With his win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend, Kyle Larson qualified himself in the championship finale at Phoenix, thus giving him the edge over the others to prepare for the title-winning race scheduled in November. In case he does end up winning at Phoenix this year, this would be his second-ever title.
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But knowing Larson, if he does win for the second time, he might go on and perhaps win some more, just as a couple of legends at Hendrick Motorsports before him did. This is exactly what the former iconic crew chief of Jimmie Johnson, and the current Vice President of competition at HMS predicted for the future, looking at how both Larson and his crew chief have been handling things so far.
HMS Legend believes Kyle Larson can be the next in line after Gordon and Johnson
During an interview with Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, the former legendary crew chief of Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus mentioned, “You know Kyle comes in to really be a good leader at Hendrick Motorsports. He speaks a lot in our competition meetings. He gives good guidance and good direction.”
Speaking about Larson’s crew chief, Knaus added, “Cliff (Daniels) obviously has been here for a long time and I was very fortunate to have Cliff as my engineer. We won seven championships which was just great right? So he’s been around and in the pressure cooker a lot.”
🏆 “I do think that they can go on to win many championships.”
🗣️ @chadknaus things the combination of @KyleLarsonRacin and @DanielsCliff is a dangerous one.
More from the @TeamHendrick VP of Competition → https://t.co/qesEcbI9Hq pic.twitter.com/CbB0KOrdq0
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) October 18, 2023
The Vice President of Competition at HMS commented that the Daniels has received excellent mentorship from Jimmie, who is known for helping crew chiefs develop their skills.
Adding that Daniels has also built a strong and reliable team around him and continues to bring in talented individuals to the #5 team. Lastly, Knaus praised Larson’s crew chief for doing an exceptional job. Citing, “I’m pretty proud of them. And yeah, I think… That they can go on to win many championships to come.”
Jeff Gordon argues that Larson is a better driver than himself
Gordon’s racing days are long gone, but in his prime, the closest driver to compete with him would be his own teammate, Jimmie Johnson. However, at one point in time, even the legends have their moments of humility, and Gordon’s recent admission that Kyle Larson is a better driver than he was a testament to just that.
During a recent interview, Gordon had been asked if he believed Yung Money to be a better driver than Gordon, and he subsequently responded in affirmation. Thereafter he mentioned that he got his “b*tt kicked” by Jimmie Johnson as his teammate, but he wanted to have two of them now.
Additionally, Gordon had also commended Larson on his excellent work ethic and his ability to step up as a team leader, a pattern reminiscent of prior Hendrick Motorsports champions.
