Larson Clinches Back-to-Back NASCAR Cup Title at Homestead

Kyle Larson clinched his third NASCAR Cup Series championship early in Sunday's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, becoming the sport's first back-to-back titlist since Jimmie Johnson in 2010, according to ESPN/Associated Press. Larson, 34, needed just nine points to lock up the championship entering the 400-mile race and got there fast: one point for starting, then seven more for finishing fourth in the opening stage, enough to put the title mathematically out of reach for his closest pursuer, Christopher Bell.

Larson entered the weekend with a 67-point lead over Bell, a cushion built over a full season rather than a single race, the AP reported.

How did Larson clinch the title so early in the race?

Because Bell did not win the opening stage, Larson's cushion made the rest of the afternoon a formality. He secured the Bill France Cup before the race reached its midpoint, the AP noted, a quiet end to a title fight that had effectively been decided over the ten-race playoff stretch known as the Chase for the Championship.

How rare is winning back-to-back Cup titles?

Jimmie Johnson is the only other driver in the modern era to repeat, and he did it as part of a five-year run that began in 2006, per the AP. No one had gone back-to-back since Johnson's 2010 title until Larson's run this season and last.

Where does Larson rank among NASCAR's champions?

Larson is the 11th driver in NASCAR history to win three Cup titles, joining a group that includes seven-time champions Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Johnson, as well as four-time champion Jeff Gordon, according to the AP. Lee Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Tony Stewart and Joey Logano also have three apiece.

What turned Larson's season around?

Larson had gone 51 races without a win before his playoff surge, the AP reported. He won three of the nine playoff races leading into Homestead and finished in the top 10 in eight of them — a pattern the wire service compared to his title run in 2021, his first season with Hendrick Motorsports.

By the numbers

• 67: Larson's points lead over Christopher Bell entering the Homestead finale, per the AP.
• 51: Races Larson went without a win before his late-season turnaround, per the AP.

What's next for Larson and the Cup Series?

• Larson will carry a three-time champion's résumé — and a target — into next season's title defense bid.
• Christopher Bell, runner-up in points, heads into the offseason as the clearest challenger based on this year's finish.
• NASCAR continues to face questions about Cup Series TV ratings, a separate storyline the AP has tracked alongside the title chase.

Glossary

• Chase for the Championship: NASCAR's ten-race playoff format that determines the Cup Series champion.
• Stage: A race is broken into segments called stages; points are awarded to top finishers in each stage, not just at the finish.
• Bill France Cup: The trophy awarded to NASCAR's Cup Series champion, named for the series' founder.