NASCAR Cup Series: Will Kyle Larson bounce back in 2019?

Will Kyle Larson bounce back in the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season after he failed to win a single race in the 2018 season?

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson ended the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series regular season with his fourth victory of the season, tying him with eventual champion Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing atop the wins list heading into the playoffs.

But ever since then, the 26-year-old Elk Grove, California native has struggled. He was one of the favorites to reach the Championship 4 in the 2017 season, and he failed to even advance out of the round of 12.

The 2018 season presented struggles for Chevrolet teams and drivers as a whole, as they switched from the SS to the new Camaro ZL1. However, Larson was still able to lead a lot of laps and put himself in a position to win several races.

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But despite the fact that his laps led total was 782, which was the fifth highest among all drivers and trailed only the laps led totals of the four Championship 4 drivers, who combined to win 23 of the season’s 36 races, Larson failed to win a single race. He ended up being eliminated in the round of 12 for the second consecutive season before going on to finish in ninth place in the championship standings.

At this point, Larson’s most recent victory is still his regular season-ending victory in the 2017 season at Richmond Raceway. There were several races during which he almost changed this throughout the 2018 season, but he could not do so.

Larson led 200 laps of the 500-lap April race at Bristol Motor Speedway, but he was passed late by Kyle Busch for the lead. He led 101 laps of the 267-lap May race at Kansas Speedway, but he was involved in a late accident with Ryan Blaney, although he still recovered to finish in fourth place. He was passed by Busch for the victory on the final lap of the 267-lap July race at Chicagoland Speedway.

Larson dominated the September race at Darlington Raceway by leading 284 of its 367 laps. But a slow final pit stop and poor execution on the final restart of the race resulted in him finished in third place behind Team Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. In the September round of 16 race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval, Larson crashed late at the front of the field after leading 47 of the 109-lap race’s laps.

As far as Chevrolet drivers are concerned, the driver who recorded the second highest laps led total behind Larson was Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott. Elliott led 325 laps in the 2018 season, a total that is less than half of Larson’s total.

But even with all of the time Larson spent at the front of the field, the only two Chevrolet drivers to find victory lane in the 2018 season were Elliott (three victories) and Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon (one victory, 23 laps led).

As far as Larson “bouncing back” is concerned, he doesn’t need to “bounce back” in the speed category. He needs to “bounce back” in the win category.

After recording a career-high four victories in the 2017 season, which quintupled his career win total from one to five, the driver of the #42 Chevrolet is set to enter the 2019 season on a 46-race win drought, the longest win drought of his career since he opened up his career by failing to win any of his first 98 races from the 2013 season through the 2016 season.

Can he do it?

The 2019 season should not be as much of a struggle for the Chevrolet teams with them having a full season of using the new Camaro ZL1 under their belts, and the new rules package should at least somewhat level the playing field after a season during which Chevrolet drivers won only four races while Ford drivers won 19 races and Toyota drivers won 13 races.

The statistics speak for themselves; Larson has what it takes to compete at the front of the field on a regular basis. His win tally also speaks for itself; he certainly isn’t what you would consider a “choker”. He knows how to win. He simply couldn’t do it in a season during which Chevrolet teams and drivers struggled mightily as a whole.

All things considered, the fact that Larson was able to be as competitive as he was this past season points toward him having a bounce-back season in 2019. With the speed he has shown, the odds that he will struggle to find victory lane for a second consecutive season are small. In fact, expect him to win quite a few races in 2019.

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Will Kyle Larson bounce back in the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season? How many races, if any, do you believe he will win next season? How far do you believe he will advance in the playoffs if he reaches the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season?

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