With NASCAR championship in sight, Kyle Larson isn't expecting an early clinch at Martinsville

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) — With NASCAR history waiting to be made Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, Kyle Larson acknowledges being tempted by the tantalizing possibility of wrapping up the Cup Series title.

But he isn’t counting on becoming the first driver in 23 years to clinch the championship before the season finale.

“There are some really good drivers here, so I don’t anticipate clinching anything,” Larson said Saturday before practice and qualifying at Martinsville. “I just want to have a good day and not give up too much before next week.

“It’s tough not to look at that and see what could be done this weekend, but what our team does really well is staying focused. Not being too relaxed but also trying not to put too much pressure on yourself. That is what has pushed us through the Chase.”

Larson has pushed his championship rivals to the brink with two races remaining.

The Hendrick Motorsports star opened a 73-point lead over Denny Hamlin with a last-lap rally for his first victory at Talladega Superspeedway, his third win through eight of 10 races in the Chase.

If Larson leaves Martinsville with a 77-point margin, he will be assured of a second consecutive Cup title and his third overall. According to NASCAR analytics firm Racing Insights, Larson is a 92.3% favorite to win the championship this season, which will conclude Nov. 8 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Only seven of 16 drivers in the Chase remain eligible for the title, and only three are within 100 points of Larson — Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe.

Hamlin leads active drivers at Martinsville in wins (six), top-five finishes (22) and laps led (3,014). It’s been a stressful Chase for Hamlin, who began as the top seed and favorite to win his first Cup championship but has managed only two top fives, with a best of third.

He was in a relaxed mood Saturday while conceding the likelihood that his No. 11 Toyota will again come up short after losing the title to Larson in a heartbreaker at Phoenix Raceway last year.

“It’s the first weekend where there’s truthfully little pressure because the expectations are just so low,” said Hamlin, who finished second in the March 29 race at Martinsville while leading 292 laps. “Everyone believes that it’s kind of a foregone conclusion, and I’m not saying they’re wrong by any means. It’s just what have we got to lose at this point? It doesn’t matter to me at this point in my career if I finish second or fifth in the points, so it’s low pressure, high opportunity for the 11 team.”

Bell, a 2022 Martinsville winner who is 74 points behind Larson, described it as “throwing Hail Marys” to win the season’s final two races.

“We know that’s the only way forward,” Bell said. “In reality, we have nothing to lose, so now the pressure is off.”

Briscoe, who trails Larson by 79 points as the only other driver with multiple wins in the Chase, said he will be more aggressive with bumping his way through the field at Martinsville, a 0.526-mile oval that is the shortest track on the circuit. But moving the competition aside could be trickier after NASCAR removed energy-absorbing foam and softened bumper structures to discourage slam tactics with the highly durable Next Gen car.

"I’m going to have my spotter remind me of that all day,” Bell said. “That is a super critical thing that has the potential to be a really big change for Martinsville, especially the way that the restarts and stackups happen. It’s going to be a talking point for sure.”

Larson has learned to avoid trouble at Martinsville since joining Hendrick Motorsports, which has a record 31 wins at the track. He has been ninth or better with six top fives over the past eight races at Martinsville.

A strong result Sunday could make him the first Cup champion to clinch early since Matt Kenseth in 2003, the last season before NASCAR switched to determining the champion over the final 10 races. Larson also could become the first back-to-back champion since Jimmie Johnson won five in a row for Hendrick in 2006-10.

“It would definitely be an amazing accomplishment for sure,” Larson said.

Tough driver

Riley Herbst is wearing a carbon fiber brace on his left wrist, which was injured in a crash at Talladega, but the 23XI Racing driver plans to complete 500 laps Sunday. Hamlin, who co-owns 23XI with NBA great Michael Jordan, said Harrison Burton is on standby as a relief driver.

“It’s really a pain tolerance thing for (Herbst), and I suspect he’ll try to get it done,” Hamlin said.

Odds and ends

Hamlin (+400) is the favorite Sunday, followed by the Team Penske duo of Ryan Blaney (+450) and Joey Logano (+700). … Martinsville is one of four tracks that has played host to a Chase or playoff race since 2004, along with Talladega Superspeedway, Kansas Speedway and Phoenix Raceway. … Chris Buescher will make his 400th Cup start Sunday. The last driver to win in his 400th start was Jimmie Johnson at the 2013 Daytona 500.

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