Larson’s Calm Confidence Speaks Louder Than Speed Charts

gettyimages-2244226128 — AVONDALE, ARIZONA - OCTOBER 30: (L-R) 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 driver, Kyle Larson attends a fan event during NASCAR Championship Media Day at Phoenix Raceway on October 30, 2025 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson was 11th fastest on the practice chart—third best among the four NASCAR Cup Series championship-eligible drivers in Friday’s opening practice—even after a slight brush with the Phoenix Raceway wall.

Larson is the only driver among the title contenders—a group includes teammate William Byron and Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe—with a championship trophy at home already.

Much is expected of Larson, who qualified third behind Hamlin and Byron for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race. His crew chief, Cliff Daniels, told the media Saturday morning the team is in good shape to try and make him only the third multi-time champion currently driving full-time in the series.

Daniels was encouraged with the pace of Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet in practice and optimistic about race day. Even though the team hasn’t won since May at 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway, Larson’s 21 top-10s are most among the championship contenders, and his 1,106 laps led this year are second only to Byron’s 1,278.

Larson is a former Phoenix winner, claiming his 2021 season championship with a win from pole position at the one-mile track.

“Now that we’re here, I do think we’re closer than what we’ve been in the past,” Daniels said. “So, the flow of the weekend of just having less, let’s just call it identity question marks of ‘Are we this package, that package?’ We’re kind of zeroed in on where we want to be.

“Also, just the execution side of the weekend from the team perspective, we’ve been building on our notes every year of just how to be smarter, a little cleaner, a little more efficient when we come here.

“So, it’s actually nice to see that play out where the team and how we execute is a lot more streamlined, I would say, and a lot more buttoned-up than what we’ve been.”