Kyle Larson has been having a good season. He’s visited the victory lane three times and has eight top-five finishes. Moreover, he’s currently third in the points standings behind teammate and points leader William Byron and Chase Elliott, who is in second place.
However, Larson hasn’t had the best runs recently, and this is a crucial time for those in contention for the regular season championship. Even the #5 driver recently admitted to being a bit off his game lately.
What Has Gone Wrong for Kyle Larson Since the NASCAR All-Star Race?
Larson could have easily been the points leader right now, but his season has not gone as well as it kicked off. Look at the first part of his season: Out of the first 12 races, Larson led 851 laps. That’s peak Larson form.
However, after the All-Star race on May 18, 2025, things started going south for him. First, he had a DNF in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte when attempting “The Double” for a second straight year after running the Indianapolis 500. This came after he had a second-place start to the race. Then, in the six following races, Larson failed to lead a single lap.
Well, out of those last six races, Larson did finish four times in the top 10. Still, that’s a slump for him, given how great his season started. That’s something the Hendrick Motorsports driver recently addressed.
In a pre-race interview before the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, Larson said, “Yeah, it’s really tight. Hopefully, we can kind of get back on a run of being consistent and getting stage points. I feel like, you know, we’ve still kind of been consistent.
“We just haven’t finished as high as we have early in the year, and then we’ve been missing out on stage points,” Larson said. “So, you know, we’ve kind of lost track a little bit there, and others have been doing a good job.”
Can Larson Still Win the NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Title?
Like Larson said, the race to the regular season championship is tight. But still, the No. 5 driver isn’t too far back in it. He’s just 19 points behind Byron and six points behind Elliott.
There are still seven races left in the regular season after Sonoma. There is “The Monster Mile” at Dover and the Brickyard 400, where Larson had great runs last season. If you recall, he finished in second place at Dover and won the Brickyard 400.
Thanks to this, Larson is optimistic about his chances. “Chase (Elliott) is always consistent, so he’s just quietly kind of there,” Larson said. “You know, after his win that he had, I was shocked. I didn’t even know he was that close in points.
“And then, yeah, William’s (Byron) been really strong, but he’s had some bad luck here in a couple races lately,” Larson said. “So it’s just kind of, when the leader of the points can’t really get away, it just kind of brings it all together. There’s still a lot of racing left, though. If you go on a good run, you can stretch out here pretty quickly.”
Kyle Larson is third in the regular-season Cup standings, 19 points behind leader William Byron and six points behind Chase Elliott. How he views the battle with Hendrick drivers currently 1-2-3 for the regular-season title: @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/RzRkEd0W8E
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 13, 2025
Also, as per the current standings, the competition for the regular season championship is tight. Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing is in fourth place and is 43 points behind the leader, and Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing is in fifth place and 48 points behind.
For these two to close the gap, the top three drivers must have terrible runs, which is possible but unlikely. But it’s NASCAR so that anything can happen.
Only time will tell who comes out on top when the regular season concludes.
