An IndyCar race decided NASCAR’s regular season champion

An IndyCar race decided NASCAR's regular season champion

As a long-time NASCAR enthusiast with memories stretching back to the glory days of Earnhardt and Petty, I can’t help but feel a mix of emotions about Kyle Larson’s narrow miss at the 2024 Cup Series regular season championship. On one hand, Tyler Reddick’s grit and determination were on full display as he held off Larson to clinch the title by the slimmest of margins – a mere one point. But on the other, I can’t help but think that if not for Larson’s decision to race in the Indy 500 instead of the Coca-Cola 600, he would have been sitting pretty with an extra point under his belt.

23XI Racing’s driver, Tyler Reddick, successfully defended his position against Kyle Larson from Hendrick Motorsports to claim the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular season championship at Darlington Raceway on Sunday evening. He managed to keep him at bay by an incredibly narrow margin.

In the 26-race regular season, the driver of the No. 45 Toyota amassed a total of 860 points, just one point more than the driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet who ended up with 859 points.

In essence, the significant variation in this context stems from the additional playoff points granted to the top two drivers. Essentially, winning a race equates to five playoff points, while the regular season champion receives fifteen. The second-place driver earns ten.

Playoff points serve as extra points given to drivers who are eligible for a championship, prior to every playoff round (excluding the final four). These additional points don’t include those earned in the Championship 4.

During the regular season, Larson amassed 30 playoff points: 20 from his four race wins and 10 from his ten stage victories. On the other hand, Reddick accumulated 13 points: 10 from his two race victories and 3 from his three stage victories.

In summary, Larson is heading into the playoffs with 40 playoff points compared to Reddick’s 28. If Larson had won the regular season title, his points would have been 45 and Reddick’s 23, resulting in a 22-point lead for Larson instead of the current 12-point advantage. Essentially, this means that Reddick would be 10 points closer if Larson had won the regular season championship.

In previous races, drivers have moved ahead or remained behind based on tiebreakers. Consequently, the 10-point lead that Larson currently has (which equates to a 5-point advantage for everyone else) could potentially work against him and benefit Reddick in future competitions.

During the standard season, there were numerous instances where Larson would have potentially secured the additional point required for him to claim the regular season title. With just a single point separating them, Larson had the upper hand in the tiebreaker thanks to his double number of race wins compared to Reddick.

But those are all hypothetical “what-if” scenarios.

In a nutshell, Reddick’s achievements are commendable, but it’s important to note that if Larson had raced in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in late May, he would have earned an extra point. This additional point would have given him a total of 2,045 points instead of 2,040 at the start of the playoffs.

The reason he didn’t do so? The Indy 500.

Due to rain at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indy 500 race was postponed, and Larson, who aimed to be the first driver to achieve the Memorial Day Double since 2014 and only the fifth driver ever to do so, faced a tough choice.

As a gamer, I knew I couldn’t take part in both the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 due to some unforeseen delays. Instead of rushing off to Charlotte, I decided to stay put at Indianapolis, determined to prove myself in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”. Pushing through every mile, I managed to complete the iconic IndyCar race, finishing in 18th place.

Surprisingly accurate: It was a race that Josef Newgarden won, noteworthy as it turned out to be the crucial determinant for the NASCAR regular season championship.
— Beyond the Flag (@Beyond_The_Flag) September 2, 2024

By not participating in the Coca-Cola 600, Larson forfeited the chance to earn points during the race. Justin Allgaier stepped in as his substitute, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet. Later on, during a rain delay, Larson made it to Charlotte and prepared to take over from Allgaier for the rest of the race.

However, due to the persistent rainfall, it was impossible to reinitiate the race. Consequently, Larson missed out on competing, thus becoming only the second driver in history to participate in a Memorial Day Double attempt and complete merely one of the two prestigious races.

Allgaier ended up in 13th position, which brought him 24 points. Interestingly, these points helped the No. 5 team surpass the No. 45 team, securing the regular season championship for the owners with a total of 883 points against the No. 45 team’s 860 points.

Even had Larson been able to finish the race, he would not have been credited with any points.

To put it plainly, I didn’t clinch the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular season title because I chose to race at Indy instead.

Luckily for Larson, he received a playoff waiver despite missing the Coca-Cola 600, contrary to initial speculations that he might not make it. Thankfully, he remains in this season’s playoff roster of 16 drivers.

So it could have been a lot worse.

Despite not earning additional playoff points, it’s important to note that he remains the current overall points leader as we approach the four-round, 10-race postseason. With a total of 2,040 points, he leads Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell, who finished first in the Coca-Cola 600, by eight points in second place before the round of 16 begins.

There’s speculation that Larson might participate in the Indy 500 once more in the year 2025, but an official confirmation regarding his entry is still pending. Last May, he raced for Arrow McLaren under a collaboration with Hendrick Motorsports.

The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs for 2024 kick off this coming Sunday, September 8. The Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart will be aired live on USA Network, beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET from Atlanta Motor Speedway. Why not sign up for a free trial of FuboTV now and catch all the action?

2024-09-08 17:32