Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson has one of the biggest comeback stories to his name in NASCAR. The former Chip Ganassi driver, after being suspended from the sport in 2020, made one of the most dominant comebacks in the history of American stock car racing in 2021, winning a staggering 10 races on his way to the Cup Series championship.
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Three years later, Kyle Larson believes his form and his team’s execution during the current season trump what they achieved back in 2021. Coming off a win at Sonoma Raceway last weekend, the 2024 Indy 500 participant spoke about the consistency of his #5 crew at HMS.
He said, “We’ve been really strong, really consistent and executing very well. Honestly, I know 2021 was amazing but I would say this year seems even better than that year because we’re like executing really good. As a team, we haven’t really been making mistakes this year.”
Could 2024 be shaping up better than @KyleLarsonRacin’s 2021 title season? On the heels of his @RaceSonoma win, he thinks so.
💭 "We've been really strong, we've been really consistent and executing very well."
More → https://t.co/MKhd9eLXG8 pic.twitter.com/3Qgv09rE9V
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) June 12, 2024
Kyle Larson heads into this weekend as the NASCAR Cup Series debuts at the 7/8th mile-long Iowa Speedway, a track that could be dependent on track position with the recent partial repave. Coming off a high during last Sunday’s visit to his home race in wine country, California, Larson rides on a wave of momentum after claiming victory at Sonoma Raceway.
It remains to be seen whether the #5 crew can repeat their 2021 feat in what has been described as a ‘better year’ by their star driver.
“As long as I was still making my check…”: Kyle Larson did not seem too worried about NASCAR not granting him a waiver
Having made his Indy 500 debut this year, a lot has been discussed around NASCAR’s fiasco of whether to grant the #5 driver a waiver for his appearance in this year’s playoffs.
The HMS driver recently spoke about why he was not too worried about the process and elaborated on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, “We earn our money through the owner’s points, because that’s who gets paid, it’s the owners. So as long as I was still making my check and all that that’s really what mattered the most to me.”
Had Kyle Larson not received a waiver from NASCAR to be eligible for the 2024 postseason, the #5 team fielded by Rick Hendrick would still be in contention for the owner’s championship while being driven by Larson.
However, the Elk Grove, California native was ultimately granted a waiver by the governing body. Taking into consideration the amount of time and discussion surrounding the decision, the waiver rules might see a change soon.
