Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott both stand at the top of the points table going to the Cup Series race at Nashville. Their journeys to this point in 2024 have been largely different. While Larson has won more races, three as against the single win of Elliott, he has failed to be as consistent. With eight more races left to decide who the regular season champion will be, the clash is set to be one for the books.
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As the storyline takes an interesting route, Larson spoke to the press in Music City and touched upon how the battle changes the way he races against Elliott. He said, “There’s still a lot of racing left before the playoff starts. But, no. I mean, we raced really well together and it’s been great to see their team be as strong as they are this year. They’re super consistent so that’s hard to compete against.”
He continued to note that his team has been doing a good job as well and just needs to find that missing piece of consistency. The sporadic dips that Larson faced are evidenced by the five finishes he has had outside the top 20. Elliott, on the other hand, has been creating history by finishing every single race this year in a top-20 position.
It was through his fourth-place finish in New Hampshire last Sunday that Larson pulled level with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate with 620 points. Along with his victories, he has also secured eight top-5s and nine top-10s. Collecting the 15 points that being a regular season champion brings will be crucial for the title championship challenge of both drivers.
Has there been a change in team dynamics at Hendrick Motorsports because of the Larson-Elliott battle?
Talking about their points battle, Elliott spoke about how it has affected the team’s operations… or not. He said to the press in New Hampshire last weekend, “Kyle and I raced for a championship a couple of times. I can say with a lot of confidence that our meetings have never changed. How everyone talks or the things that are discussed or the information that is uploaded into our internal servers.”
Both Elliott and Larson look upon this fight as a productive one that can hugely help them elevate their capabilities. Hendrick Motorsports is in a healthy spot where two of its stars are fighting for a common goal with no hatred against the other.
