Kyle Larson wins at Homestead to set up a rare NASCAR split title scenario

Kyle Larson isn’t racing for a NASCAR Cup Series title. But his car will be.

Larson won Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway after Martin Truex Jr. went spinning off his bumper on pit road during the race’s final caution.

Truex was leading when Tyler Reddick’s car spun into the inside wall. He led the field onto pit road and Larson unintentionally bumped Truex as Truex slowed down to get into his pit. Larson emerged from pit road in first place and held on for the final 22 laps to win the race.

Larson was eliminated in the second round of the driver playoffs at the Charlotte Roval. But there are two sets of playoffs in NASCAR. The owner points determine the financial payouts at the end of the year for teams from the points fund. And 23XI Racing’s No. 45 car made the owner playoffs thanks to Kurt Busch’s win in May.

Busch wasn’t in the driver playoffs after backing out in August. He’s still sidelined from a summer concussion. Busch’s inability to compete created the NASCAR oddity where Ryan Blaney was the final driver into the 16-driver playoffs but Busch’s car was in the owner’s playoffs in lieu of Blaney’s.