Kyle Larson downplays champion status with no ‘favorite’ Penske in the mix at Phoenix 

After an eventful Martinsville playoff race, Kyle Larson shared his thoughts about the upcoming season finale at Phoenix Raceway. The Hendrick Motorsports driver punched his Championship 4 ticket on points after edging past Christopher Bell in the final Round of 8 race this Sunday (October 26).

Before the Xfinity 500 event at Martinville Speedway, only two drivers, Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe, had a confirmed spot at the Phoenix finale. However, after an intense battle between William Byron and Ryan Blaney at the 0.526-mile-long asphalt, Larson's teammate, Byron, outdueled Team Penske driver for a walk-off win. As a result, the Ford driver, the race winner of the previous two fall Martinsville events, failed to qualify.

Reflecting on the same, Larson, the 2021 Cup Series champion, admitted that if Blaney had managed to win, he would have been the favorite to lift the NASCAR title next weekend.

"I think if Blaney would have won, Kyle Larson said to Bob Pockrass on X. "We all would say he's the favorite. So yeah, we'll see. It's going to be a fun, fun week of prep and just trying to be best prepared for."

For the past three seasons, Penske drivers Blaney and Joey Logano have dominated at Phoenix with winning the race and lifting the coveted trophy. Now with Byron's win, the streak of three consecutive championships will be snapped.

Furthermore, Fox reporter Pockrass asked the No. 5 driver about any advantage of being the only Championship-winning driver in the final race. He said:

"I don't think so, you know. I really don't think so. It's been so long and it's, we all have, well, I guess Chase [Briscoe] doesn't have any championship four experience, but I don't even think that matters either. So we'll see. I would like to win a championship and not have a new champion next week, but it's going to be tough for sure. It always is."

Kyle Larson will join Martinsville winner, Byron, and two Joe Gibbs Racing drivers, Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin, for the Championship 4 race in Phoenix on November 4.

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Kyle Larson tips his hat to William Byron for defeating Ryan Blaney in Martinsville

William Byron (#24) and Kyle Larson (#5) - NASCAR Cup Series Xfinity 500 - Source: Getty

Kyle Larson managed a P5 finish at the Martinsville playoff race. This was enough for the Chevy driver to advance on points for the final round in Phoenix. Moreover, he acknowledged his teammate William Byron's "awesome" job to solidify another Hendrick Motorsports berth.

During a post-race interview via NBC Sports, Larson said:

"What a performance by William. That’s awesome. I think when the 12 gained control of the race, it was going to be really hard for anybody to beat him. William did a great job on the restarts, just kept positioning himself. Was good enough to get by him on that long run. I was surprised on the restart there, the two tires were as good as they were. So happy for him. Happy for our team. Happy for Hendrick Motorsports."

So far this season, Kyle Larson has secured three wins, 14 top-fives, and 21 top-10s. He has also led a total of 1106 laps in 35 starts for the Rick Hendrick-owned organization.

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Edited by Sashwat Deo