No Trophy Ceremony at Martinsville if Kyle Larson Clinches the Cup Title

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NASCAR will not hold a trophy ceremony at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday if Kyle Larson clinches the Cup Series championship there, FOX Sports‘ Bob Pockrass reported.

The celebration would wait for the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 8.

What Larson needs

Larson leads Denny Hamlin by 73 points with two races left. He clinches his third Cup title at Martinsville if he leaves with a lead of at least 77 points, as Pit This Time reported, since a driver can score no more than 76 points in one race.

The Kenseth precedent

Pockrass pointed back to the last time a Cup champion was decided before the final race. “In 2003, Kenseth was given the trophy at Rockingham,” he wrote on X.

https://x.com/bobpockrass/status/2116168420123115661

He added that the rules were different then: drivers were not required to start every race, and a champion could in theory have faced a points penalty in the final weekend.

Matt Kenseth clinched the 2003 title for Roush Racing in the next-to-last race at Rockingham on November 9, 2003. Bill Elliott won the race, and Kenseth finished fourth, which put him out of reach of Jimmie Johnson with one race left.

Kenseth still ran the finale at Homestead the next weekend, where engine trouble left him 43rd, and the formal championship celebration was held there.

Why it is rare

The 2003 title was decided under the old season-long points system, which sometimes produced a champion with several races left. NASCAR introduced the Chase in 2004 to keep the title fight alive to the end, and from 2014 through 2025, the title went to the best finisher among four drivers in the last race.

The 2026 Chase is a 10-race playoff decided on points, so a driver can clinch early, as Larson can on Sunday.

Sunday’s race

The Xfinity 500 is Sunday, November 1, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC from Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. The Cup finale is Sunday, November 8, at Homestead-Miami Speedway.