Kyle Larson became the NASCAR Cup Series championship favorite with his victory in the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sept. 27 at Kansas Speedway.
Larson won for the second time in the Chase and swept the stages
to push his lead out to 26 points ahead of Denny Hamlin the Chase standings.
Larson piloted past Chase Briscoe for the lead with seven laps to go, and pulled away after Briscoe brushed the wall.
Here are the winners and losers from the NASCAR Kansas fall race.
NASCAR Kansas winners and losers
Winner: Kyle Larson
Kyle Larson is the first driver to win multiple races in the Chase via his victory at Kansas.
Larson is also the first driver to truly maximize his points in this format with the fastest-lap point. The driver of the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 swept the two stages and grabbed the bonus point for the fastest lap for 76 points overall.
The winless streak that dominated headlines a few weeks ago is ancient history now.
Larson is now the championship favorite and in position to become the 11th driver in Cup history to win at least three titles.
Winner: Austin Cindric on 1.5-mile tracks
Austin Cindric hasn't been known for his performance on 1.5-mile ovals, but he was a factor at Kansas.
Cindric ran in the top five for most of the day, moving into the top three in the first 25 laps before hanging around and surging later in tire runs.
After Chase Briscoe's contact with the wall in the final laps, Cindric moved up to second and closed to within a second of Larson by the checkered flag.
Outside of Ryan Blaney, Penske has struggled for top-10 speed on intermediate tracks. Joey Logano finished 20th after a late-race issue. Cindric's runner-up finish is a good sign for the team going into 2027.
Loser: Chase Briscoe's championship chances
Chase Briscoe's last seven laps at Kansas ended up as a 45-point swing between he and Kyle Larson.
Briscoe noted that his car was handling better in second than out in front in clean air. In front, Briscoe was "really, really loose."
“It was actually better for me to be in second," Briscoe told USA Network after the race.
So when Briscoe took the lead with 29 laps to go, Larson was able to stay within a half second.
And as Briscoe's handling went away later in the run, including concern about a bent toe link after previously brushing the wall, Larson made the move for the lead.
Briscoe brushed the wall again in the final five laps, slipping back to fourth by the finish.
If Briscoe won with Larson in second, Briscoe would trail the points leader by 80 points with six races left. Now, Briscoe trails Larson by 123 points.
Loser: Carson Hocevar
Hocevar's week of publicity ended with a whimper despite a couple of incidents on track.
Contact between Hocevar and Brad Keselowski midway through the race produced a multi-car accident after the No. 77 ran in the top five during the first stage.
Hocevar suffered damage to his splitter, and his day got worse when he got into the wall later on.
The Spire Motorsports driver lost a lap soon thereafter and finished in 33rd.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR Kansas winners, losers as Kyle Larson becomes Chase championship favorite
