NASCAR: Kyle Larson can complete a sweep not seen since 1957
The only time the Formula 1, IndyCar, and NASCAR Cup Series champions in a given season have all won the title in the same season together before was back in 1957. Kyle Larson can change that.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson is one of four drivers set to compete for the NASCAR Cup Series championship in this Sunday afternoon’s season finale at Phoenix Raceway.
The driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet is set to compete against teammate William Byron, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell, and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney for the right to be crowned 2023 champion.
Larson secured his Championship 4 spot by winning the round of 8 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Bell won the following weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and Blaney won last weekend at Martinsville Speedway. Byron got in on points.
Should Larson finish higher than these other three drivers in this Sunday’s 312-lap race around the four-turn, 1.058-mile (1.703-kilometer) Avondale, Arizona oval to become a two-time champion, he will end a streak that dates all the way back to 1958.
Not since 1957 have the Formula 1, IndyCar, and NASCAR Cup Series champions all won the championship in a previous season together.
Back in 2021, Max Verstappen won the Formula 1 world championship, Alex Palou won the IndyCar championship, and Larson won the Cup Series championship. Verstappen has already clinched this year’s Formula 1 world title, while Palou won the IndyCar title.
A Larson Cup Series championship would make the 2023 season the second season in which all three champions are the same as they were in a previous season, something that hasn’t happened since 1957.
It has never happened with more than a season in between.
In 1956, Juan Manuel Fangio won the Formula 1 world championship, Buck Baker won the Cup Series title, and Jimmy Bryan won the USAC Championship Car (IndyCar) title. These same three drivers all won their respective championships in 1957 as well.
Considering the fact that all three of these series have seen seven-time champions emerge over the last six and a half decades, the fact that this 65-year streak could end in 2023 with three drivers who had never won championships before 2021 makes it seem that much more improbable.
Yet what was once unlikely is now viewed as the most likely scenario.
FanDuel Sportsbook, which is currently awarding a bonus $150 to all fans who place a successful $5 bet, currently lists Larson as the championship favorite at +150.
Odds and availability are subject to change, so lock in your chance at a $150 bonus now!
The NASCAR Cup Series driver who most recently had a chance to end this streak heading into the season finale was Joey Logano in 2020. Lewis Hamilton won the Formula 1 world championship in both 2018 and 2020, and Scott Dixon won the IndyCar championship in both 2018 and 2020.
Logano, who won the 2018 Cup Series championship, was one of the four drivers in the 2020 Championship 4, but he came up shy and placed third. Chase Elliott instead won his first title in 2020.
Tune in to NBC at 3:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, November 5 for the live broadcast of the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race from Phoenix Raceway. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don’t miss it!
