Cup Series field gives Larson his flowers

Kyle Larson's greatness is hard for his competitors to ignore, and it might seem the NASCAR Cup Series field has a new Jimmie Johnson on its hands.

Or so say some of Kyle Larson's competitors, who saw him win his third title Sunday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway. A third title in six seasons driving for Hendrick Motorsports and working with Cliff Daniels.

“An exceptional talent,” said Denny Hamlin. “He’s this generation’s Jimmie [Johnson], right? I think that’s the only way you can kind of describe it. When it comes to [postseason] time, they perform their best, and that’s something that Jimmie used to do, and Jimmie was a guy who could get tons of speed out of the car. Kyle is the same way.

“You could argue [he gets] even more speed. There is a little bit more variance in the results because of how hard he pushes it, but he reaps the benefits because he gets lots of wins. He’s certainly going to be winning championships and races well beyond when I’m gone from here.”

Larson and the No. 5 team tore through the Chase for three wins and an average finish of 7.3. One of those wins came at Talladega Superspeedway, where Larson had never won before and was far from a favorite. Incredibly, that race put the title out of reach when he grew the gap to 73 points and made the final two races of the season almost stress-free.

“I feel like we are executing at a pretty high level, truthfully, but [Kyle Larson] has set the bar so high to go and reach what he's doing,” Chase Briscoe said. “You just have to be practically flawless.”

With a third title, Larson has joined Joey Logano and Tony Stewart in the category. Larson and Logano are the only multi-time champions active in the series.

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“He’s proven many times he’s freaking talented,” Logano said. “The kid’s so good. He’s really coming into his own. You remember when he first started, he was always fast, especially here in Homestead, and then he’d hit the wall. So, you weren’t worried about it.

“He’d pass you, ‘Whatever. He’ll hit the wall in a few, get a flat tire,’ and then he did. He doesn’t hit the wall anymore. That sucks.”

Rick Hendrick signed Larson beginning with the 2021 season, and since then, Larson’s maturity and growth as a driver have been tenfold. A part of that was learning he could put more into his race craft, the intangibles that come with preparation through simulation, data, and study.

“He’s this generation’s Jimmie [Johnson], right?" said Denny Hamlin. "When it comes to [postseason] time, they perform their best, and that’s something that Jimmie used to do, and Jimmie was a guy who could get tons of speed out of the car. Kyle is the same way." Jared Tilton/Getty Images

And then, in the last two years, he’s become comfortable being a leader within the race team. Hendrick referred to a summer debrief in which Larson spoke up about confidence. That would not have happened two years ago.

“Kyle works really hard,” said teammate Alex Bowman. “I feel like that’s the thing that gets glossed over. Everybody says, ‘Oh, he’s just naturally fast or naturally talented, or it’s easy for him to go fast.’ Kyle works really hard; he is all in on studying and watching tape and those aspects of things.

“I feel like he’s obviously super naturally talented; all of that stuff is very true, but his work ethic also always seems to pay off.”

The numbers before and after joining Hendrick Motorsports tell the tale.

Larson in six full seasons driving for Chip Ganassi (2014-2019):

• 6 wins
• 8 poles
• 3,210 laps led
• A best finish of sixth in the championship
• Larson in six full seasons driving for Rick Hendrick (2021-2026):
• 29 wins
• Among those were his first in the Coca-Cola 600, the Southern 500, the Brickyard 400, and two in the All-Star Race
• 14 poles
• 8,387 laps led
• 3 championships, with his worst championship finish being seventh

Furthermore, Larson has the most wins in the Next Gen car (2022 to present), with 19 to Hamlin’s 18.

“That group in general is a very, very talented group,” said Ryan Blaney. “Kyle in particular. I knew about Kyle before he even came over to NASCAR. I knew how talented he was. Right when he got in the sport, he kind of changed the game. He’s one of those guys. I said this to him a few years ago when we were doing some roundtable discussion … he revolutionized running the wall. I don’t know if anyone knows that.

“Go look up when Kyle Larson came into the Cup Series or even before was then the Nationwide Series, nobody ran the fence like that. Everyone would kind of go in the middle, fade up to the top, come off of it. Kyle was one of the first guys I’ve ever seen just park it entering, two inches off the wall, and not get two inches off the wall the whole way. That was a talent like I’d never seen before personally.”

And with more time and experience, Larson has only gotten better. including not making as many mistakes.

“That’s really dangerous for the rest of us,” Blaney said. “Obviously he’s incredibly talented. His natural, God-given talent is off the charts. He is very deserving to win his third championship. That group makes it very hard on everybody in the garage. They’re a very good team. Everyone has their work cut out for them to keep contending with that group, specifically that pairing of Kyle, Cliff, and all those guys.”

Hard to beat, but fun to race against.

“It’s been fun to really race against him and see how he’s gotten better and matured over the last 10 years on the racetrack,” said Hamlin. “I remember many, many years ago I was studying some notes or something and he was saying, ‘What are you doing all that for? Just drive the car.’ And he moved over to Hendrick, and I think they made him start doing that, and you see the results.”