Hendrick Motorsports, along with the rest of the NASCAR fraternity, has embraced the format shift with open arms, despite the outfit being one of the most successful teams during the three-race elimination era. They bagged a total of four Cup titles, with Jimmie Johnson securing his seventh crown in 2016, Chase Elliott winning his first title in 2020, Kyle Larson seizing his first title in 2021 during his debut campaign, and his triumph last season, hoisting his second trophy.
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Despite their performance during the elimination era, the team has also proven its understanding of the Chase format, seizing seven titles from 2004 to 2014, under the old Chase regulations. Despite the team knowing how to succeed in both environments, Larson has won both his championships under the elimination frameworkonly. Yet, his crew chief, Cliff Daniels, believes the reworked Chase format for 2026 will serve Larson and company well this year.
“Thinking back to our season in 2025, a lot of what kept us in the hunt for the regular-season title fight was the fact that we had some really good races going until a mechanical failure or a late crash, where we did score a lot of stage points, and that kind of kept us in the hunt,” said Daniels.
“So we’ve lived it a little bit. We’ve seen it. And now, of course, it’s going to be more of a highlight of that, where you’ve got to be there during the stages and put a whole race together. I think it’s going to benefit our team, and we’ve just got to make sure that how we strategize our races, how we execute, that we’re getting those points along the way,” he added.
We’ve often seen chaos ensuing during a three-race elimination era, most notably when Larson himself was able to snatch the title away from Denny Hamlin during the finale at Phoenix. However, with the tweaks for this year, certain teams arrive better suited to claim the ultimate prize, according to Daniels, because of a larger sample size that will yield superior results allow drivers to make a difference throughout the year, and not in one single race.
However, another catch that has to be noted is that race winners now pocket 55 points instead of 40, elevating the value of victory despite the points-based structure. The #5 driver carries a 24-race winless drought into the year, his longest barren stretch since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2021, but retains faith that he and his crew will visit victory lane soon, combining both winning speed and subdued consistency.
Combined with the return of the Chase, Larson and his squad harbor optimism for what awaits in 2026. It remains to be seen how well they go during this Sunday’s Clash at Bowman Gray, if the weather allows the green flag to wave, that is.
