Kyle Larson is absolutely dominating The Chase, pulling off two victories in the first four races. After his max-points win at Kansas on Sunday, he’s blasted open a monstrous gap on the rest of the field. We’re talking only three drivers within one race’s worth of points, 76 to be exact. It’s wild. Most of the top ten might as well be waving goodbye to their title dreams already.
The Long Shots Are Already Running On Fumes
Man, it feels like we’re just four races deep and half the field is already struggling. Chris Buescher, for example, finished a miserable 23rd at Kansas, partly due to wreck damage in Stage 2. He’s 186 points behind Larson. Mathematically possible, but that’s it. William Byron, a Hendrick Motorsports teammate, grabbed seventh and nine stage points at Kansas, but he’s 158 points back, more than two full races behind Larson! That’s a tough pill. Chase Elliott, another Hendrick driver, had an eighth-place finish and only three stage points at Kansas, crushing his hopes at 161 points behind.
Carson Hocevar, after an accident in Stage 2, essentially saw his title shot vanish, sitting 150 points adrift. Ryan Preece, 10th at Kansas, is 173 points back; his priority should be consistent top 10s from here on out. Daniel Suárez, 14th at Kansas and 187 points behind, at least knew he was heading home to his new baby boy. Sometimes there are bigger wins than on the track.
Contenders Bleeding Points Fast
Even the supposed contenders are losing ground fast. Cindric had a solid second-place finish at Kansas, earning 17 stage points. Sounds great, right? But he still lost 24 points to Larson. At this rate, a top 10 finish in the overall points might be his new goal. Vegas is not his track either; he’s never finished in the top five there and was 19th in the spring race.
Wallace took damage in the Stage 2 wreck but fought back to ninth. Zero stage points, though. That meant he lost a massive 48 points to Larson, pretty much crushing any title hopes. He has just one career top five at Vegas and was ninth in the spring race.
Reddick needed several car changes for an 11th-place finish. Like Wallace, he lost significant ground, 50 points, to Larson. The struggle is real. Vegas has been kinder with two top fives and five top 10s in nine Next Gen races, but he was 13th in the spring. Gibbs, on the other hand, finished 17th at Kansas, where he desperately needed a top 10 to keep pace. His best at Las Vegas is fifth twice, including last spring.
Vegas: Last Chance Saloon?
The fifth race of The Chase is next Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Is anyone going to step up and challenge Kyle Larson? Or will he just keep widening the gap? This next race in Vegas is a huge moment. It’s a last chance for someone to show they can stop Larson’s runaway train, or it could be the race where even more drivers realize their championship dreams are officially over. We’ll be watching!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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