Maggie Mackenzie Fri, October 16, 2026 at 1:15 PM UTC · 3 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kevin Harvick believes NASCAR's championship contenders are running out of time to catch Kyle Larson. And with four races remaining in the Cup Series season, the former champion sees a much smaller window for anyone hoping to close the gap.
Larson heads into Sunday's race at Phoenix Raceway with a 49-point lead over Denny Hamlin in the Chase standings. Christopher Bell trails by 51 points, followed by Chase Briscoe at 65, Ryan Blaney at 85 and Joey Logano at 92.
Those margins are already difficult to overcome. Harvick believes the schedule could make them even more daunting.
Speaking on his "Happy Hour" podcast, Harvick argued that Larson's rivals effectively have three races to make their move. His reasoning? The season ends at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he has tremendous confidence in Larson.
Larson didn't win last weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but he did what championship contenders need to do when they have a comfortable points advantage: He limited the damage.
Hamlin made contact with Larson while battling for position, yet Larson recovered and kept his championship cushion intact.
"I mean, Hamlin took a shot at him when he got into the back of Larson there to try to move him," Harvick said. "And he did; he moved him, got a few spots."
"Larson didn't fall very far back. And they just navigated their day. At this point, it's just damage control, right?"
Harvick also noted that Briscoe's Charlotte victory didn't substantially threaten Larson's advantage because the win didn't go to one of the drivers closest to him in points.
"So, you know, they're doing exactly what they need to do to maintain that points lead, got themselves a nice lead. And now they need to go have a good weekend at Phoenix."
Phoenix, Talladega and Martinsville are the three remaining races before the Homestead finale.
Harvick believes that's where Larson's challengers must make their gains.
"Here's the thing, though. There's really only three left for everybody else."
His confidence comes from what he expects Larson to deliver at Homestead, a track where the Hendrick Motorsports driver has historically been exceptionally strong.
"Those guys, I just don't see them beating Kyle Larson by much at Homestead, if at all. I think that the main player at Homestead is going to be Tyler Reddick."
Harvick went even further in assessing Larson's chances if the championship is still up for grabs entering the finale.
"If you go to Homestead, if the money was on the line and you can beat Kyle Larson, that would surprise me."
That's the problem facing Hamlin, Bell, Briscoe and the rest of the field. Larson doesn't necessarily need to win every remaining race. With a 49-point advantage, he needs to keep his closest challengers from making significant gains.
And according to Harvick, waiting until Homestead to mount a serious challenge could be waiting too long.
Source: Sports
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