The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season marks the first time in Hendrick Motorsports’ history that four drivers namely Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, and William Byron have remained unchanged at the racing outfit for five consecutive years. This hints at good intra-team dynamics between the drivers and their crew on and off the track.
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With all four HMS teams gunning for improvements in performances on their own levels, Elliott elaborated on how the achievement points to a positive environment within the organization. He elaborated:
“I think it’s a good thing across the board just to have some history with people and get to know them because it’s not like you’re best friends with these guys and you’re hanging out away from the race track all the time. It takes a little longer to get to know them because a lot of your interaction is very brief and quick and we’re typically working.”
The #9 Chevrolet Camaro driver also pointed out one of the many similarities between the four drivers currently driving for Rick Hendrick’s organization. He opined:
“I think the cool thing about our group of drivers, at least right now, is that we’re all pretty close in age, which I think is solid. From a longevity standpoint we hope we can be here for a long time, I’m sure. All of us.”
Out of the four, Kyle Larson is the eldest driver at HMS at 32 years of age, closely followed by Alex Bowman who is 31 years old. Chase Elliott is 29 years old while William Byron round out as the youngest on the team at 27. With the average age of the four drivers coming in at 30 years old, Elliott certainly has a point.
How has this longevity in team dynamics helped Larson as a driver?
Kyle Larson makes for the most recent driver to have transitioned into Hendrick Motorsports, making him the one with the least amount of experience on the team. While Byron and Elliott started their careers in the sport at HMS itself, Larson joined in 2021 after controversy surrounded the #5 Chevy driver at the now-defunct Chip Ganassi Racing team.
Adding to how stability with teammates helps a driver grow despite joining the team the latest, Larson elaborated, “The longer you can be together, the more well-rounded everybody becomes working with each other. I feel like our debriefs are very productive. I feel like the way we work together on the race track is very productive. We all get along and we’re all young too.”
Despite being the oldest driver in age on the team and the youngest in terms of when he joined, Larson has a Cup Series championship with HMS to his name, speaking volumes about his raw talent. It now remains to be seen how can all four drivers fortify their talent on the track as the team prepares for the 2025 regular season.
