Kyle Larson could script history and break the All-Star curse

Kyle Larson finds himself leading the championship standings again heading into the All-Star Weekend. However, stats-wise, the feat hasn't worked in favor of the top-seeding drivers as they came short of winning the title amid the elimination-style playoffs.

Larson, driver of the #5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, leads the standings after winning last week's race at Kansas Speedway. He succeeded teammate William Byron, who hasn't scored a top-10 finish in the past two race weekends.

In a statistic posted by NASCAR on NBC, all top-seeding drivers, including Kyle Larson twice (2017 and 2024), entering the All-Star Race have exited the playoffs, at least in the Round of 12.

"No driver has won the championship after leading the points entering All-Star Race weekend in the history of the NASCAR Playoffs. 😳 Will Kyle Larson become the first? 🏆," NASCAR on NBC wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Jeff Gordon was the first driver with the infamous stat in 2014 when he was eliminated after the Round of 8, with Kevin Harvick eventually winning the championship. Harvick led the points standings in the next two years, but fate seemed inevitable, and he failed to secure a second Cup title.

In 2017, Larson, who was driving for Chip Ganassi Racing at the time, led at the break but bounced out of the postseason as early as the Round of 12. The three-time All-Star Race winner was in the same situation last year in a season where he was arguably the best driver, but the playoff system rewarded Joey Logano the championship.

Kyle Larson drives the #5 Chevrolet Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports - Source: Imagn

The 32-year-old Californian is entering the All-Star Race with three wins, eight top-5s, and nine top-10s, enough to lead the standings with 469 points, 35 points more than the runner-up, William Byron. The race will commence on Sunday at 8:00 p.m., though Justin Allgaier will sub for him in prior sessions amid his qualifying run for the Indy 500.

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"It's a lot of money on the line": Kyle Larson on skipping final Indy 500 qualifying session for NASCAR All-Star's $1M prize money

Kyle Larson shared his plan for his double duty this weekend. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion said he will skip the Fast Six (final Indy 500 qualifying session) to make sure he arrives in the NASCAR All-Star Race on time for a chance to win the $1 million prize money.

In an interview at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this month, the #5 Hendrick Motorsports driver said:

"I think that I would miss the Fast Six and go to the All-Star Race. It's important to race it. It's a lot of money on the line." [3:01]

"Sure, it would be great to get an opportunity at the pole, but I'd rather race for $1 million, I think," he added.

The NASCAR All-Star Race and IndyCar Series' Fast Six will coincide on Sunday, with the latter session starting about two hours earlier than the stock car racing event. If Larson does fly out early, given that he makes the final six qualifiers, he would have to settle for a sixth-place start in the prestigious Indy 500.