Did the Indy 500 cost Kyle Larson another NASCAR championship?

As a seasoned NASCAR enthusiast with decades of racing lore etched into my memory banks, I can’t help but ponder over Kyle Larson’s fateful decision at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. If only that Memorial Day rain had held off just a bit longer, he might have been battling for the Coca-Cola 600 victory instead of chasing the Indy 500 dream.

On a dry Memorial Day Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it’s likely that Kyle Larson would have qualified for the starting lineup of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Instead, he chose to remain at Indianapolis, participate in the Indy 500, and then travel to Charlotte once the race was underway. Despite no longer being able to earn points from it, his intention was to take over as driver from Justin Allgaier, replacing him behind the wheel of the No. 5 Chevrolet.

However, just like the previous race, heavy rain in Charlotte also caused a halt. Unfortunately, the race couldn’t be resumed. Larson received a playoff waiver, but he failed to earn any points during NASCAR’s longest race of the season.

23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick edging out Kyle Larson by a single point for the regular season championship was a decisive outcome, and it turns out that decision not to start the Coca-Cola 600 was critical. If he had just participated in the race, he would have earned at least one point. Given his superiority in race wins (four to two), Larson held the upper hand in any tiebreaker situation with Reddick.

The regular season champion is awarded 15 extra playoff points. The runner-up scores 10.

In simpler terms, Larson couldn’t make it to the Championship 4 from the playoff round due to a seven-point deficit. This means that if he had chosen to race in the Coca-Cola 600 instead of the Indy 500, he would have missed advancing by just two points.

But it may or may not really be that simple.

Since his move to Hendrick Motorsports in 2021, Charlotte Motor Speedway has consistently been one of Larson’s strongest tracks. Moreover, it’s worth noting that the Coca-Cola 600 now features four stages instead of three, which means an extra playoff point is up for grabs. Plus, there are seven playoff points available each race weekend – one for winning a stage and five for taking the overall win.

In 2021, Larson dominated the tracks and emerged victorious in the race. He overcame an initial mishap to take charge in the final laps of 2022. Unfortunately, a crash forced him out of contention in 2023 as well.

Could Larson have collected at least two extra playoff points in that race, had he run it?

It’s impossible to predict for sure, but based on his impressive track record – being the driver with the most laps led, stage wins, and twice as many race victories as the second-place driver this season – it would have been challenging to wager against him.

In the semifinal round at Martinsville Speedway, his best performance (finishing third) was superior to William Byron’s best performance (finishing fourth) at Las Vegas Motor Speedway during the same round, giving him the advantage in a potential tiebreaker situation.

Rather than being the one defending the title, the 2021 champion found himself overlooked for a second time in three years. Instead, Byron managed to secure the last available spot for the Championship 4. The driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet will join Reddick and Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano from Team Penske in the fight for the 2024 championship at Phoenix Raceway this coming Sunday afternoon.

Catch the exciting NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race on NBC at 3:00 p.m. ET this coming Sunday, November 10th, from Phoenix Raceway. Don’t forget to sign up for a free trial of FuboTV and witness Blaney defending his series title live!

2024-11-10 16:02

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