Despite Equalling Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson Faces Impossible Mountain in Pursuit of HMS Record

Continuing the winning legacy for NASCAR’s winningest team, Kyle Larson‘s win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway equaled Chase Elliott‘s record for most Cup wins. With this win at Vegas, Larson has climbed the ranks in terms of most wins for the teams. While the #5 driver is expected to rake in more wins throughout his career, he is leagues behind the ultimate target record of most wins for the team.

For the time being, Larson is the third-highest win getter for Rick Hendrick’s team. However, it is highly unlikely that he will ever reach the pinnacle of this list, toppling Jeff Gordon, who has a staggering 93 wins. Forget about claiming the top spot. Even if Larson dominates the rest of his career, winning races, he might not get close to the 83 wins posted by Jimmie Johnson. Sure, the number game is stacked against Larson to claim the historic record, but the dynamics of winning are far more complex and different in the Next Gen era.

Kyle Larson won’t be able to repeat his championship-winning season

The 2021 season was the last time NASCAR raced with the 6th Gen car. The days when teams and manufacturers were able to create night and day differences with their work on the car. However, with the turn of the 2022 season, the Next Gen car took over the scene. Since then, it has been a constant battle for the drivers to regain their dominant streaks.

It’s as if the race car drivers and teams lost their ability to control their destiny in terms of winning. To put this in perspective, Larson, with his 8 cup wins in over 75 races, has not been able to level his tally of 10 wins from the 2021 season during the Next Gen era. It’s not that the Chevrolet car is not the beast that it once used to be for HMS, but with the Next Gen car, NASCAR has created a level playing field.

By no means is Larson an inconsistent driver, but given the nature of modern-era racing, it can be said he is inconsistent in terms of racking up wins. At 31, one would argue the #5 driver has a decade to challenge the notion. However, even if you tally his best win season in the Next Gen era for the next 10 years, the driver would still not be able to close the gap on Johnson in second place.

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Surprisingly, out of the last three championship winners, it is Kyle Larson who has the most number of wins in the Next Gen car. So the best bet out of all the modern-day drivers is not enough to pose a challenge to Johnson or Gordon for the most number of wins.

Larson acing the power ranking after the Las Vegas win

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For all the hype and noise about the new Ford and Toyotas, it is Chevrolet that has emerged as the winner in all three races. And with Chevy continuing its dominance, it has sparked the rise of Larson. The win at Vegas was only a testament to his racing skills and perhaps a teaser of what he might deliver in the upcoming races.

Leading the race for 181 laps, Larson swept the first two stages of the race and opened his account of wins for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series. With 118 points, he is sitting at the top of the driver’s standing, thus setting the tone for the rest of his rivals to try to compete with him for the races to come. Going into the Phoenix race, the HMS driver will be backing himself to get the job done at the racetrack after finishing #4 and #3 last season.

Larson might be far behind in terms of the most wins as an HMS driver, but at the moment, he is the best bet for the team to bring back championship glory.