Larson leaves San Diego with momentum: 'It's giving me more confidence'

Larson leaves San Diego with momentum: 'It's giving me more confidence' reports that Kyle Larson returned to the top five in NASCAR Cup Series points after a third-place finish Sunday at Naval Base Coronado. The defending Cup Series champion is back within the leaders for the first time since May, and he remains 180 points behind series leader Tyler Reddick with nine regular-season races remaining. Larson has been fighting a 41-race winless streak dating to May 2025, but the report says he led laps in each of the last five races and posted four top-five finishes during that span. The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet appears to be gaining speed after a mid-spring slump, while crew chief Cliff Daniels credits resilience from late 2025 and emphasizes settling into a new Chevrolet body for 2026. Sunday’s race featured Larson leading 11 of 75 laps, with best average running position at 6.45 and the fourth-most points.