Kyle Larson had been on a historic streak through the first six races of the Chase, but the situation completely changed at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday afternoon.
Videos by FanBuzz
Everything that could go wrong for the two-time Cup Series champion did as he lost nearly all of his points advantage. His average finish, a staggering 2.8 through six races, fell to 7.28 as he failed to finish a race for the first time since Indianapolis in July.
"I didn't expect to be good, but I didn't expect to be that bad either," Larson said after a 33rd-place finish. "It wasn't a lot of fun today, but we were just trying to salvage what we could of the day.
"We'll go to Talladega (Superspeedway) and try to forget about today and get back after it. We've done well at the superspeedways, so hopefully we can execute, get some points and keep ourselves in the hunt."
After a challenging day at @phoenixraceway, @KyleLarsonRacin sees his lead in the standings cut down to only five points. pic.twitter.com/CM3vQRVsYd
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 18, 2026
The struggles actually started on Saturday. Larson had an issue during his qualifying lap that dropped him to 22nd on the speed chart. He responded by throwing his steering wheel in frustration.
Yet, it seemed a foregone conclusion that Larson and the No. 5 team would just recover from the poor starting position and continue to stockpile points. After all, this team recovered from significant handling issues at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and still scored a runner-up finish.
But Sunday at Phoenix did not play out as many expected. Larson ran 18th after starting 22nd. He gained some track position after a caution in stage 1, but he fell back to 23rd. He missed out on stage points.
The second stage continued in the same manner for the No. 5 team. Larson didn't have the speed or handling, and he remained outside of the top 25. Once again, he missed out on stage points.
The No. 5 team brought Larson down pit road ahead of the final stage and conducted an extended stop. They attempted to make some major changes, much like they did at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The efforts were in vain. Larson still did not have the car that he needed to get back into contention for a top-10 finish.
The final blow for the team came with 30 laps remaining in the race. He entered Turn 1 and hit the brakes, but the car continued straight. It slammed into the outside wall and caused race-ending damage.
A TOUGH BREAK FOR THE NO. 5. 😳
📺📱 : USA Network pic.twitter.com/9Xm6z0tXLf
— NASCAR on USA (@NASCARonUSA) October 18, 2026
Larson took the Chevrolet Camaro to the garage and eventually exited. He made the mandatory trip to the infield care center while the race continued.
Tyler Reddick won the race, which actually benefited Larson. The 23XI Racing driver entered the race so far back in points that he could only cut into Larson's advantage. If Christopher Bell had won, Larson would have lost the lead.
As it stands now, Larson still has a slim advantage over Bell, Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and Reddick. He is by no means comfortable heading to Talladega Superspeedway.
