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Kyle Larson Eyes Big Points Day at Kansas With Roval Looming in NASCAR Playoffs

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Gowtham Ramalingam | Last updated Sep 26, 2025 11:55 PM ET

Kyle Larson dominated the Cup Series field when it visited Kansas last May to lead a record 221 laps and win the Advent Health 400. The Hendrick Motorsports driver would have hoped to latch on to the momentum and win subsequent races. But he hasn’t been able to visit the Victory Lane in the 18 weekends since.

As if to relieve him of this dryness, the roulette ball has fallen at the Sunflower State once again. The second race of the Cup Series playoff Round of 12 will go down at the Kansas Motor Speedway this Sunday. Regardless of whether he wins or not, there is one key expectation that he has for himself.

He wants to maintain the points cushion between the cutoff line and himself, leaving the race. He told SpeedFreaks during his visit to the Arrowhead Stadium, “We’re going to Kansas, a good track for us. Hopefully, we can have another good points day and be well above the cut line before the Roval.”

The driver is currently 41 points above the cutoff line after finishing seventh in New Hampshire last weekend. He hopes to win, but if he doesn’t, he would be fine with being in a good spot to survive this round and get to the Round of 8, where more favorable tracks await him.

Why Is the Charlotte Roval a Threat?

Larson won the race at the Roval last year. However, a repeat of the win is not guaranteed. Trackhouse Racing driver Shane van Gisbergen has been incredibly good on road courses this year and is a strong favorite to capture victory in the final race of the round.

Any self-aware driver would want to maximise their chances of progression in Kansas and not rely on beating the Kiwi. He has won four races this year, and all of them were on road courses.

The Tracks That Await Larson in the Round of 8

Should he survive the current scare, which he most likely will, Larson will face Las Vegas, Talladega, and Martinsville in the next round. He said, “Get through this round, and then Vegas is a great track for us. Talladega, I feel like we do a really good job on Speedways of gaining points and getting good finishes now this year.”

“And then honestly, Martinsville has been one of our better tracks. So, I really like the next round.” All eyes now shift to Saturday's qualifying session, which will begin at 2:10 p.m. ET.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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