NASCAR

Kyle Larson's historic NASCAR season ended the only way it should

Zach Dean
The Daytona Beach News-Journal

Some years — even as recently as last fall — you can end up getting a champion that probably wasn't the absolute best that season. 

In 2016, Jimmie Johnson wasn't the best driver, yet he still won his seventh championship. Same can be said about Joey Logano a few years later, and, again, Chase Elliott last fall. 

Sometimes, drivers get hot at the right time, or restart in the right spot with a few laps to go, and happen to wheel that sucker to a surprise NASCAR Cup Series championship. There's nothing wrong with that, either!

Yeah, you all know where I'm going with this ...

That wasn't the case Sunday at Phoenix. 

Kyle Larson was the best driver from start to finish this 2021 NASCAR season, and he is absolutely deserving of his first (and no, definitely not his last) Cup Series championship. 

"I can't ... I cannot believe it," an emotional Larson said after Sunday's win. "I didn't even think I'd be racing a Cup car a year-and-a-half ago. There were so many points in this race where I did not think we were going to win. To win a championship is crazy."

Oh yeah, about those iffy moments ...

Denny and Mark:NASCAR Q&A: Denny Hamlin has surpassed Mark Martin as "best of the rest"

Brandon Brown:Who is NASCAR driver Brandon Brown, whose 'Let's Go, Brandon' cheer turned to jeers for Biden?

Dale Jr. weighs in:Are NASCAR rivalries getting back to the old days? Not quite yet, says Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Kyle Larson won 10 races this season, including the most important one Sunday at Phoenix.

Larson has second-fastest pit stop of season

Something tells me it's gonna be a good Christmas for the No. 5 pit crew. 

"Without my pit crew on that last stop, we would not be standing right here," Larson admitted. "They are the true winners of this race. They are true champions."

Larson's team put up their second-fastest stop of the season (the season!) during "the money stop" with just a handful of laps to go on Sunday. Larson entered the pits fourth, came out first, and never looked back, holding off a hard-charging Martin Truex Jr. for his first Cup title. 

"This event was crazy. This format is wild," Larson said. 

Sure is!

Kyle Larson's historic 2021 season won't soon be forgotten.

Hendrick Motorsports wins 14th title

Larson became the seventh different champion in the elimination-style format and finished the year with 10 wins. Ten!

Even more impressive was what Larson did over the course of these playoffs, winning five of those 10 races, which tied him for Tony Stewart's mark back in 2011.

This was Hendrick Motorsports' 14th championship (second in a row), while Larson became the fourth Cup champion from the state of California. Anyone know the other three? 

I'll give you a few minutes. 

Chase Elliott falls just short in title defense

As expected, Sunday's finale was a Hendrick Motorsports kind of day. Larson and Elliott dominated most of the race, leading 201 of the 312 laps.

If we're being honest, Chase probably had the better car most of the afternoon, and it appeared that Clyde would make a serious run at defending his title. 

However, he lost a spot on pit road during that final stop, while Larson moved up three. That'll certainly be a moment the No. 9 boys think about over the next three months. 

Denny Hamlin can't win elusive NASCAR championship

Speaking of missed chances ... what in the world happened to Denny Hamlin on Sunday?

He was the only playoff driver not to lead a lap, and was pretty much a non-factor most of the day. Sure, he was in the top-five all afternoon, but the No. 11 Toyota was never a real threat, leaving him on the outside looking in yet again. 

Yep, those Mark Martin comparisons will only grow louder (and no, that ain't a bad thing, either). 

"It just didn’t pan out," Hamlin said. "We needed that thing to go green (at the end) and it didn’t.”

Speaking of flags, it's about time to throw the red flag on this weekly rundown for a bit. The offseason is officially here, but don't worry, it's the shortest offseason in sports! 

Before you know it, we'll back right back here in February predicting the Busch Clash winner. 

In the meantime, we'll look back at some of the best races from this season, take some time off for the holidays, and then head back to the shop to get those Daytona 500 Next Gen cars tuned up. 

Oh yeah, one final trivia answer! Larson joins Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson as the only Cup champions from California. 

Not a bad list.