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Kyle Larson can clinch the Cup Series championship in Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, but the points leader said he is not expecting to.
Larson leads Denny Hamlin by 73 points with two races left. He clinches his third Cup title if he leaves Martinsville with a lead of at least 77 points, as Pit This Time reported.
Larson: ‘Not give up too much before next week’
“Yeah, obviously there’s some really good drivers here, so I don’t anticipate clinching anything,” Larson said during his media availability at Martinsville. “I just want to just have a good day and not give up too much before next week.”
He said the goal is to keep doing what the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team has done in the Chase.
“Just continuing to sort of do what we’ve been doing here throughout the Chase, being at a really good level and having a solid day, really, from start to finish,” Larson said.
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Why a clinch is hard
A driver can score at most 76 points in a race, so Larson needs to gain ground on Hamlin and also stay far enough ahead of Christopher Bell, 74 back, and Chase Briscoe, 79 back. Any of them having a big day at Martinsville would push the title fight to the finale.
Hamlin will start on the pole Sunday, and Larson will start third, as Pit This Time reported. Hamlin has six Cup wins at Martinsville.
Larson’s run
Larson won at Talladega last Sunday, his third win in the last seven races, to stretch his lead to 73 points. He has finished in the top 10 in each of the last five Martinsville races but has not won any of them.
Even if he does not clinch Sunday, a solid finish would leave him in control heading to Homestead-Miami Speedway.
What’s next
The Xfinity 500 starts at 2 p.m. ET Sunday, November 1, on NBC. The Cup Series season ends Sunday, November 8, at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
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