KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Kyle Larson has already defied conventional wisdom.
Three races into the NASCAR Cup Series Chase presented by Mobil 1, the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet has come from seventh to start the postseason to the top of the standings.
That’s a 56-point swing from the start of the Chase, a move many observers thought unlikely.
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The only driver to score top-five finishes in all three Chase races so far, Larson claimed the series lead last Saturday with a second-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Though he’s only one point ahead of Denny Hamlin, the top seed entering the Chase, Larson says that one point matters.
“I would always rather be one point ahead than one point behind,” Larson said on Saturday morning at Kansas Speedway. “But even going back to after the win (in the second Chase race at World Wide Technology Raceway), I think we were nine points back, and I was like, ‘OK, we’re there… we have a shot.’
“Now that you’re leading, nothing really changes, other than you’d like to not fall back. But even if you do, you still have time to make up for it. We’ll just keep plugging away. I’ve been really happy with the speed and, especially, the execution in these first three.
“I think they’ve gone pretty flawless for our team. Now we have some tracks that we probably are even more confident at than the first three, outside of Bristol. But, yeah, it’s just tough. It’s a lot of racing, a lot of tough competitors, and just a tough, tough series.”