Kyle Larson NASCAR championship: Kyle Larson is a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion after clinching the title on Sunday, November 8, 2026, in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida. The 34-year-old from Elk Grove, California, sealed the title before the race was over. He did not need to wait for the checkered flag. The championship was decided at the end of Stage 1, when Larson finished fourth in the stage and collected seven stage points. That was enough to put the title beyond the reach of his two remaining rivals, Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin. Larson kept racing in the finale after the title was sealed, with Stage 3 still to run later in the afternoon.
Table of Contents
| Quick Facts | Details |
|---|---|
| Driver | Kyle Larson, 34, from Elk Grove, California |
| Car and team | No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
| Crew chief | Cliff Daniels |
| Race | Season finale, Sunday, November 8, 2026 |
| Track | Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Florida |
| Title | Third NASCAR Cup Series championship, second in a row |
| How it was clinched | Fourth in Stage 1, seven stage points, at the end of Lap 80 |
| Points needed | Nine total points to guarantee the title, or a 28th-place finish without stage points |
| Rivals | Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin |
| Place in history | 11th driver with at least three Cup titles |
| Team milestone | Hendrick Motorsports record 16th Cup championship |
Kyle Larson NASCAR Championship: How the Title Was Decided in Stage 1
Larson entered Sunday with a strong cushion. He led Bell by 67 points and Hamlin by 70 points. He needed nine total points to guarantee the title no matter what his rivals did, or a 28th-place finish without any stage points. He got one point for starting the race, and then he added seven more in Stage 1.
The key moment came on Lap 78. Chase Briscoe’s No. 19 Toyota went up in smoke and brought out a caution. The stage ended on Lap 80. Larson finished fourth in the stage. Bell finished third in the stage and collected eight points. Hamlin finished sixth in the stage and collected five points.
The points math after Stage 1 left no way back for either rival. Bell trailed Larson by 66 points with only 66 points available during the rest of the race, and Larson was guaranteed at least one more point for his finishing position. That meant both Bell and Hamlin were eliminated from contention at that point.
The radio call on the No. 5 team told the story in simple terms. Daniels said “Good job to you. We’re going to keep our eyes forward, and we’re just going to keep running through this race, how’s that?” Larson replied “Yeah, love it. Let’s go.” The job was done, but the race was not over. Larson kept racing in the finale, and he had contact with the wall in Stage 3 as the afternoon continued.
A season that started with a drought
The 2026 season did not look like a championship season for a long time. Larson went winless through the entire 26-race regular season. His winless drought reached 51 races into September.
The Chase returned in 2026 with a single points reset after the regular season. The format had a 16-car field and 10 races, with no eliminations. Wins were worth 55 points. Hamlin entered The Chase as the No. 1 seed, 55 points ahead of seventh-seeded Larson. That gap showed how far Larson had to climb.
His earlier titles had come in very different ways. He won his first title in 2021 with 10 wins, led 2,581 laps, and won the Phoenix finale. He won his second title in 2025 even though he never led a lap at Phoenix. That win came on a two-tire strategy by Daniels after a late caution, and Larson finished third in the race. The 2026 title added a third kind of story, a title won after a long wait for a win.
The Chase turnaround
The turnaround started in the second Chase race. Larson won at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, and the win snapped the drought. From there, his form changed completely. He opened the postseason with finishes of fifth, first, second, first, and second. That run gave him a 2.2 average finish through five races, the best start in the format’s history per Racing Insights. He scored 273 points in those five races, at 54.6 points per race, nearly double his regular-season pace.
At Kansas Speedway, he was even stronger. He swept both stages, led 235 laps, and scored the maximum 76 points. At Las Vegas, a 26-second pit stop dropped him a lap down, but he recovered to finish second.
It was a weekend of big results across sport, and the same day also saw Lando Norris win the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Larson’s run stood on its own, though, because it had turned a winless regular season into a title charge in only a few weeks. The points lead he built during that stretch gave him the room he needed for the hard races that followed.
Talladega, Martinsville, and the road to Homestead
The Chase did not stay smooth. At Phoenix, handling problems and a tire failure sent Larson to 34th with just three points. His 49-point lead shrank to five points, with seven drivers within 56 points. The title race was open again, and the margin for error was gone.
Talladega gave him the answer. He was winless in his previous 58 drafting-track starts, and few people would have picked him to win there. He led 23 laps, banked 16 stage points, fell to 11th on the final lap, and then charged back for his first career superspeedway victory. The win netted 71 points. His lead went from five points to 73 points in one afternoon. It was the kind of swing that can decide a championship.
Martinsville tested him in a different way. He went a lap down after an unsuccessful opening-stage strategy and scored no points in the first two stages. He got the free pass after a caution when Bell and Hamlin spun, and he recovered to finish ninth with 28 points. The recovery kept his lead intact and set up the finale at Homestead.
The drama was not limited to stock car racing that weekend. In tennis, Carlos Alcaraz beat Ben Shelton at the Paris Masters, another result from a busy day of sport. For Larson, the focus stayed narrow. He arrived at Homestead with a 67-point lead over Bell and a 70-point lead over Hamlin, and he needed only a steady Stage 1 to close the deal.
Homestead and Hendrick history
Homestead is one of Larson’s best tracks. He has led more laps there than any other driver in Cup history, with 645 laps led. He has wins there in 2022 and March 2025, and an average finish of 12th through 12 races. The track suited his style, and it gave him a fitting place to seal a third title.
The title also put Larson in rare company. He is the 11th driver in NASCAR history with at least three Cup titles. He joins Lee Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Tony Stewart, Joey Logano, and the seven-time champions Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson. He is the first back-to-back Cup champion since Jimmie Johnson’s five-title run ended in 2010. It is also the first time in the revived Chase format that a driver has won back-to-back titles.
For Hendrick Motorsports, the title was a record 16th Cup championship. The team has four titles with Jeff Gordon, seven with Jimmie Johnson, one each with Terry Labonte and Chase Elliott, and now three with Larson. Larson is the third Hendrick driver with at least three titles, after Gordon with four and Johnson with seven. Daniels was a race engineer on Johnson’s 2016 championship team. The No. 5 car itself dates back to Geoff Bodine’s April 1984 Martinsville win. GM president Mark Reuss congratulated Larson, Daniels and the No. 5 team.
The scale of the day was clear in other sports too, with Victor Wembanyama posting 52 points, 24 rebounds and 8 blocks for the Spurs against the Mavericks. At Homestead, though, the story belonged to Larson and the No. 5 team. They had turned a winless regular season into a championship, and they had done it with a playoff run that few drivers have matched.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Kyle Larson clinch the championship at Homestead?
Larson clinched the title at the end of Stage 1. He finished fourth in the stage and collected seven stage points. With one point for starting the race, that gave him enough to put the title out of reach. After Stage 1, Bell trailed by 66 points with only 66 points left to earn, and Larson was guaranteed at least one more point for his finishing position.
Who were Larson’s rivals in the 2026 finale?
Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin were the two remaining rivals. Larson entered the finale 67 points ahead of Bell and 70 points clear of Hamlin. Bell finished third in Stage 1 for eight points, and Hamlin finished sixth for five points. Both were eliminated from contention after Stage 1.
How many Cup titles does Kyle Larson have now?
Larson now has three Cup titles. He won his first title in 2021, his second in 2025, and his third in 2026. He is the 11th driver in NASCAR history with at least three Cup titles, and the first back-to-back champion since Jimmie Johnson’s five-title run ended in 2010.
When does the next NASCAR season start?
The next season starts at Daytona International Speedway with the Wheatley Vodka Clash on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2027.
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Final Thoughts
The Kyle Larson NASCAR championship win is a story of patience as much as speed. He went winless through the regular season and carried a 51-race drought into September. Then he won at Gateway, put together the best start in the format’s history, and built a lead that survived a tire failure at Phoenix and a hard day at Martinsville. Talladega gave him a first superspeedway win when he needed it most, and Homestead gave him a track where he has always been strong. The title was sealed in Stage 1, before the race was over, and that says a lot about how complete the turnaround was. He now stands with the great names of the sport, and he did it with the same team and the same crew chief who helped him win in 2025. The next season starts at Daytona on Feb. 13, 2027, and Larson will arrive there as the defending champion once again.
