While he wasn’t able to secure his second career NASCAR Cup Series championship, Kyle Larson still believes he had a good season. And he did! He won four races and the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro. There is a lot to be proud of after another Championship 4 appearance.
There was a lot to be happy about for Kyle Larson and Hendrick Motorsports. Sometimes in racing, you just come up short, especially in the playoff era. There was a time in the season from Richmond to Martinsville to North Wilkesboro, when Larson looked unstoppable on short tracks.
At the NASCAR Awards, Larson lauded his team’s performance and hard work.
“We had a successful season, led a lot of laps and won a handful of races, including the All-Star Race,” Larson said, via Hendrick Motorsports. “We came up one spot short in the championship, but all in all it was a great year. Looking forward to getting back on track next year and trying to do a little bit better.”
It really would only take doing a little bit better in order for Kyle Larson to become champion. He was runner-up this year in the championship standings to Ryan Blaney. A hard-fought battle, but Blaney simply had the better car and was the better driver on the day.
Still, there was a lot to be impressed with this year.
Kyle Larson led the most laps in Cup Series for 2023
Looking back on his season, a major stat that jumps out is his laps led. Now, he won four points-paying races, so that makes sense. He is one of the Championship 4 drivers, so he’s going to lead laps. However, it isn’t just a simple stat when you place it into context.
This year, Kyle Larson had 8 DNFs. At one point, he led the Cup Series in DNFs. That was until Austin Dillon’s last couple of months of the season. Even with those retirements, Larson led the most laps.
You can also argue, he had a chance to win at least four other races this year. Phoenix and Las Vegas in the spring were both more or less stolen on late restarts after a dominant day from Larson. Then, there are the Denny Hamlin wins at Kansas and Pocono that were 50/50 shots.
While Kyle Larson didn’t end up on the winning side of those races, it shows his talent. He’s there with a chance to win about 10 times a season? Most drivers would give anything to be able to say that. If Larson has fewer than five DNFs in 2024, it might be a truly dominant year.