Kyle Larson says revised NASCAR format rewards steady points

NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 27, 2026

Larson’s points lead

Kyle Larson turned a seventh-place start in the NASCAR Cup Series Chase standings into the top spot after three races, and he did it with steady finishes rather than a single breakout result. The driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet gained 56 points since the Chase began and was the only driver to finish in the top five in all three races so far. He took the points lead after finishing second at Bristol Motor Speedway, where he moved one point ahead of Denny Hamlin. Larson said he would rather be one point ahead than one point behind, and his early run backed up that view. The margin was slim, but the path to it was clear. Larson stayed near the front in every round, collected points at a steady clip and turned consistency into control of the standings. He arrived at Kansas Speedway leading the Cup Series standings in Kansas City, Kansas, with the early Chase picture shaped by the results he put together over the first three races.

NASCAR’s revised format

Larson used his standing to underscore what NASCAR’s revamped Chase format asked from teams. With eliminations and resets removed, he said consistency mattered over a longer stretch of races, which put more value on clean weekends and steady execution. The format did not eliminate volatility, though. Larson said the current points system could still create dramatic swings because wins carried so much weight, and that stage points might be more important than ever. In his view, the structure gave a deserving champion a better chance to emerge from the full body of work. That was the edge he saw in a system that rewarded teams able to stack one strong result on top of another instead of depending on a single big day to survive a reset. Larson said the Chase had been “pretty flawless for our team” after three races, and he pointed to strength in speed and execution as the reasons his group had stayed at the front. The message from Larson was direct. The revised format did not just reward flashes of pace. It rewarded the teams that kept delivering the same quality week after week.

Kansas Speedway outlook

Larson’s first three Chase races built a case for the approach he described. His run from seventh to first showed how quickly the standings could change when a driver kept posting top results. That was the kind of steady production Larson said the revised format rewarded, and it put him in control of the standings heading to Kansas Speedway. For now, the points table reflected the consistency at the center of his argument about the revised format.