Kyle Larson has identified Phoenix as a difficult stop in his NASCAR Cup Series title chase, despite holding a 49-point lead over Denny Hamlin.

Larson finished sixth at Charlotte and said his team has struggled at Phoenix over its last three or four races there. He hopes the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports car will be more competitive and warned that Talladega could go either way.

His Phoenix results have been steady: four consecutive top-five finishes. But he led only 13 laps across those starts, leaving a gap between his finishing positions and his time at the front.