Exclusive: Kyle Larson Firmly Trashes Rumors of a Budding Rivalry With Chase Elliott With a 6-Word Verdict

With six races left in the Cup Series regular season, it is all set for an interesting finish. It is safe to say that the 2024 campaign has witnessed some interesting battles, with Chevrolet and Toyota dominating the proceedings. That said, the trickiest competition seems to be going on in the Hendrick Motorsports camp.

With both Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott running neck and neck in the standings, the competition is hotter than Georgia asphalt. Last season, Elliott faced a rough ride with injuries and a suspension, but now he’s back in full throttle, posing a serious threat to Larson’s quest for the regular-season title. Yet, when EssentiallySports, the official media partners of Real American Beer at Pocono, caught up with the driver of the #5 Chevy in a pre-race exclusive, Larson didn’t mince words. He shot down any talk of tension, praising the positive vibes and team spirit at Hendrick Motorsports.

Kyle Larson denies in-house battles being spoilsports in the Hendrick Motorsports camp

Despite missing out on starting the 2024 Coca-Cola 600, Kyle Larson currently leads the standings with 671 points. Interestingly, Chase Elliott sits just 11 points below him, in second place, and remains a strong contender to win the regular season championship. While Larson has enjoyed three wins, Elliott has relied on consistency and a single-race win this campaign to fight for the title.

Amazingly, the #9 driver has yet to have a DNF this season. While it certainly puts his last year’s misery behind him, there’s still loads to compete for. Last month at New Hampshire, Elliott gave an idea of how things have been at Hendrick Motorsports, with both he and Larson remaining title contenders for the regular season.

Back then, as reported by NASCAR.com, he had said, “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. As far as setups and things of that nature, it’s all very straightforward. It’s all an open book and what you take and do with that from there is up to you.”

As Elliott denied any internal conflict or mystery due to the fierce competition, even Kyle Larson spoke on similar lines to our NASCAR reporter. Ahead of the Cup race at the Pocono Raceway, when Bharat Aggarwal asked the #5 driver about the mood in the HMS camp, he said, “Yeah, to me, I mean, it hasn’t affected anything negatively.”

In fact, the 2021 Cup Champion zeroed in on the high-octane camaraderie at Hendrick Motorsports when he spoke exclusively to EssentiallySports. He said, “You know, I think if anything, it’s been all positive this year, because, you know, our teams always push ahead for the greater of the organization. So you have two teams in the top two in the standings, I think has everybody pressure-wise pushing even more. So yeah, it’s good.”

Not only that, Larson was full of praise for his teammates’ stellar performances. He kicked off by acknowledging Chase Elliott’s strong run this season, stating, “It’s been great to see Chase with the speed. He’s so consistent.” Then, he also tipped his hat to the #9 team’s competitiveness in the title chase with a succinct six-word verdict, “You can never count them out.” Furthermore, Larson didn’t forget to highlight the impressive runs of Alex Bowman and William Byron, showcasing the depth of talent at Hendrick Motorsports.

He said, “Alex [Bowman], obviously with the win last week but then he’s been really strong. William [Byron] has been so fast but had a lot of bad luck here lately. So yeah, they’ll be good,” he concluded his reply to Bharat Aggarwal.

Not only did Larson sing praises for his teammates, but he assertively acknowledged the positive mood in the HMS camp. He said, “Hendrick Motorsports is in a great spot right now. And all the teams always work really well together.”

In all, it is good to hear Kyle Larson speak positively about the harmony at Hendrick Motorsports. Having said that, it is interesting to see how both Larson and Elliott go about their business. With only six races left, it remains to be seen who triumphs among them, or is there going to be a different winner altogether? Well, only time can answer that question.