With only 10 races remaining in the regular season, there are two groups of drivers in the Cup Series box.
The first group is made up of drivers who are still trying to find their footing and qualify for the playoffs. On the other hand, there are a few who are planning their championship strategy now that they have qualified for the playoffs.
Kyle Larson is in the latter group and is very confident that he can earn his second Cup Series championship win. Larson has risen to the top of the points standings after his win at Sonoma last Sunday.
Not only that, but he has more playoff points than any other player, meaning the No. 5 HMS team has already started pulling the levers to put their championship plans into motion.
Even Larson has said the team has performed so well this season that he is now speaking out publicly and sending out a warning shot to his rivals.
Kyle Larson compares his 2021 championship run to this season
In 2021, it was Hendrick Motorsports that turned to Larson after his controversial departure from Chip Ganassi Racing.
In return, the driver repaid the faith with a championship win. He has 10 Cup Series wins this season, including four in the playoffs.
Thus, the knockout stage is actually the strength of the No. 5 team. It’s hard to imagine how Larson can top or even match his dominant run in 2021.
But surprisingly, the driver believes his preparation and buildup this season has been better compared to his first championship run.
“Honestly, 2021 was great, but I would say this year was even better than normal because we did good things to win races, but we also made mistakes. I feel like we didn’t make as many mistakes as a team this year… I’m proud of our performance and we’re just going to do our best to keep it up,” he said. What’s even more impressive is that Larson missed the rained-out Coca-Cola 600 race and didn’t score a single point.
Even though he didn’t race, he leads the points standings and has led the most laps. Despite securing a place in the Final 16, Larson and the team are focused on earning as many playoff bonus points as possible. “That means I want to stay in the lead and get as many points as I can. It’s pretty close at the moment, so I want to get some regular season points and then some bonus points in the playoffs.”
Larson dominated the opening races of the 2024 Cup Series season, but he hasn’t yet had the winning streak he had in 2021.
Perhaps this weekend’s race in Iowa will be an opportunity to further solidify his advantage over his rivals. Larson is the favorite to win the University of Iowa, but there are other teams to keep an eye on.
Drivers to watch out this weekend at Iowa Speedway
This weekend’s race in Iowa is the first NASCAR Cup Series race to be held on a 7/8-mile short track. Much has been said about NASCAR’s controversial track repaving, which is sure to create even more excitement among fans.
Since there has never been a race or a Cup race in Iowa before, it is certainly difficult to predict the winner. However, there is a select group of drivers who could challenge for the win this Sunday. Kyle Larson is certainly one of the favorites to win this weekend. The driver has raced at this circuit four times in the Xfinity Series with two top-five and two top-10 finishes.
Another advantage is that he participated in Goodyear tire testing in May, which could be a differentiator given all the talk about finding lanes on newly paved tracks.
Denny Hamlin is eager to prove himself given how good he has been on short tracks this season. He has won at Bristol and Richmond and has finished in the top three in five of the past six short-track races. Another motivation for him will be to live up to Larson’s win at Sonoma.
A healthy rivalry has developed between the two drivers this year, so keep an eye on that. Next, another JGR driver, Christopher Bell, will also be looking to win.
The driver has already won two races in 2024 and is looking to match Hamlin and Larson in wins. He has a strong track record at Iowa since his time in the Xfinity Series.
With two wins and two second places, it would not be surprising if he takes the lead and challenges for the lead. Additionally, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski are two Ford drivers to watch as Ford drivers have started to win races again recently.
