Kyle Larson Can Clinch a Third Cup Title at Martinsville: What Every Chase Driver Needs?

The impressive win following a two-corner charge from P11 to P1 at Talladega last Sunday, taking advantage of the support from the whole Chevy garage, helped Kyle Larson to extend his championship led to 73 to Denny Hamlin at P2. Almost all of his main title rivals getting collected in the major wrecks helped him to remain at the top uncontested.

The veteran didn’t have the bets start to the season, with multiple wrecks and DNFs earlier in the year affecting his momentum. But once he found his grove with the Gateway win in September, the No:5 Hendrick Motorsports team has been on the rise. They have won four races so far, with three of them coming in the eight races so far in the championship chase round.

He can become the first driver since Jimmie Johnson to win back-to-back Bill France Cup this Sunday at Martinsville itself. He has score 59 points or more to make it happen. That requires him to win the race, while also securing finishes not worse than P9 in the first two stages of the race. Even if he leaves Virginia with less points, he can eliminate half of the driver still mathematically in contention for the title with an average finish.

How Joe Gibbs Racing trio can win the title?

The three major contenders for the championship, other than Kyle Larson are the Joe Gibbs Racing trio of Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe. Toyota have had the fastest car majority of the races this year and if not for them fumbling in the chase, the No:5 team wouldn’t be on the lead.

Hamlin the driver at P2 with a 72 points gap to the HMS chevy. He would get eliminated next week if Kyle Larson secure three more points than him. The No:11 team will be a serious contender if they secure a dominant win, while Larson face a challenging day, allowing him to cut down the gap to 22 points going into Homestead.

The title picture is almost exactly the same for the No:20 Toyota driver Bell, who is 74 points behind the No:5. He needs to make sure he can outscore the Chevy by at least two points to remain in contention at Miami. He needs secure a dominant stage sweeping win to be a serios threat in the finale day.

The third driver from JGR that is in the fight is Briscoe. The No:19 TRD driver is 79 points behind the leader and needs to outscore Rick Hendrick’s driver by three points mathematically remain in the hunt. If he wants to be a real contender, he has to win the race like his JGR teammates.

How can Team Penske Racing duo win the 2026 title?

Roger Penske’s drivers’ Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney are also in contention for the race win, though it’s a long-shot. The No:22 Ford driver is exactly 100 points behind the leader and if he can take advantage of his 14 consecutive top-10 streak momentum to outscore the No:5 driver by 25 points, he would be a contender at Miami.

In order for that to happen, Logano has to secure a dominant race win while the No:5 driver struggles. His teammate Blaney on the other hand, is 107 points behind and needs to outscore Kyle Larson by 32 points. His only hope at remaining in contention is the HMS driver getting wrecked early in the race.

How can Tyler Reddick win the title for 23XI Racing?

The only driver on the championship contention, who doesn’t driver for the big-3 is 23XI Racing superstar Tyler Reddick.  He started the year hot with a threepeat starting at Daytona and five wins in the first eight races of 2026. But he lost momentum midway to the season and is yet to get his full mojo back.

An impressive win at Phoenix got him back in the contention, but the DNF at Talladega last Sunday cost him, as he is now 126 points behind the leader. In order to remain the in chase mathematically, he has to outscore Larson by 51 points at Martinsville. His only path to title glory is Larson fumbling next two weeks while he secures dominant wins.

Also Read: Tyler Reddick Is 126 Points Behind Kyle Larson: Can Anything Save His Title Hopes at Martinsville?