Andrew Ravens Mon, November 2, 2026 at 10:15 PM UTC · 2 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kyle Larson did not have a great day at Martinsville Speedway, but he could tell his title rivals weren't quick and felt confident his two teammates would win.
Larson finished ninth on Sunday. Denny Hamlin finished sixth, and Christopher Bell was 10th.
Larson gave his read on both Joe Gibbs Racing drivers after the race to RACER 's Kelly Crandall .
"I could tell that Denny wasn't normal Denny. I don't know if the damage affected him or just being stuck in traffic affected him, but he didn't look really any better than me," Larson said.
"And then Bell, I could tell, just had better track position than us but wasn't very good," he added.
Larson also pointed to his Hendrick Motorsports teammates. William Byron led 362 laps and won, and Chase Elliott finished second. It was Byron's first win of the season and a 1-2 finish for Hendrick.
"And then I had two teammates kind of controlling the race up front, so I felt confident that those two guys would win unless, you know, cautions or stuff would get crazy and things," Larson said.
Larson and Hamlin both stayed out during the first round of green-flag pit stops . A caution never came, and neither driver scored Stage 1 points. "Painful, I know. We stuck to the plan. Sorry that it sucks," crew chief Cliff Daniels told Larson on the radio. Hamlin had started from the pole and led early before the strategy dropped him outside the top 10.
Larson fell a lap down and was 24th for the Stage 2 restart. He did not score in Stage 2 either. He got back on the lead lap with the free pass when Bell and Hamlin spun on Lap 216.
That spin came after Joey Logano made contact with Bell going into Turn 1. Bell slid into Hamlin, and Hamlin's No. 11 Toyota was left with left-rear damage.
Bell moved into second in the standings , 67 points behind Larson. Hamlin dropped to third, 70 back.
Larson has said he will still feel pressure this week despite the large gap. The most a driver can score in a race is 76 points, so Bell or Hamlin would need a win and a lot of help.
Larson is chasing his third Cup title after winning in 2021 and 2025. The NASCAR season ends Nov. 8 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Larson has raced everything from sprint cars to the Indianapolis 500. A third Cup title would match Logano and Tony Stewart, among others.
Source: Sports
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