Kyle Larson absolutely dominated the rest of the grid at Bristol. Much of it came from the driver giving clean laps along with the crew giving the car everything they had before and during the race. Many fans have called the race boring because of the result that seemed determined since the cars took off on the first lap.

Larson managed to lead the majority of the race, with 462 laps out of 500 of him being first. One of the complaints that most fans had was the fact that the tires did not wear as planned, making it harder for drivers to overtake each other. Amidst the noise of fans being disappointed in the race, Kevin Harvick came to defend the No. 5 team.

Kevin Harvick’s experience with the No. 5 team

Kyle Larson’s win at Bristol put him back at the top of the playoff standings. This was a huge win for the team and despite what fans said, they celebrated the achievement. With Larson leading the playoff standings, it will be interesting to see if he can continue to maintain this lead. However, if there is one person who has faith in Larson and the team, it’s Kevin Harvick.

After the Bristol race, Kevin Harvick spoke on his podcast Happy Hour about the Hendrick Motorsports win. His co-host, Kaitlyn Vincie, then brought up the time when Harvick raced with the No. 5 crew, saying, “You mentioned the fast cars, and I want to give some credit to the team, which you had firsthand experience with.”

Giving credit to the No. 5 team, Vincie said, “That group, you know, Cliff Daniels, was obviously his crew chief when they won the championship, and it was the same car chief, Jesse Saunders, when he won the championship. That team is really, really strong as a whole, yeah.”

Being the team that pushed two drivers to win championships is a huge achievement, and Kevin Harvick knows the caliber of the team. Harvick then took over the conversation to say, “I was fortunate to have a firsthand view of that at the All-Star Weekend and see how they functioned before that.”

He further said, “When you’re functioning at a high level like that, with a young group of guys who are really determined to put in the time, effort, and details into what’s going on, that’s when you see a group like this come together.”

Harvick then moved his attention to Larson’s teammate William Byron and said, “They came out of the gate strong, but they haven’t kept up the pace of the season. These guys have been in contention week after week to win races. Yes, they’ve made some mistakes, but I think they’re so open with each other and so critical of each other that the conversations don’t offend anyone.”

In comparison to his teammate, Kyle Larson does not waste time arguing with his spotter but keeps his mind on the objective, as Harvick mentioned. Although sometimes things get heated in the No. 5 radio, according to Harvick, “none of that stuff offends him” and Larson often brushes it off after the race, saying, “Okay, well, I probably shouldn’t have said that. That was funny.” 

Aside from giving his car to Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, and the former NASCAR driver are quite close friends. So let’s take a look at what made the two drivers so close.

Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick’s friendship explained

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When two drivers from different teams get on the race track, there is no place for friendship between them. However, that does not mean that they cannot foster a friendship off the track. Both Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick have been Cup Series champions, and the two have a lot more in common.

Having raced against each other for years before Harvick’s retirement, both have taken notice of each other’s driving styles. From what both the drivers have observed, it’s safe to say that they admire each other’s talents, as they have been vocal about it on many occasions.

Larson, being the younger driver, has a lot of respect for Harvick’s experience on the tracks. Although they have always driven for different teams, their interactions have led them to become friends.

Sure, they both are NASCAR Cup Series drivers who have become champions, but the two drivers also have one more thing in common. Larson and Harvick are both fathers, and it turns out that along with them being friends, their daughters have started sharing a strong bond, which stems from go-kart racing.

With that said, Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick will continue to be friends as the latter is happy for the HMS driver’s recent win at Bristol.