As he gets ready to defend his NASCAR Cup championship this weekend, Kyle Larson revealed on Thursday his unusual way of preparing for the big race, according to a report by Fox Sports reporter Bob Pockrass. Larson will run 15 miles Friday morning, just hours before Cup practice at Homestead-Miami Speedway, with a third NASCAR championship one race away.
The run is part of his training for the California International Marathon on Dec. 6, a course from Folsom to Sacramento near his hometown of Elk Grove, California. Larson has logged more than 40 miles a week, with no break planned for championship weekend, according to Pockrass’s report.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson Marathon Training
Larson runs solo.
“Yeah, I like to run alone. I don’t feel like I’m a great runner, so I don’t want to feel like I’m limiting anybody that’s going with me. But no, it’s fun. It’s peaceful. I just put my headphones in and go log miles,” Larson told Pockrass.
Friday brings a new wrinkle.
“I’m supposed to do 15 tomorrow morning, and it’s hot, so I’m not excited about that. I mean, I haven’t had a Friday practice while I’ve been training,” Larson said. “But yeah, staying fueled during it is the biggest piece to not feel like crap afterwards.” His marathon goal is a finish under 3:30.
Then comes the question of whether the miles help on Sundays.
“I mean, I would say it hasn’t hurt me. I don’t know if it’s helped me, but I do think it’s kept my mind off of racing, which has been good because I think I have this other thing that I’m equally committed to,” Larson said.
The marathon has eased the title chase nerves. “Probably, honestly, put way more thought behind this marathon than I do the Chase, which I think has kept a lot of pressure off of me, oddly,” Larson said.
Larson won Cup titles in 2021 and 2025. “So, yeah, I’ve definitely felt pressure, but I’ve felt more pressure in other years. And I think a lot of it’s just to do with my mind is on something else, but I’m not distracted from it either because I think it’s all kind of benefiting Sundays in a way,” Larson said.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson Chase Surge
Larson entered the Chase as the seventh seed, 55 points behind Denny Hamlin, after a winless 26 races that included nine top-five finishes and 13 top-10s. His average finish was 17.23, and he averaged just 27.85 points per race.
The Chase flipped that. Through nine races, Larson has piled up a series-best 424 points, or 47.1 per race, roughly a 69% jump over his regular-season pace. He leads all Chase drivers with three wins, six top-five finishes, eight top-10s and 579 laps led, with an average finish of 6.78.
Phoenix was the lone stumble. A 34th-place finish earned three points and cut a 49-point lead to five. Without it, his average finish in the other eight races is 3.375.
Larson ended a 50-race winless streak at World Wide Technology Raceway and then won at Kansas, leading 235 laps. He rallied from 11th on the final lap at Talladega for his first career superspeedway victory.
Sunday’s finale brings a 67-point lead over Christopher Bell and 70 over Hamlin. Larson needs nine points to clinch, which a 28th-place finish with no stage points delivers. He has never scored fewer than 18 points in 12 Homestead starts and won there in March 2025.
Larson, born July 31, 1992, in Elk Grove, started racing outlaw karts at age 7. He climbed through USAC midgets, sprint cars and Silver Crown, earning the nickname “Yung Money.”
He won the 2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East title, made his Cup debut in 2013 and earned Rookie of the Year with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2014. After a 2020 suspension, he joined Hendrick Motorsports and won the 2021 title with 10 victories. His career Cup totals stand at 35 wins and 225 top-10s.
NASCAR’s Kyle Larson Reveals Unusual Preparation Before Championship Race