Kyle Larson came one position away from earning his third NASCAR Cup Series victory in four races, in a dramatic finish that saw him smack the wall on the final lap at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and nurse his damaged car across the line. Yet at the end of the day, he was still the big winner.
Not only did Denny Hamlin, his primary championship rival, turn a race-winning car into a 16th-place finish after a self-inflicted spin. But Larson and his No. 5 team took a car that at one point fell a lap down, and extended his points lead.
These are the types of performances where champions are made. And on Sunday, while Larson was driving a paint scheme inspired by the late Kyle Busch, it was another former Hendrick Motorsports star who he channeled on the track.
Kyle Larson's Jimmie Johnson-esque rebound might be his biggest Chase win yet
Pour one out for everybody who said Larson would struggle in the new title format because he's too mistake prone. In five Chase races, the two-time champion has finished fifth, first, second, first, and second.
And he's done it all even without the overwhelming dominance we're used to seeing from Larson and his Hendrick team. Aside from his 235-laps-led performance at Kansas Speedway a week ago, his finishes have been grinders.
He outlasted a series of strategy shakeups and late restarts at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. He finished second with a damaged front end at Bristol Motor Speedway. And on Sunday, he had zero pace until the race's final run.
What Larson and crew chief Cliff Daniels are doing almost mirrors the way Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus were able to win five consecutive titles between 2006 and 2010. It was never easy, despite certain fans who would have you believe all those championships were merely handed to him. In many of those seasons, other cars were faster than the No. 48, but they simply refused to be denied.
Larson hasn't scored the most points this season. He doesn't have the best average finish or the most wins. But everybody plays by the same rules, and what he and his team are doing right now is the definition of championship-level performance.
If Larson is crowned the back-to-back Cup Series champion at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 8, the title won't have been won on that day. It will have been won at Las Vegas on October 4, when he finished second with a 15th-place car.
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