Kyle Larson’s dream of a third title just hit a hard wall in the desert. The Hendrick Motorsports driver stumbled badly at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, Oct. 18, falling to a 34th-place finish. For weeks, Larson dominated the field with an average finish of 2.83, the best pace since the “Chase” started in 2004. That perfect run ended when a flat front right tire sent his No. 5 Chevrolet into the wall. Now the points lead has shrunk to just five points over Christopher Bell, and the hunt is wide open again. This is not a crisis, but it is a wake-up call for a driver who looked unbeatable.
The field is tight and the pressure is high with only three races left. Tyler Reddick’s sixth season triumph came at Phoenix, returning his No. 45 Toyota to contention. Ryan Blaney finished second, Chase Elliott came in third, and Christopher Bell took fourth. Larson admitted the day was a struggle. “I didn’t expect to be good, but I didn’t expect to be that bad either,” Larson said, according to KXAN Austin. He knows he must bounce back fast at Talladega Superspeedway next weekend. The team still leads Bell by five points, but Denny Hamlin sits 31 points back, and Joey Logano trails by 44. Everyone is still in the hunt because Larson had such a bad day.
The Shift in Momentum
Larson’s fall from grace is as eye-catching as his rise. Two wins and two second-place finishes marked his first six postseason races. It was a stellar run that reminded many of Jimmie Johnson’s peak in the 2000s. Now that momentum is gone, and the Hendrick Motorsports team faces a real test. Reddick’s team had a big lull over the summer after winning four of the first six races. But they are back on the rise. “We just had to keep showing up, stay focused on the details,” Reddick said, according to the Killeen Daily Herald. He added, “We did a good job of just fighting through the things that we needed to work on today, just making the right calls at the right time.”
Briscoe also remains a threat since consecutive victories at Las Vegas and Charlotte returned him to the hunt. The playoff field is wide open. Bell noted the challenge ahead. “It’s going to be a battle, that’s for sure,” Bell said. Larson’s team has the lead, but the gap is thin. The next race at Talladega will be the superspeedway where Larson has done well before. He said, “We’ve done well at the superspeedways, so hopefully we can execute, get some points and keep ourselves in the hunt.” That is the only path left. The car must run fast, and the driver must stay calm.
The season moves to Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama for the Chase YellaWood 500. Qualifying is set for Saturday at 1 p.m. Eastern, with the race on Sunday at 2 p.m. on NBC. This track changes everything. A single mistake can end a season, but a great run can save it. Larson’s lead is small, but it is real. He still holds the advantage. The question is whether he can execute when it matters most. The next step is clear. The team must fix what went wrong in the desert and get back on the track. The next race is on November 1 in Ridgeway, Virginia, but the real fight starts this weekend in Alabama.