William Byron vs Kyle Larson – Who Is the More Dominant NextGen Driver at Hendrick Motorsports?

Hendrick Motorsports consistently strives to assemble the best lineup of stock car racers in their team. The current roster of the most successful team out there in NASCAR speaks volumes about it. After all, having Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Alex Bowman together in one race shop is no easy feat. But even that also comes with many comparisons. While Larson is already a contender for being the best driver and perhaps the more dominant NextGen driver in the team, in recent times, 26-year-old Byron has also come up the ranks with blistering finishes.

Notably, both have two wins this season. William Byron won the Daytona 500 and the Echo Park Automotive Grand Prix at COTA. Larson aced in Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas and the recent Xfinity Series in COTA. Evidently, both drivers have been turning heads this season. But, if you had to choose one as better, who would you choose?Well, Kevin Harvick recently detailed the differences between the two and provided his opinion on who, he thinks, is more dominant.

The stats show a clear answer according to Kevin Harvick

Kevin Harvick switched to his analyst role to answer the ongoing debate. He opened up on an episode of ‘NASCAR on FOX’, and provided viewers with his choice of a clear winner.

“So it’s really interesting to look at the 78 races in the Next-Gen car that William Byron and Kyle Larson have run together. Okay, so right off the bat, everybody thinks Kyle Larson is head over heels better than his teammates. He’s won more races, he’s more Top 10s, he’s I guess not even close, right? Wrong. So, they have the same amount of starts, they have the same number of polls over those 78 races. William Byron has won 10 races, and Kyle Larson has won 8. Seconds you know, they’re close. Top 5s, they’re close. Top 10s, they’re close,” Harvick added.

Based strictly on stats, the retired veteran seemed to be slightly tilted towards the HMS No. 24 driver. “DNFs, this is where the debate really started for me. Kyle Larson has 16 DNFs, and William Byron has 9. Lead lap finishes, William Byron has 63, Kyle Larson has 56. So, the thing I just wanted to point out, they’re both great. But they’re both very different,” continued Harvick.

Being a successful NASCAR driver is not only about gaining speed, but it’s about the control one has on their car. And perhaps that where’s William Byron takes the cake yet again, as  Harvick revealed how the 26-year-old driver has had a better performance when it’s comes to finishing races.

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Should Kyle Larson work on finishing races better?

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Kyle Larson started his racing journey when he was just a seven-year-old boy, beginning with outlaw karts in Northern California. His talent as a stock car driver is unquestionable and the results are vivid to the public eye. Byron, on the other hand, started his career much later as a teenager, through iRacing. There exists a difference in racing pattern between the two of them, as mentioned by Harvick.

He continued, “Kyle Larson, naturally gifted, will win in anything fast. William Byron, works hard, fast, again can win in anything in stock car racing for sure at the highest level. But there’s also that piece of the puzzle in races that are 400, 500, 600 miles long, that requires you to finish. And I think, that’s still some of Kyle Larson’s weakness. He makes those mistakes in some of those races, racing too hard, spinning himself out, running into the wall, whatever it may be, and he costs himself more opportunities to win. And I think, William has been the opposite.”

However, Harvick also once again mentioned how both the drivers are different and may have their own sets of strengths and weaknesses. “And so, in NASCAR racing, it’s not all about being fast. I guess that’s my biggest point here, because they’re both great. They’re just different,” he shared.

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In the end, it’s about the composure of the driver that makes the difference. Beyond comparisons, it would be interesting to see how things progresses in the later part of the season.