Kyle Larson’s Secret Marathon Training for a NASCAR Title

“More Thought Behind This Than the Chase” — Kyle Larson Reveals Unorthodox Marathon Regimen Fueling Championship Bid

Kyle Larson has admitted he has put more mental energy into training for a marathon than into chasing a third NASCAR Cup title.

The admission came during a media day ahead of Sunday’s championship finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Larson told NASCAR on FOX’s Bob Pockrass that his focus on the California International Marathon on December 6 has helped keep the pressure of the Chase off his shoulders.

“I do think it’s kept my mind off of racing, which has been good because I think I have this other thing that I’m like equally committed to,” Larson said.

“Probably honestly put way more thought behind this marathon than I do the Chase, which I think has kept a lot of pressure off of me, oddly.

“I’ve definitely felt pressure, but I’ve felt more pressure in other years, and I think a lot of it’s just to do with my mind is on something else, but I’m not distracted from it either because I think it’s all kind of benefiting Sundays in a way.”

Pockrass reported that Larson is logging more than 40 miles of running per week.

He plans to run 15 miles along the Florida coast Friday morning — just hours before Cup practice at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

This will be Larson’s first marathon.

He hopes to finish in less than three hours and 30 minutes.

Larson is preparing for one of the biggest races of his NASCAR career while following a schedule built around a different finish line.

He does not see the marathon as a distraction.

It gives him another target, with its own demands and measurable progress.

That separation may matter more than the mileage.

A driver can spend a week replaying missed opportunities, calculating points, and imagining what championship Sunday might bring.

Larson’s training gives those thoughts competition.

He still has to prepare the car, work with crew chief Cliff Daniels, and execute, but the title does not have to occupy every hour.

The results have been difficult to argue with.

Larson has scored 424 points through nine Chase races, the most of any driver.

He has three victories, six top-five finishes and eight top-10s in those nine races.

His 6.78 average finish reflects a run that has outpaced his rivals.

He has outscored Denny Hamlin by 125 points in the postseason after entering it winless through 26 regular-season races.

Larson’s lone DNF came at Phoenix, after handling trouble and a cut tire, which reduced a 49-point lead.

According to statistics shared by NASCAR Insights, Larson averaged 27.8 points per race across the 26-race regular season.

Through nine Chase races, that figure has skyrocketed to 47.1.

That is a staggering improvement of 19.3 points per race, nearly double the increase of any other driver in the 16-driver field.

Christopher Bell has made the next-biggest jump, improving from 29.2 points per race during the regular season to 39.1 in the Chase — a 10-point increase when rounded.

Joey Logano has also stepped up considerably, climbing from 27.3 to 36.8 points per race.

Chase Briscoe has improved from 29.3 to 36.7.

But Larson’s numbers stand apart for another reason.

His 47.1-point average is eight points higher than Bell’s 39.1, giving him a substantial advantage over the next-best driver in the Chase.

Consider where Larson started.

During the regular season, Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, Briscoe and Bell all averaged more points per race than the No. 5 driver.

Nine Chase races later, Larson has surpassed every one of them.

Larson’s surge looks even more impressive when compared with Hamlin’s performance.

The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran was the most productive points scorer among Chase drivers during the regular season, averaging 39.5 points per race.

Since the Chase began, that number has dropped to 33.2, a decline of 6.3 points per race.

Hamlin is not alone.

Blaney has fallen from 36.1 to 29.0 points per race.

Gibbs has dropped from 34.3 to 27.7.

Reddick’s average has also slipped, declining from 34.4 to 31.0.

Even Chase Elliott has experienced a modest downturn, going from 27.8 points per race to 25.3.

More people have walked on the moon than the number of drivers that have won three championships in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Put simply, Kyle Larson has the chance to join some elite company on Sunday, Nov. 8 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

He would join a list of Hall of Famers and legends of the sport as three-time champions.

That group includes Lee Petty, David Pearson, Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and Joey Logano.

Twelve Americans have walked on the moon.

Only 10 have won the NASCAR championship three times in their careers.

Larson has a 67-point lead over second-place driver Christopher Bell entering the race in South Florida.

He has a 70-point edge over regular-season champion Denny Hamlin.

Mathematically, Hamlin and Bell are the only two other drivers who can snatch the championship away from Larson.

But a whole lot would have to go wrong for the No. 5 Chevrolet on one of Larson’s best tracks for him to not win the championship.

Regardless of what any other driver does, Larson needs just nine points to clinch the championship.

He can do that by finishing third in Stage 1 or Stage 2, or combining for eight points across those first two stages.

He will also get a point for starting the race.

Should Larson be running outside of the top 10 in the first two stages, all he has to do is finish 28th or better.

That should be easy enough for a driver who is on one of the best postseason runs in NASCAR history.

Larson’s average finish at Homestead is 12th through 12 races, which is eighth-best all-time.

He has led more laps at Homestead than any other driver in the history of the Cup Series with 645.

He has two wins there, coming in 2022 and 2025.

Larson has also won at Homestead in the second-tier O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and in the Craftsman Truck Series.

“I foresee myself winning,” Larson said, according to the Yahoo Sports report.

The marathon is December 6.

The championship is Sunday.

Larson has built a routine that treats both finish lines with equal seriousness.

His crew chief Cliff Daniels has overseen a car that has been dominant in the Chase.

Larson’s 6.78 average finish in the postseason includes the DNF at Phoenix.

Without that blown tire, the average would be even lower.

His three wins in the Chase came at tracks where he has historically been strong.

But the marathon training has given him something that no setup or pit strategy can provide: a mental reset.

“I think it’s kept my mind off of racing,” Larson said.

“Probably honestly put way more thought behind this marathon than I do the Chase.”

That quote has circulated widely among NASCAR media this week.

It has been picked up by EssentiallySports, Speedway Digest, The New York Times, MotorBiscuit, Yahoo Sports, Yardbarker, USA Today, the Toronto Star, Oskaloosa Herald, NASCAR.com and Heavy.com.

Each outlet has framed the story slightly differently.

Some focus on the numbers.

Some focus on the championship math.

Some focus on the unusual nature of a driver training for a 26.2-mile road race while chasing a title.

But the common thread is that Larson has found an edge that his rivals have not.

Hamlin has gone backward in the Chase.

Bell has improved but not enough to close the gap.