NASCAR: Kyle Larson poised to contend for 2018 championship

By Asher Fair | Dec 8, 2017

LAS VEGAS, NV - NOVEMBER 29: Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 Credit One Chevrolet is introduced prior to the NASCAR Victory Lap Fueled by Sunoco on November 29, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

After being one of the championship favorites for much of the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series season, engine issues prevented Kyle Larson from even advancing to the Round of 8. Expect him to be a legitimate championship contender in 2018.

Kyle Larson looked poised to be one of the drivers in the Championship 4 throughout most of the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series. Heading into the final race of the round of 12 at Kansas Speedway, he was in a great position to advance to the round of 8 to keep his run at the title going.

However, that run ended when an engine issue knocked him out of the race and ultimately knocked him out of the playoffs even before the round of 8 began, meaning his chances at securing his first career Cup Series championship as a 25-year-old were completely wiped out. He ended up finishing in 8th place in the championship standings.

But that doesn’t change the fact that without mechanical issues, Larson was definitely one of the top four drivers in the Cup Series throughout the season. With four victories in the regular season, no other driver won more races than he did in that span. He was tied with eventual 2017 champion Martin Truex Jr. with four wins heading into the playoffs.

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So assuming he isn’t plagued by the same mechanical issues next season that he was plagued by in the playoffs this past season, Larson will most definitely be one of the front-runners to advance to the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. While his first four career Cup Series wins came on 2.0-mile ovals, he has improved drastically on other types of tracks as well.

Larson’s win at the 0.75-mile Richmond Raceway to close out the regular season illustrated that fact, as does the fact that he finished in 2nd place eight times throughout the 2017 season, and all eight of those 2nd place finishes came at tracks that are not 2.0 miles in length.

Given his history at the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway, which includes three straight top five finishes in the Cup Series in addition to three podium finishes, including a win, in four races in the Xfinity Series, Larson is poised to be a legitimate championship contender in the 2018 season assuming he can do what many people expect him to do and get to his first career Championship 4. In fact, he may even be the favorite to win it all.

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Will Kyle Larson be a championship contender in the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season to the point where he is actually able to qualify for the round of 8 and then the Championship 4 before battling for his first career title? The season, which is set to last for exactly nine months, begins on Sunday, February 18th with the 60th annual Daytona 500.