Kyle Larson looks to replicate 2021 success in quest for second Cup title
As Kyle Larson impressed in sprint cars at dirt tracks across the country with his speed and car control about 15 years ago, many saw Larson as a generational racing talent.
He was projected as someone who could possibly win a NASCAR Cup Series title someday. Possibly multiple ones, depending on how he adapted to the heavier stock cars on asphalt.
The 31-year-old Larson has one Cup title. He now has a shot at a second as he will battle Ryan Blaney, William Byron and Christopher Bell for the title Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.
Only 17 drivers have won multiple Cup titles, and Larson could become the 18th if he finishes the race better than the other three finalists. Larson is the only driver among the four who already has won a Cup title.
[Read more: Analyzing the Championship 4: Why each driver will or won't claim Cup Series title]
What would winning a second championship mean to Larson and his racing legacy?
It's hard for Larson, and even his Hendrick Motorsports crew chief, Cliff Daniels, to answer.
"I never really thought I'd even win one, so I haven't really thought about winning two," Larson said. "I don't have an opinion on it. I'm happy to have one. For sure I want more.
"But I don't know how winning two changes anything at this point. Later on down the road for sure it does. But I don't really have an opinion."
Kyle Larson discusses how a second Cup title would add to his legacy
Daniels and Larson have won 17 races together, including four this year. They won the first race of the semifinal round at Las Vegas, giving them three weeks to somewhat prepare for Phoenix.
When they won the title in 2021, they also won the opening race of the semifinal round.
"The only thing that I can tell you is just playing it in reverse — I had no idea what to expect for the first one until living it and feeling it and going through it, and so there's no prediction I could have made then that would have described what it was and what it felt," Daniels said.
"So I don't I don't know how to predict now."
What Larson and Daniels are focused on is repeating what they did in the 2021 championship race, which capped an awesome 10-win season in their first year together as Larson had replaced seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson.
Larson won the pole and led 107 laps on the way to the victory at Phoenix.
"We started the weekend off by getting the pole — that was huge to get the No. 1 pit stall," Larson said. "And then in the race, at different points, we had a good car. And then in other points, we weren't. I felt like at certain points of the race, all four of us [vying for the title] had the best car.
"Not that we had the best car at the end of the race, but our pit crew did a really good job and that pit stall paid off. Going back, obviously, I know how important that pit stall is, so you put a big emphasis on qualifying."
Kyle Larson reflects on his 2021 championship race weekend and what he needs to do to win a second Cup title
Is winning the pole easy? Well, it won't be easy. But Larson won the pole in March at Phoenix, led 201 laps and finished fourth. With NASCAR introducing the new Next Gen car in 2022, that could do more for Larson's confidence than two years ago when the car was dramatically different.
"We had a weekend similar to 2021 earlier this year in the spring — getting the pole and then just didn't execute the last restart right," Larson said. "Looking at those sort of little mistakes that we had in the spring, and then also just try to execute like we did in 2021, I think is where my mind is at on what we need to do to win the championship.
"And you need a fast car, which I know we will, and we'll have a good weekend."
Off the track, Larson will try to keep things similar to 2021 as well.
"That whole week was a great experience," Larson said. "It's your first opportunity at a championship, so there's a lot of friends and family coming and all that.
"That was really special to me, and basically the same group of people are already planning on coming this trip."
While some drivers try to isolate during the weekend to focus. That won't be Larson's plan. It wasn't two years ago, and it worked out fine.
"[We] try and treat it as a fairly normal week and not try to distance myself from my friends and family," said Larson, who owns a home in the Phoenix area. "I plan on doing basically the same stuff I did last time."
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Another key will be Larson making the most of the data that Daniels gives him.
"Cliff is an intense guy and he brings a lot to the table," team co-owner and four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon said. "It's a lot of information that you have to absorb.
"[Larson] stepped up to the plate and has done everything that the organization can possibly ask out of him and then some. It's been a great relationship."
If you looked 10 years down the road and said Larson would win several more championships, few would say it is out of the realm of possibility.
Maybe Larson and Daniels know that they could rattle off several championships if everything falls right for them. The record of seven is held by Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Johnson — but those were all under different formats.
Larson will likely achieve more incredible racing feats with one set for 2024 as he plans to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and the Coke 600 on the same day.
So a second Cup championship? It would be huge but not career-defining on its own.
"If you win in a second one, that's one step closer to seven or eight," Larson said. "I think that's everybody's goal is to surpass them.
"But in this day and age, I think that'd be very difficult. But I'd love to get one step closer."
Daniels tries not to let himself think about winning a second title and wondering how many could be possible.
"Everyone can daydream, and you can come up with numbers in your head," Daniels said. "I think that's a reasonable human emotion or human thought as far as what that is.
"But I don't know. I try to approach it very practically that we have to stay focused on our process and our path of what it would take to get there. And there's just so many factors, so many things that can happen. The way this format is so tough. Who knows?"
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass, and sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass.
