[autotag]Kyle Larson[/autotag] showed a lot of speed throughout the year and it turned out to be a successful campaign overall. Larson ended the season with four wins, 15 top-5 finishes, and 18 top-10 finishes. Unfortunately for the driver of the No. 5 car, he was unable to hold off eventual champion Ryan Blaney and finished second in the point standings during the 2023 NASCAR season.
Larson won at Richmond Raceway, Martinsville Speedway, Darlington Raceway, and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He also won the 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Larson ended the year with a third-place finish at Phoenix, 1,127 laps led (most in the series), and a 14.6 average finishing position (ninth-best). However, it could have been better all around.
First driver to make the Championship 4 in 2023: KYLE LARSON. Repost to congratulate the No. 5 team! pic.twitter.com/24kYq2fdVX
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) October 15, 2023
The Hendrick Motorsports driver was in a true win-or-bust scenario. Larson wasn’t running at the finish in eight of the 36 points races, which is the second worst among full-time drivers that ran all of the events. He wrecked while fighting for the lead on multiple occasions, with the most notable being at Texas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Still, Larson was in contention to win the 2023 Cup Series championship at the end of the day. The 31-year-old driver could have won more races during the 2023 NASCAR season but his mistakes held him back. If Larson wants to reach his ceiling as a driver, the mistakes featured in 2023 cannot be repeated again when NASCAR strolls into Daytona, FL next February.
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