Kyle Larson enters the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs as the No. 1 seed, backed by an impressive performance this season that includes four race wins, 10 stage wins, and a second-place finish in the regular season standings. With 40 playoff points and a 35-point lead above the cutline, Larson seems well-positioned to make a strong run. However, the unpredictability of the current Next Gen NASCAR era has the Hendrick Motorsports driver feeling the heat.
“No, I don’t care about odds, really,” Larson stated via TobyChristie.com. “Yeah, I don’t. I think like I said – NASCAR, especially in the Next Gen era, is just crazy. There’s so much inconsistency these days that you can easily find yourself in trouble. It doesn’t matter if you have a 35 or 40-point buffer to the cutline currently.”
Despite being the bookies’ favorite with +380 odds to win the championship, Larson knows the upcoming races are going to be difficult.
“Yeah, I don’t love seeing Atlanta (Motor Speedway) in the playoffs at all. And even Watkins Glen (International)… yes, I like those tracks, but they’re just sketchy places,” he admitted.
The Round of 16 features intimidating tracks such as the Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the ultra-fast road course at Watkins Glen, and the notorious tire-eater Bristol—each presenting a unique set of risks. Christopher Bell was also questioning this line-up.
This year, Hendrick Motorsports is celebrating its 40th anniversary season, adding another layer of significance to Larson’s playoff run. However, he is not letting the milestone act as a pressure point. “I don’t view it as pressure. I just view it as opportunity,” he emphasized. “Right now, we have 10 more opportunities to win a race, and then also a championship, which would be great in Rick’s (Hendrick) 40th season. Yeah, just have to try and execute, and hopefully, we’ll give ourselves an opportunity to do that.”
The 2024 season has already earned the moniker “Any Given Sunday” era of NASCAR, owing to its sheer unpredictability. In the first 26 races there were 15 different winners, some of whom were not even considered frontrunners, ranking as low as 31st, 34th, and 18th in the standings.
Against this backdrop, Larson faces the reality that his lead and playoff points don’t guarantee safety.
“But if they’re going to be in the playoffs, I would rather them be in the first round than the second or third round. So yeah, I mean I think having the bonus points and playoff points that we’ve earned throughout the regular season is nice. But it still doesn’t guarantee anything.
“You still have to not run into any trouble, especially in back-to-back weeks, and hopefully, you can just make it through,” Larson said.
“I don’t know. I try not to think about missing the Championship Four. Right now, our plan is to do a good job, and then give ourselves an opportunity at Phoenix. If we happen to miss the Championship Four, then I can try and judge if it’s a bad season or not. But we’ve already got four wins at this point, so I wouldn’t call that a bad season.”
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