[Spoiler] The championship comes a year and a half after Larson used a racial slur (the dreaded N-word, in jest) while competing in an iRacing event during the pandemic shutdown in April 2020. Larson was suspended from NASCAR, lost his job driving Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 42 Chevrolet and did not race in NASCAR again until this year after being reinstated in October 2020 (with Hendrick Motorsports, the late Dale Earnhardt's (#3) ride). Kyle Larson caps dominant season with Cup Series championship (The NASCAR Cup is kind of a big deal)
Kyle Larson, the season’s most dominant driver in the NASCAR Cup Series from start to finish, completed his run to the top by winning the 2021 championship Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.
Larson finished ahead of his fellow Championship 4 contenders — defending champion Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin — at the 1-mile track to claim the crown in his first season driving the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Larson, 29, from Elk Grove, California, took his career to a new level in 2021. The veteran driver more than doubled his career wins total this season, entering ’21 with six since his first full-time season.
By essentially every measure, 2021 marked Larson’s best season — and one of the best in modern NASCAR history. He’s one of just 17 drivers to win eight or more times in a year at the top level, joining a host of NASCAR Hall of Famers to do so.
Larson started out the 2021 season with a 10th-place finish at the Daytona International Speedway before picking up his first win since 2019 just three races later at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. From there, it quickly became evident he would be a force this season.
The No. 5 driver put together the best three-race stretch of anyone this year from Charlotte Motor Speedway to Nashville Superspeedway, winning a crown jewel, his first road-course victory and the inaugural Cup race at the Music City track. He added another over the summer, holding off Hendrick teammate Chase Elliott for another road win at Watkins Glen International before scoring another three in the playoffs (Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Roval, Texas Motor Speedway) leading up to Phoenix. Larson also won at Texas earlier this year in the All-Star Race.
Larson is signed on again to drive for Hendrick next year, along with his three ’21 teammates, positioning the longtime organization to once again compete for the title as NASCAR enters its Next Gen era.
The championship comes a year and a half after Larson used a racial slur while competing in an iRacing event during the pandemic shutdown in April 2020. Larson was suspended from NASCAR, lost his job driving Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 42 Chevrolet and did not race in NASCAR again until this year after being reinstated in October 2020.
The championship is Larson’s first at the national series level, though he also has a 2012 title in what was then the K&N Pro Series East. He has 12 wins in 108 career Xfinity Series starts, with two victories in 14 races in the Camping World Truck Series.
This story will be updated.
Poster Comment:
Kyle is a Japanese-American that identifies as an American man. When I briefly met him he was very soft spoken and polite. Well, he made a little slip in jest, lost his woke sponsors, had his NASCAR hard card (license) pulled for the rest of the bullshit scamdemic year.
He came back with a vengeance. I thought Tony Stewart picked him up, but apparently it was Rick Hendrick. Tony was instrumental in getting NASCAR to let him back in, but my interest in NASCAR waned after the whole Bubba Wallace "noose hoax" (garage door pull) at Talladega, AL whenever.
The kid had tears in his eyes during his victory celebration/lap. Double ++ Good.
Let's Go Brandon!