NASCAR: This Kyle Larson stat should scare everybody

As we close in on the start of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, this Kyle Larson statistic should scare absolutely everybody not named Kyle Larson.

Kyle Larson capped off a dominant 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season with a well-deserved championship at Phoenix Raceway in early November, bringing to a close his first season as the driver of the #5 for Hendrick Motorsports.

Larson, who technically replaced seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson at Rick Hendrick’s team after the 2020 season, was the first driver since Johnson in 2007 to win 10 races in a single season. He won more than twice as many races as any other driver.

But that’s not even the scariest stat to consider as Larson prepares for year number two with the powerhouse Chevrolet team.

NASCAR was forced to shut down after four races in the 2020 season, due to ongoing COVID-19-related restrictions.

During this unexpected 10-week hiatus, Larson, then driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, lost his job.

His use of a racial slur during an iRacing event led to NASCAR suspending him indefinitely, and it also led to him losing multiple sponsors. While he was only initially suspended by Chip Ganassi’s team, the fact that these sponsors cut ties with him effectively forced Ganassi’s hand.

Later in the year, Larson was reinstated by NASCAR, and he was signed by Hendrick Motorsports for 2021. Interestingly, Larson was due to become a free agent after the 2020 season even before the incident, and Hendrick had his eye on him from the time Johnson announced that the 2020 season would be his last in November 2019.

Here’s where things get crazy.

Since the Cup Series returned to action in May 2020, nobody has won more races than Larson has (10).

Yet he was suspended for 32 of the 68 races that have been contested since then.

Take a look at the drivers to win multiple races since then.

NOTE: Aside from Larson, who has competed in just 36 races since NASCAR’s return, these drivers have all competed in all 68 races since the return.

• Kyle Larson: 10 wins
• Kevin Harvick: 9 wins
• Denny Hamlin: 8 wins
• Chase Elliott: 7 wins
• Brad Keselowski: 5 wins
• Martin Truex Jr.: 5 wins
• Alex Bowman: 4 wins
• Ryan Blaney: 4 wins
• Kyle Busch: 3 wins
• Kurt Busch: 2 wins
• William Byron: 2 wins
• Joey Logano: 2 wins

Interestingly, Kevin Harvick, like Larson, had all of his wins during this span come in a single season. He won a career-high nine races in 2020 before going winless in 2021.

Seven drivers have won one race during this span: Cole Custer, Austin Dillon, Michael McDowell, Christopher Bell, Aric Almirola, A.J. Allmendinger and Bubba Wallace.

This is arguably more impressive than the fact that, even if you count only the final eight races of 2021, Larson still had more wins than anybody else had throughout the entire 36-race season.

Of course, we can’t forget the fact that no driver has won consecutive championships since Jimmie Johnson won five in a row from 2006 to 2010. So winning a second in a row hasn’t been done since 2007. Repeating isn’t easy for anybody, especially under the current postseason/Championship 4 format.

The 2022 season is scheduled to get underway on Sunday, February 20 with the 64th annual Daytona 500, which is set to be broadcast live from Daytona International Speedway beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on Fox. If you have not yet begun your free trial of FuboTV, now is a great time to do so!