Realistically, the NASCAR Cup Series Chase for the Championship is down to these three, and it’s going to take a generational run for anyone else to even have a marginal opportunity.
Kyle Larson
Denny Hamlin -49
Christopher Bell -51
To wit, NASCAR placed all three presumptive championship finalists on a media stage on Saturday at Phoenix Raceway to discuss what the final four races looks like for their respective hopes.
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Dale Jr. explains why he doesn't use 'Earnhardt' in his signatureHamlin entered the final 10 races with the number one seed, a 25-point championship advantage and all the pressure in the world in his penultimate season that this could finally be his year.
Instead, Larson has went on to post two wins, the second most stage points and a 2.6 average finish through six races, which cannot be caught should it continue. However, Larson has also stated that he isn’t coasting and doesn’t feel like he is counting anyone out.
Who is he most worried about?
“I would say all of them equally,” Larson said, diplomatically. “As Chase (Briscoe) and Bell has proven and Denny has proven for decades, they can win anywhere at any point. As they said, you just have to limit your bad days, and for us so far, we haven’t had any. I’m not saying that we won’t, so we’re just trying to do what we can to execute to the best of our abilities every week and just try to maximize our days.”
They just need to win.
“The difference between first and second in the race is huge,” Bell said of the 20 point difference. “So far, Kyle has found himself in victory lane and Denny hasn't yet. I won once early, but it's all about winning and limiting your bad days. And we haven't done that as good as the 5.”
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“I've only had two potential race winning cars crashed in both of those races,” Hamlin said. “I just need to clean things up and overall just as a team, we have to execute better and we need to be faster in all facets on pit road, on the racetrack. All the things have to be faster because these guys are obviously performing at a high level and you have to match that speed.”
At a 49 point deficit, Hamlin isn’t feeling the heat with four to go, but the run has to start this weekend at a track he probably should have won last year if not for a late caution denying him that elusive title.
“We have to start chipping away,” Hamlin said. “Certainly the time is going by, but chipping away can still get it done but it has to start sooner than later.
“So I think, again, I've not hit the panic button at all, but I can see it. I'm just not quite there yet. And so it starts with this weekend. If we end up with a larger deficit leaving here than what we started, then yeah, we need to start pressing from that point on.”
Because this format is new, Bell doesn’t know where the desperation number is, because this format was supposed to be won by someone who started the Chase with a top-five seed. Larson was the eighth seed and has gone on a generational run.
What is that new number?
Denny Hamlin (right), Christopher Bell (middle), Kyle Larson (left) speak to the media in Phoenix press conference
Photo by: Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
“Is 50 back with four races to go; is that out of contention,” Bell asked. “Is it 50 back with two races to go? Nobody really knows. So, certainly me and Denny are both 50 back right now. We need to close that gap.
“But looking at the rest of the races, I think we're all going to be running up front, scoring stage points and competing for wins. The difference maker is going to be who gets those wins and then Talladega. Whatever happens at Talladega, the likelihood of a crash is a lot higher at that track than other tracks.”
The other factor could be this weekend where Larson says he sucks at Phoenix. His words.
“Well, I think if you were to dig through and pull up average speed throughout a race, I think it would show that,” Larson said. “I’m pretty blunt, I guess, with my comments but that’s why I feel like we suck. It’s just not, historically, been a good track for us from start to finish.
“We're able to finish well, but I think that is a lot to do with just team execution. We've done that time and time again here. I feel like average ranking, we're probably an 8th-to-13th place car most times we’ve come here.
“We've had a couple decent ones, but never do we come here and we're like the fastest. So yeah, it's just been a tough track for us and one that we've worked hard to try and find the speed.”
In other words, if someone else is going to take this championship away from Larson, it has to start these next two races where Larson has struggled.
The Chase is on.
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