We’re only three races into the 2024 NASCAR Cup Season, but it’s looking very much like another season in which Chevrolet will dominate, having won all three of the races. But inside the Chevy camp, Hendrick Motorsports is head and shoulders above the rest. And inside Hendrick, it is Kyle Larson, who is once again emerging as a title favorite.
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But what is it about the Chevrolets, the Hendrick Chevrolets, and Kyle Larson’s Chevrolet that is giving them an advantage over the rest?
This is what Cliff Daniels, the crew chief of Larson, tried to explain. After the #5 driver won in Las Vegas, Daniels addressed a question in a press conference regarding this subject. He said, “I think one advantage that we probably have right now is just the continuity of what we know of our car. To be honest, I thought the Toyota’s pace was pretty impressive today, like the #45 was really good.”
“Just knowing that their car is different, I would imagine the balance and some of the handling characteristics are a little bit different just from an aero standpoint.”
The gap between Kyle Larson and the rest isn’t what it appears as per Daniels
Having explained what he felt is the advantage Kyle Larson and Chevrolets hold over the rest, Cliff Daniels claimed that they won’t sit on this advantage in the weeks to come. “We’re going to have to keep evolving pretty quick because the more they start to get their stuff figured out. The gap is going to get closed,” the crew chief mentioned.
For everyone, Larson winning both of the stages and eventually winning the race was enough to say that he dominated on the day, which is true in many ways. But for Daniels, amidst this domination in Vegas, there were moments when he saw a different picture.
“I know that win both stages and win the race, you would say we had the dominant day, but there were some cars that were pretty tough right there with us, and at the end of long runs, the #45 was there every time,” he explained. All in all, Daniels claimed that at this moment, the gap between Chevrolets, the Hendrick Chevrolets, and between Kyle Larson and his rivals isn’t what it appears.
To Daniels, that gap is “actually tighter” than what it looks like on paper.
