When NASCAR's Chase started, drama in Homestead was expected. Along came Kyle Larson.

David. J. Neal, Miami Herald on Nov 4, 2026

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MIAMI — When NASCAR changed the championship-deciding format this year — 10-race miniseason, most points over the 10 races wins — everybody knew it was possible somebody might dominate enough to hit Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Cup Series title clinched or all but clinched. But, probable? Nah.

Then, like a Drama Dracula, Kyle Larson sucked almost all the uncertainty out of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race season finale at Homestead.

In the nine Chase races, Larson zoomed from 55 points behind leader Denny Hamlin to 67 points up on second-place Christopher Bell and 70 points up on now-third place Hamlin. With nine points Sunday, a 28th-place finish, at a track he has mastered, Larson will have his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series title and third overall.

NASCAR’s playoff format the previous 12 seasons guaranteed nobody could just take the title by trying to stay out of trouble. The playoff format whittled 16 drivers down to four and the season championship went to the best finisher among those four in the season finale. Last year, Larson had to outrace Hamlin, William Byron and Chase Briscoe in the season closer at Phoenix.

But, manufactured drama vs. natural drama can come off as Impossible Whopper vs. The Whopper.

“I’ve liked [the change]. Every race matters, every point matters.” Bell said. “The biggest thing to takeaway is [the champion] be someone we all agree on. With the previous format, I don’t think you could say that.

“I don’t want to use the word ‘legitimate,’ but ... it’s a little bit more legitimate.”

Take what Larson had to do to build his lead. He not only broke a 51-race winless streak by winning the Chase’s second race, the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway, but he won the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas and Yella Wood 500 Talladega. He also finished second in Las Vegas and second at Bristol.

In fact, the only time the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 finished out of the top 10 during the Chase’s first eight races was the Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix, 34th.

“We brought decently fast race cards to the racetrack, and I feel like no team has executed as highly as our team has,” Larson said. “I think our team has just made fewer mistakes than others. And, Phoenix has been our only bad race in the Chase. We had a poor handling race car and then had a flat tire at the end and had a DNF [Did Not Finish] from it.

“But, even at that race, it’s not that we didn’t execute. We just didn’t have the car speed. We were still executing our race really well, not making mistakes on pit road or strategy or anything like that.”

Bad strategy luck made Martinsville’s Xfinity 500 a disappointing day for Larson (ninth) and Hamlin (sixth). Bell managed a 10th.

Though Larson needs only to finish 28th or better Sunday, until the checkered flag falls, doubt remains in racing. Equipment failure, your own mistake or another driver’s faux pas can turn contending into 29th place quickly.

Larson knows that well from March 2025. He raced in all three NASCAR series races that weekend at Homestead, winning the Baptist Health 200 Craftsman Truck Series race and the Straight Talk Wireless 400 with dramatic late passes and finishing fourth in the Hard Rock Bet 300 Xfinity race after a yellow with eight laps left erased his half lap lead.

“I was excited for a new format, one that brings excitement and where winning is still important, as we’ve shown throughout the Chase,” Larson said before Martinsville. “It’s a good mix of what everybody was after — points racing, but also having big moments. We’ve done a really good job this Chase and we have a shot at locking up the championship.

“But, I don’t think necessarily that would be the case every season.”