When you combine the essence of Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Ray Evernham, Chad Knaus and Jimmie Johnson, you essentially capture the spirit of the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 team, a franchise now carrying the legacy of all the greats before it.
The three-time champions.
The question remains: what else can be said about Kyle Larson, Cliff Daniels, Tyler Monn, Jesse Saunders and everyone who touches this generation’s Hendrick Motorsports blue car in tangible ways?
This is now undisputably and intangibly their era.
Larson possesses the versatility of Stewart. He is now one championship away from Gordon. He is practically on pace with Johnson. He has his own version of Knaus and Evernham in Daniels.
And considering all the resources of Rick Hendrick at his disposal, along with a championship format that once again rewards greatness in its various forms, the window of opportunity feels remarkable.
“Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon are the two figures I looked up to through growing up in dirt racing,” Larson said. “To be on the same list as Tony is such a compelling feeling. I cannot believe I am on championship soil with him.”
“Winning races or similar contests I could believe in, but three championships and joining him is truly amazing. Ultimately, if I could join Jeff Gordon, that would be extraordinary for many reasons.”
It’s not that Gordon is encouraging Larson to surpass him. He is already at peace with the timeline. Similarly to how he accepted Johnson’s position in a car he co-owned with Hendrick, Gordon is set to reap the benefits of this endeavor.
“He’s special,” Gordon said. “It was one of the first things I told him when I saw him today. All right, that confirms it. One, two, you’re in.”
“I had been on the opposite end of the Jimmie five-in-a-row championship dynasty. The way you achieve that is first, out-team him—win the races you aren’t supposed to win and then win the ones you should. In my opinion, that was last year and this year.”
This year, Larson entered the Chase as the winless seventh seed, trailing top-seeded Denny Hamlin by 55 points. They responded by winning three times, including a resilient comeback after a disaster at Phoenix at Talladega.
Gordon experienced this same trajectory as a driver on multiple occasions, most notably in 2007.
“That’s exactly what Jimmie and Chad accomplished,” Gordon said. “I believe there were championships—and honestly, at least one—wherever we should have competed. They never quit. They never gave up. They came back and showed everyone how good they were, stepping up to another level. You are in awe of what they can do.”
“I think that’s what competitors look to when they watch Cliff and Kyle—this 5 team. They are in awe of their own capabilities.”
For this race, longtime rival Christopher Bell and longtime friend Denny Hamlin played the role of defeated Jeff Gordon. There was nothing they could do but recognize the greatness they faced.
“It is an exceptional talent,” Hamlin said. “I went through this generation’s Jimmie, and that is the only way to describe it. When it comes to playoff qualifying, they perform their best. That is something Jimmie used to do. Jimmie was capable of extracting tremendous speed from the car. Kyle is similar, perhaps even more so—he generates more variance in outcomes because of how intensely he pushes the vehicle, yet still reaps the rewards of accumulating wins. This is exactly the formula for long-term championship success; he will be winning championships and races far into the future.”
Bell has been racing Larson since their earliest racing days—from midgets and sprint cars to the NASCAR Cup Series. Bell has had his moments, but Larson has enjoyed more of these moments on Sunday afternoons.
“He earned it,” Bell said. “If you ask anyone in the crowd or anyone in the industry who should have been the champion, it is him. I love how (The Chase) unfolded. I remain disappointed in myself, but I thought The Chase was remarkable—it delivered high-intensity moments throughout all ten races, not just in the climactic finale.”
As for his part, Larson is not even entertained by questions about the seven-championship target, a benchmark that would match Johnson, Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.
“I would need to win five in a row to truly feel I have enough time, similar to how Jimmie did,” Larson said with a laugh. “Seven is a massive number. These championships are incredibly rare to capture. Now that we are back to the Chase format, championships may become a little more attainable since the outcome is not decided after just one race.”
“But I cannot say for certain. Right now, I am not fixated on reaching seven. I am content with three. If I could add one more, I would be even more thrilled. Should you reach four, then the next milestone is five.”
Larson appreciates the comparisons and compliments, and acknowledges that Johnson himself has provided support and mentorship to Larson and Daniels throughout the Chase, maintaining personal relationships with both drivers.
Daniels served as Johnson’s final crew chief and a lead engineer under Knaus. Larson inherited that team after Johnson’s retirement.
“That has meant a tremendous amount,” Larson said. “It was significant. So yes, I appreciate what he has meant to Hendrick Motorsports, to Cliff Daniels, and in shaping him into the driver he is today.”
“Yeah, it is pretty incredible.”
