Kyle Larson needs nine points to win his third NASCAR Cup Series title

The NASCAR Cup Series regular season has concluded, and the championship race moves to the final event at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 8. The outcome hinges on the performance of Kyle Larson, who currently leads the standings by a wide margin.

Larson finished ninth at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday. His team made a strategic error by keeping him on the track for fresh tires while most competitors pitted. The caution flag that ended the first stage did not appear until lap 130. By then, Larson had fallen to 23rd place and was a lap down from the leaders. He managed to recover and finish in the top ten, losing only six points in the standings.

The driver leads the championship by 67 points over Christopher Bell. Bell finished 10th at Martinsville. Larson needs only nine points at the Homestead finale to secure his third Cup Series title. He has won two of the last four races at that track. Denny Hamlin sits 70 points behind Larson after finishing sixth in Sunday's race. Bell and Hamlin are the only other drivers still mathematically in contention for the title.

Hamlin started the race on the pole and led 40 laps. He also chose to stay on track for tires during the first stage. He dropped to 17th place when the caution flew. Later, he was involved in a contact incident with Bell. That collision occurred after Bell spun following a speeding penalty in the pits. Hamlin scored no points in the first two stages of the race.

Hamlin gained three points on Larson but fell behind Bell in the overall standings. He described the race as a situation where his team had everything to gain and nothing to lose. They did not gain enough ground to make a championship drive realistic. Bell, who finished 10th, said he and his team know the situation they are in.

The race at the 0.526-mile oval in Martinsville was won by William Byron. It was his first victory at the track in a year. His teammate Chase Elliott finished second, giving Hendrick Motorsports the top two spots. Ty Gibbs took third place. Byron led 362 of the 500 laps for his 17th career win. Hendrick Motorsports has 32 wins in Martinsville history, more than any other team.

Larson will be a heavy favorite to win the title at Homestead. A victory there would give Hendrick Motorsports a record 16th team championship. It would also place Larson third in team history behind Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. Larson plans to score points in the first two stages of the race at Homestead. He aims to lock up the title well before the checkered flag flies.

The season finale returns to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the first time in seven years. The 1.5-mile oval in South Florida hosted the championship from 2002 to 2019. Phoenix Raceway has served as the season finale track for the past seven seasons. Larson won the last Cup race at Homestead on March 23, 2025.