Kyle Larson is closing in on another NASCAR title

Kyle Larson's bid for another NASCAR championship has sparked 'rigged' theories ahead of the season finale.

Larson overcame a pit stop mishap and a flat tire that dropped him to 29th before recovering to finish third and secure his second Cup Series championship last year. The defending champion is now in a strong position to claim another title, leading Christopher Bell by 67 points and Denny Hamlin by 70 after neither Joe Gibbs Racing driver made significant gains at Martinsville.

Under NASCAR's cumulative Chase format, there will be no points reset for the season finale, meaning Larson needs just nine points at Homestead to clinch the championship.

Kyle Larson edged Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron by just 0.041 seconds to win at Talladega Superspeedway, but his victory was met with controversy. Questions were raised over whether Larson dipped below the double yellow line while passing Todd Gilliland during his late charge, prompting calls for NASCAR to disqualify him.

NASCAR's decision to uphold the result sparked accusations that officials were protecting their championship favourite, with Denny Hamlin also criticizing the ruling as 'horrible'.

However, The Athletic journalists and The Teardown podcast co-hosts Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi pushed back against the claims, questioning why NASCAR would want to undermine the title battle with two races still remaining.

"If you are into conspiracy theories, it's not that NASCAR was rigging this for Hendrick or Larson," Bianchi said on The Teardown podcast. "If there were a conspiracy, it would be them throwing it out because they're trying to manipulate to keep it closer. There is no incentive whatsoever for not keeping this close, because in addition to keeping it close, you would have all three manufacturers still very much in this championship."

Bianchi questioned the reasoning behind claims of NASCAR favouring Larson, arguing the sanctioning body had little incentive to allow the championship battle to become increasingly one-sided as the Hendrick Motorsports driver extended his advantage. "Why would NASCAR, who created a format and has a championship weekend, want the season to be decided possibly next week, early?" Gluck asked.

Under Section 8.3.2 of NASCAR's rulebook, drivers cannot gain positions below the double yellow line, with violations potentially resulting in a black flag. NASCAR reviewed Larson's pass and ruled that his tires touched the line but never crossed beneath it.

Despite the ruling, fans continued to question the decision. Gluck also outlined the potential championship impact had Larson been relegated to the last car on the lead lap.

"The difference in points had they said, 'Okay, he is out of bounds, and we're dropping him back to the last car on the lead lap.' There were 14 cars that finished this race on the lead lap," Gluck said. "So, they would have dropped him back to 14. That is worth 23 points versus the 55 that you get for winning the race. And now he would have had 16 stage points as well. So, he would have had 39 points instead of the 71-point day he had."

Claims also emerged that Chevrolet drivers had followed "master" Rick Hendrick to help Larson secure victory. However, Gluck said NASCAR reviewed the SMT data for Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Byron and Cole Custer, finding that all three maintained their throttle from Turn 3 to the finish. The data challenged suggestions that they had deliberately backed off to aid Larson, although questions remained over the final-lap manoeuvres.

Larson remains the overwhelming favourite to claim the title, although he is not yet guaranteed the championship. His only major setback came at Phoenix Raceway, where an ill-handling car and a cut tire forced him into a DNF. He quickly bounced back with victory at Talladega and now leads Christopher Bell by 67 points and Hamlin by 70. Under NASCAR's cumulative Chase format, Larson needs just nine points at Homestead to secure the championship, with no points reset before the finale.