NASCAR Playoffs post-mortem: Bidding farewell to Blaney, Keselowski, Larson, Bowman

Kyle Larson

High point of 2018: It’s hard to pick one particular best moment when you don’t win any races, but Larson had a few moments where he flashed the speed and form many people expected from him. He may have had the car to beat at the ROVAL before a late wreck, and seeing him fly through the field unlapping himself at Dover this summer was amazing to watch. Yet overall, this season is going to be one the 42 team wants to forget.

Low point of 2018: It’s probably a sign of how Larson isn’t that far off from true contention when you consider he only had two really terrible finishes: 36th at Texas and dead last at Talladega this spring. Instead, the times that will haunt this team are the close calls, including the aforementioned ROVAL ending and a thrilling but ultimately unfulfilling second to Kyle Busch at Chicagoland.

Better luck next year? The path to the top isn’t generally a straight line, and even though Larson took a step back in 2018 (and possibly ceded the title of best young Chevy driver to Chase Elliott, though that remains to be seen), he’s still loaded with talent and could easily get right back to winning races in 2019. His short track performances, especially runner-up results at Bristol both times, have to be especially heartening.