Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson have been the most result-oriented drivers that Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) has had since Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. The two contend for the win week in and week out. Both have Cup Series championships to their names and are already on an elite list of drivers courtesy of that. But where do they rank in comparison to the HMS heroes of the past?
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On the team’s all-time win list, Elliott (18 Wins) and Larson (17 Wins) take up the 3rd and 4th spot respectively, coming after only Gordon (93 Wins) and Johnson (83 Wins). Though the difference between the youngsters and their predecessors seems massive right now, it ought to be noted that they still one many full-time seasons left in them.
Putting Elliott and Larson against each other, the latter’s appearance-to-win ratio ends up the winner. In just 3 full-time seasons, Larson has managed to nearly equal the number that Elliott has taken 8 long seasons to muster up. Going into future seasons, Larson’s dominance can only be expected to play further spoilsport to Elliott’s dreams of being the star man.
As far as adding to the history of their cars goes, Larson is the winningest driver for the #5 car that has been driven by icons like Labonte and Kahne in the past. On the other hand, Elliott is the maiden driver of the #9 car and is creating the benchmark for future drivers with every win of his. The coming season will be Hendrick Motorsport’s 40th anniversary in the Cup Series and the team has already given Larson and Elliott their next targets.
Hendrick Motorsports hopes to build on winning culture with ambitious goal
In 2023, Hendrick Motorsports reached the milestone of 300 Cup Series wins when William Byron won at the Texas Motorspeedway. Now that the team is long past having a competitor to chase down it is of their own making that they are fixing the goalposts. And the number that Vice President Jeff Gordon has affixed is 350.
Gordon said last year, “You’ve got to keep that competitive spirit, you can’t rest on your laurels because this will eat you up. If you keep that carrot out there, the competitive juices, the guys don’t want to back up, they want to win.”
Already the winningest team in #NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports sets new goals after 300th win https://t.co/i8Pto4xzqK
— Jenna Fryer (@JennaFryer) September 30, 2023
Beginning in 1984, the team has incorporated a winning culture like no other organization in NASCAR has. Gordon revealed how his employees run a poll to rank who has been with the team for most of its wins. With a mindset like this running the show, it won’t be long before Larson or Elliott take the tally to 350.
