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After his win at the ROVAL, Kyle Larson was asked for his take on potentially replicating Tony Stewart's 2011 championship run. The former SHR driver went winless throughout the regular season that year. However, once the playoffs began, he won 5 of the 10 races on his way to his third Cup title.
During a post-race press conference after the ROVAL, where Kyle Larson secured his second playoff win, he was asked if a feat like Tony Stewart's is possible in the Next Gen era.
It's worth mentioning that Larson is the driver with the most wins this season (6), and is the only playoff driver with a chance to replicate Stewart's feat. In response to the question, Larson acknowledged that it was a difficult feat to accomplish.
"I don’t know. I would like to have three at this point because I feel like maybe you could win a couple more, but yeah, it’s really tough. I think in the Next Gen era it’s harder to win races in general. Yes, we’ve won six races this year, which is great, but yeah, it’s just hard to execute Next Gen races. They’re just wild and all that," Larson described [at 28:30].
While claiming that winning the next three races, Las Vegas, Homestead, and Martinsville would be difficult, Larson said that he would try to win every week going forward.
Given his history at the upcoming three tracks, Larson may take his win tally from 6 to 9 before even reaching Phoenix, as he won at Las Vegas earlier this year, has won at Homestead in 2022, and at Martinsville in 2023.
Kyle Larson views Denny Hamlin as his equal in terms of speed and capability in 2024
Being the only driver with six wins this season, the most among everyone, Kyle Larson was asked if he saw any notable contenders who could go toe to toe with him. In response, Larson said that while William Byron and Ryan Blaney were possible competitors, he ultimately felt that Denny Hamlin, as a driver, had the speed to match up against the #5 team. He said (via BobPockrass on X):
"He’s just had a run of some crappy luck really for a while. I don’t know how his race played out today. I think the Gibbs cars are just a little off, besides Bell. Especially I think when you look at the next four tracks, Denny could win at any of them. Then I think William too. He’s sneaky good. Blaney for sure as well," Larson claimed.
Having said that, the 2021 Cup champion added that such a case could be made for any driver in the Round of 8. But for Kyle Larson, it was Denny Hamlin who would be considered a contender to keep an eye on, considering the season he has had.
Denny Hamlin has won 3 races this season, with his last win coming all the way back in April at Dover. Since then, the #11 driver has only managed 7 finishes inside the top 5, and only a couple of top 5s in the last 10 races.
