CONCORD, N.C. — Kyle Larson has won two of the opening six playoff races to get back to the Round of 8. Yet he doesn't believe he'll match a historic run from the past.
Larson is one of two drivers to win five of the 10 playoff races before celebrating a championship. He achieved this feat in 2021. Tony Stewart is the other driver who achieved this feat, doing so in 2011.
"I think in the Next Gen era it's harder to win races in general," Larson said in response to a question from FanBuzz Sunday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
"Yes, we've won six races this year, which is great, but yeah, it's just hard to execute Next Gen races. They're just wild and all that. Yeah, to win the next three of four would be difficult."
This is a different response than the one Larson had prior to the playoffs.
FanBuzz asked the 16 playoff drivers about the possibility of winning half of the playoff races and the championship. Chase Elliott said it would be tough, but possible. The majority of drivers viewed the Next Gen car as a major hurdle standing in the way.
Larson, who has won at every track remaining on the schedule, was the most receptive to the possibility of going on this type of run once again.
"It's been done before twice, so yeah, it could totally be done again," Larson said at Playoff Media Day in early September. "But yeah, it's really tough.
"You've seen guys win back-to-back races, three out of five or something like that. So yeah, it could for sure be done, it's just tougher it seems like these days."
What has changed since Playoff Media Day to alter Larson's opinion?
One reason is that the 2021 Cup Series champion only has two wins in the first two rounds of the playoffs. He said that he felt he could have a couple more by this point. Crashes knocked him out of contention at both Atlanta and Kansas.
Another reason is the level of competition remaining in the playoff field. This lineup of eight drivers features three other champions — Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, and Joey Logano. It has multiple other drivers — Denny Hamlin, William Byron, and Christopher Bell — with appearances in the Championship 4.
Reddick doesn't have an appearance in the Championship 4 or a Cup Series title on his resume, but he has shown the ability to contend for wins at the remaining tracks on the schedule. He has been particularly good at Homestead-Miami Speedway with three top-five finishes in four starts.
"I still view Denny as probably being the guy that has the speed that we do," Larson said. "He's just had a run of some crappy luck really for a while. I don't know how his race played out today. I think the Gibbs cars are just a little off, besides Bell.
"Especially I think when you look at the next four tracks, Denny could win at any of them. Then I think William too. He's sneaky good. Blaney for sure as well. I mean, you can make a case for anybody in the final eight."
