NASCAR pundit Mamba Smith has made a bold prediction regarding the winner of the 2024 Cup Series.
The championship is currently led by Kyle Larson after his win at the Brickyard 400.
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With four races to go until the NASCAR Play-offs, Larson is on track to become the regular season champion, a feat he accomplished in 2021, before becoming Cup Series champion later the same year.
However, none of the three contributors on Kevin Harvick's podcast are backing Larson to go all the way in 2024.
Harvick and co. deliver championship predictions
When the regular season closes at Darlington Raceway in September, the 16 qualifying drivers will have their points equalized, then have their play-off points accumulated in the first 26 races added.
Harvick, who won the regular season in 2020 but ultimately finished fifth, and reporter Kaitlyn Vincie are throwing their weight behind Denny Hamlin, who will be looking for his first NASCAR title at his 18th running in the play-off stage
“We’re Team 11 [Denny Hamlin],” Harvick said on his podcast, Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour.
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However, analyst Smith disagreed: “I said it earlier, I think it’s time to see a back-to-back champion, we haven’t seen one since Jimmie Johnson."
Seven-time title winner Johnson won five consecutive championships between 2006-2010, but the sport has not seen the same driver win two in a row since.
"Ryan Blaney, Team Penske, the 12 group, Jonathan Hassler, they are going to go back-to-back this year and make it three in a row for Team Penske as a whole,” asserted Smith.
Blaney lies fifth in the 2024 standings with two wins, and took the title from Larson by a single point in 2023.
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