Upstart Larson grabs points lead

“I mean, I guess little mistakes or inexperience or whatever you want to call it,” Larson said of his bridesmaid status. “Hindsight is always 20/20. But I should have went a lane up in one and two. I should have known to just stay close to Newman. That's what I wish I would have done. But, yeah, it's weird ... I finish second like every week. Maybe we'll turn them into wins soon.”

Sure, wins would be great, but at this pace, Larson doesn't need them. He's using consistency to run up front and stay in contention for a spot in NASCAR's playoffs. It's the beauty of NASCAR's points system that is often overlooked.

Yes, a win just about guarantees a spot in the 16-driver field. But there have not been 16 individual race winners yet in this format, and additional slots go to the highest-ranking drivers in points.

Collecting points is how Newman nearly won the championship two seasons ago despite not winning a race, so not making it to victory lane is not a deal breaker.

Of course, the way he's running, no one expects Larson to fall short of winning a race for much longer. He's got one career victory, but many believe he'd have more if not for his own mistakes and his desire to not ruffle any feathers. Larson wants to run clean, so when he found himself bottled with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on the restart Sunday, he didn't force the issue.

Afterward, he admitted letting this win slip away “stings” but he wasn't very hard on himself because it's hard to be disappointed when you're the points leader.

Larson is part of the rapidly changing face of NASCAR , in which young drivers are pushing toward the front and passed the veterans. Behind him in the standings are Chase Elliott (third), Joey Logano (fifth) and Ryan Blaney (sixth). At 26, Logano is the oldest of the bunch.