Toyota contenders chasing Larson looking to catch a break at Martinsville

Although the odds of anyone other than Kyle Larson winning the NASCAR Cup Series championship are low, the Hendrick Chevy driver’s rivals – the closest of whom are all in Toyotas – hope to at least keep him honest over the final two races.

“That’s a big part of it,” Adam Stevens, Christopher Bell’s crew chief, said. “This is a 10-race playoff. It’s not a nine-race playoff. So, you got to bring your best every week. It’s going to be tough for anybody to make up 70 or however many points we have to make up, but it’s not mathematically impossible.”

Those closest to Larson all come from the Toyota camp. Denny Hamlin is 73 points behind, followed by Bell at 74 points, and Chase Briscoe at 79 points.

NASCAR awards 55 points for a race win. But a maximum-point day is 76 points: the win, sweeping the stages, and the fastest-lap point.

Larson has earned more than 55 points in three Chase races. But all of those were races he won. And he needs 59 points to clinch the title on Sunday afternoon.

“I think it’s going to take some special circumstances, but we’ve been a victim to special circumstances plenty this year,” Stevens said. “Stuff like that can happen. But you don’t want to put them in a position where all I have to do is show up (next weekend), and I don’t think they’re quite there yet. But another weekend like last (at Talladega) and they certainly will be.”

Bell has five top-10 finishes in eight Chase races. He won the opener at Darlington Raceway.

Briscoe, meanwhile, has two wins in the Chase to keep himself in contention. Mathematically, he cannot overtake Larson on Sunday, but that’s not the goal.

“I think the objective for us is just to come out of here and give ourselves a chance next week,” said crew chief James Small. “So that’s all we can ask for, given the lead they have.”

In this race last year, Larson finished fifth and earned 49 points.

Joe Gibbs Racing has two wins at Martinsville Speedway in the last 10 races (Hamlin and Bell). Bell’s win came in the 2022 fall race when he needed to win to advance into the championship race.