NASCAR Cup Series: Kyle Larson’s struggle to secure victories continues

Kyle Larson has been in position to win several NASCAR Cup Series races over the last two seasons, but he hasn’t won a race since September of 2017.

Since Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson took the checkered flag to win the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series regular season finale at Richmond Raceway, he has been in position to add to his career Cup Series win total, which rose to five as a result of this victory, several times.

Yet he has failed to do so each time, and his woes when it comes to sealing the deal continued in this past Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Larson, who entered the 325-lap race around the four-turn, 1.54-mile (2.478-kilometer) high-banked Atlanta Motor Speedway oval in Hampton, Georgia on a 47-race win drought, led 142 of its first 223 laps after starting it in seventh place in his #42 Chevrolet.

But he was hit with a penalty for speeding in the pits, sending him to the back of the lead lap. Over the course of the race’s final 102 laps, he was only able to work his way back up to 12th place.

Even with Larson well out in front in this race, it almost seemed like a disaster waiting to happen, just as it was on numerous occasions throughout the 2018 season. So when disaster struck, it really wasn’t all that surprising given the fact that the 26-year-old Elk Grove, California had several potential victories slip away from him last season before ultimately ending up winless.

Here is a quick rundown of six races in particular that Larson should have won but didn’t last season.

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In the 500-lap April race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Larson was passed late by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch for the lead after leading 200 laps. Busch ended up winning the race while Larson ended up finishing in second place.

In the 267-lap May race at Kansas Speedway, Larson led 101 laps but was involved in a late accident with Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney. He rallied back, but only enough for a fourth place finish.

Once again, Larson finished in second place behind Busch in the 267-lap July race at Chicagoland Speedway. The two drivers engaged in an epic battle on the race’s final lap that ultimately resulted in Busch passing Larson for the lead in the final turn before going on to win it.

The 367-lap September race at Darlington Raceway displayed Larson in arguably his most dominant form of the season, as he led 284 of its laps. But a slow final pit stop and poor execution on the final restart of the race relegated him to a third place finish behind Team Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano.

Larson led 47 laps of the 109-lap round of 16 playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval, but he ended up being involved in a crash late in the race that nearly prevented him from advancing to the round of 12.

Finally, Larson led 45 of the first 163 laps of the 267-lap season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which is arguably his best track. He ended up hitting the wall on lap 199, and he was only able to climb back up to 13th place.

The fact that Larson ended up finishing in 12th place in this past Sunday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which was only the second race of the 2019 season, sums up his entire 2018 season.

Larson’s laps led total of 782 last season trailed only the laps led totals of the four drivers who qualified for the Championship 4, including Busch, Logano, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick and Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr.

The highest driver on the laps led list aside of Larson who failed to win a race in the 2018 season was Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin. Hamlin finished in 10th place on this list with just 380 laps led, a total that was less than half of what Larson’s was.

Through two races so far this season, Larson’s laps led total is nearly three times that of the driver who ranks in second place on the laps led list. He has led 142 laps so far this season. Meanwhile, Blaney and Leavine Family Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto sit in second and third place on that list with 54 laps led and 49 laps led, respectively. Neither one of them has managed to finish a race in the top 21 yet this season.

Even as a five-time Cup Series race winner won earned a career-high four victories in the 2017 season, Larson is back in a position where he needs to get the monkey off of his back. He is clearly one of the sport’s most talented drivers, but he has simply struggled to perform late in races that he has been in position to win, and it has cost him.

When will Kyle Larson’s win drought, which now sits at 48 races, finally come to an end? The next race on the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is scheduled to take place this Sunday, March 3 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada.

This race, the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube, is set to be broadcast live on Fox beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET, so be sure to tune in to it to see if Larson can finally seal the deal and get himself back to victory lane.