Kyle Larson’s outlook for the Round of 12 during 2023 NASCAR season

Evaluating Kyle Larson’s chances of advancing out of the Round of 12 as he pursues his second NASCAR Cup Series championship.

[autotag]Kyle Larson[/autotag] had the easiest Round of 16 due to a very simple reason. Larson won the opening race of the 2023 NASCAR playoffs at Darlington Raceway. Outside of Darlington, the Hendrick Motorsports driver also had finishes of fourth place at Kansas Speedway and second place at Bristol Motor Speedway. In fact, Larson broke a record for the best average finishing position (2.33) in the Round of 16.

There may not be a driver that has more momentum than him and that spells trouble for the competition after what he accomplished during the 2021 season. So, how does the Round of 12 stack up for Larson as he tries to claim his second NASCAR Cup Series title? Let’s take a look at what tracks are coming up over the next three races.

The driver of the No. 5 car will take a 12-point advantage to the playoff cut-line and head to Texas Motor Speedway, which has treated him very well in the past. With Hendrick Motorsports, Larson has two top-10 finishes, including a win in 2021 that resulted in 256 led laps. He should be fast again at Texas and it wouldn’t be shocking to see another victory.

Moving on to Talladega, it has been well-known that Larson is not the best superspeedway driver. The Hendrick Motorsports driver only has two top-20 finishes in the last five starts despite his success with stage points. It is very crucial that Larson does well at Texas because Talladega will follow and based on history, it has a strong likelihood of going haywire at some point.

Finally, the Charlotte ROVAL should be a strong race for Larson as long as he can finish it out. He has two stage wins and one victory, which are all in three different races, but only one top-10 finish to his name. Larson has run well at road courses during the 2023 season with three top-10 finishes so it will be important that he continues that trend.

Larson was eliminated in the Round of 12 last season after issues at Talladega and the Charlotte ROVAL so it is critical that he limits his mistakes on the race track. The driver of the No. 5 car has the speed to make a very deep run but the Round of 12 is by far the most difficult three-race stretch for him during the 2023 NASCAR playoffs.

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