In a column for Motorsport.com, an analysis argues that the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 team, led by driver Kyle Larson and crew chief Cliff Daniels, has entered an era of undisputed greatness by securing a third Cup Series championship.
The piece suggests the current No. 5 team embodies the qualities of several NASCAR icons. The analysis compares Larson’s versatility to Tony Stewart, notes he is now one championship away from Jeff Gordon, and observes that he is practically on pace with Jimmie Johnson. Within the team structure, Daniels is likened to crew chiefs Ray Evernham and Chad Knaus.
“Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon are the two guys I looked up to through growing up dirt racing and stuff,” Larson said. “To join Tony is such a cool feeling. I can’t really believe that I’m on a list with him in championships.
Winning races or similar races I could believe, but three championships and joining him is pretty amazing. “Yeah, I mean, you want to just keep winning. Hopefully we can get there. Obviously, yeah, that would be great.
Larson entered the Chase as the winless seven seed, trailing top-seeded Denny Hamlin by 55 points. The team responded by winning three races, including a victory at Talladega following a difficult race at Phoenix. Jeff Gordon, a co-owner with Rick Hendrick, is already resigned to Larson surpassing him, just as he was with Jimmie Johnson.
“He’s special,” Gordon said. All right, there you go, number three, one more to go. The way you do that is, one, you out-team him. In my opinion, that was last year and this year. “”
Jeff Gordon commented on the team’s ability to succeed. Gordon noted that winning requires out-teaming opponents and winning races one is not expected to win. “I think that’s what the competitors are looking at with Cliff and Kyle, that 5 team. They’re in awe of things they’re capable of doing,” Gordon said.
Denny Hamlin described Larson as an “exceptional talent” and compared his playoff performance to that of Jimmie Johnson. Hamlin observed that Larson, like Johnson, performs his best during playoff time and possesses the ability to extract significant speed from the car.
“I went through this generation’s Jimmie, I think that’s the only way you can describe it. When it comes to playoff time, they perform their best. That’s something that Jimmie used to do.”
Hamlin said.
Hamlin also noted that Larson gets even more speed out of the car than Johnson did, though with more variance in results. “Yeah, it’s pretty incredible.”
