By Jerry Jordan, Editor
LAS VEGAS – Kyle Larson believes there is only one track left on the NASCAR Cup Series Chase schedule where he is better than Denny Hamlin.
“Homestead, yeah, I would feel like that’s probably the one track ahead that I’m confident that I’m better than him at,” Larson said.
When Larson’s assessment was relayed to Hamlin on Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver did not argue and landed on the same answer.
“I don’t know. I’m just so week to week. It’s hard for me to look that far forward,” Hamlin said. “I mean, yeah, if I had any issues of any tracks, if it were, if it were Talladega or if it were Homestead, the position that I’m in is dictated off of what I do this weekend. So, full focus is the week to week, truthfully, and that builds you the cushion or the gap that you’re going to end up facing later on when you get to those tracks.”
The exchange, which comes a day before Sunday’s South Point 400, offered a window into the championship fight that has the two drivers separated in the standings by only 26 points. Larson, the defending and two-time Cup Series champion, leads the standings after a dominating win last week at Kansas Speedway. At 26 points back and six races to go in the Chase for the Championship, Hamlin sits in second, with Christopher Bell 50 points behind in third and Joey Logano further back with a 67-point deficit.
Larson has finished fifth, first, second and first through the opening four Chase races, an average finish of 2.5 – an accomplishment that many think will be almost impossible to maintain.
What it takes to beat Hamlin
When asked what he has to do to beat Hamlin, Larson gave a fairly simple answer, “be perfect.”
“Well, you have to run good, all race, every race,” Larson said. “I think he’s got the best average finish in the Next Gen era, probably the best average finish that we’ve seen in a very, very long time. So, with that, yeah, you’ve got to be ultra consistent. So, yeah, he’s just not going to have DNFs. And his bad finishes are going to be around like a bad, bad day. It would be around 10th. So, with that, you can’t have DNFs. So, yeah, I mean, obviously you have Talladega out there where anything can happen, but he still seems to find a way to finish those, even. So, yeah, you just got to be consistent.”
The weakness game
So where is Hamlin weak and Larson strong? After going over each remaining track one-by-one, Larson said he may have a couple of trouble spots but he could only think of one for Hamlin.
“Well, I don’t think he’s bad anywhere, truthfully,” Larson said told Kickin’ the Tires. “I mean, you look at all these racetracks. Vegas, he’s extremely good. Charlotte, he should have won the 600. Phoenix, he’s super good. Talladega could go any which way. Martinsville, there’s nobody better. Am I missing any tracks? Homestead, yeah, I would feel like that’s probably the one track ahead that I’m confident that I’m better than him at. So, yeah, I mean, that just makes you have to execute because you know he’s going to be up front all race long at all these races, maybe outside of Talladega. But again, that’s just fun to compete with somebody that makes you have to level up like that.”
Turned around, Larson was just as candid about his own vulnerabilities. Talladega is a wild card that can go either way for anyone. And Phoenix Raceway is the one that keeps him up at night.
“Well, I mean, all of them,” Larson said when asked which tracks worry him. “But yeah, Talladega can go either way. And then, Phoenix is, on paper, we’ve finished well there, but it’s probably our worst track on the circuit. So, yeah, hopefully we can get better there.”
That sets up a fascinating late-season dynamic. Phoenix, Larson’s self-described worst track, is one where he says Hamlin is “super good.” Homestead, the Nov. 8 season finale where the championship will be decided, is the one place Larson feels he holds the edge – and the one place Hamlin admits concerns him.
Friends, not BFFs
For all the on-track tension, the rivalry remains respectful. Larson laughed off the idea that he and Hamlin are inseparable, even as he praised his rival in the highest terms.
“Yeah, I mean, we’re friends, but we’re not like BFFs like I think everybody makes us out to be,” Larson said. “But, ultimately, I just have a lot of respect for him as a competitor, and I think the same would go for him for me. He’s been the best in the series, I feel like, for the last couple years. Competing with him as he’s trying to chase his first championship is fun. It’s fun to try to keep him from doing that, and I think it’s fun for him to try to work really hard to beat not only me but others to gain that first championship, too. So, yeah, the competition is a lot of fun. There’s nobody more competitive than Denny Hamlin in all facets of anything. So, yeah, it makes it rewarding when you beat him. It makes you try harder to beat him.”
The gap
Hamlin, who finished third at Kansas as Larson pulled away late, was asked whether the 26-point deficit feels like a big gap or a small one.
“If you could win, yes. If you can win, absolutely,” Hamlin said. “If you don’t think you can win, then the gaps are the same as what they were last year, but everyone, I would think, in contention, thinks that they can. So, I would say they feel smaller than years past.”
Larson, meanwhile, wants the cushion to grow before the schedule turns treacherous.
“Yeah, I mean, obviously, I would love to,” Larson said when asked about building separation at the Chase’s halfway point. “I would love to continue to put together weekends like we have, where we’ve gained a lot of points, just to stretch it out. That way, if you do have a blowup race, you won’t fall down the order a lot. But, yeah, I mean, that’s not guaranteed.”
The battle resumes Sunday in the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with the green flag set for 5:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.