASCAR fined Zane Smith $50,000 for ramming Carson Hocevar after the race at Phoenix. One of the reasons for the penalty? NASCAR had already warned Hocevar and Smith during the summer that they had to control themselves when on the track. Smith did not appeal the penalty. — Tricon Garage announced its full-time truck lineup for the 2027 season: Kaden Honeycutt and Gio Ruggiero will return while Dawson Sutton and Sammy Smith will join the team. Tanner Gray will not return. The fifth truck will continue to have multiple drivers. — Rackley WAR has announced it has ended its truck series program after Talladega. — AJ Foyt Racing has signed British driver Bart Harrison for the 2027 Indy NXT season. Social Spotlight They Said It “I knew it was close [to going below the yellow line]. I would have been really pissed at myself if I did go below because, we crossed the finish line first. I’ve never done that in a Cup car. To get it called back would have sucked.”— Kyle Larson on being close to being called for passing below the yellow line on the final lap