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Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott are the heart and soul of Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series. Both drivers have produced several dominant performances in the past few seasons for the organization.
Elliott won his first NASCAR Cup Series Championship in 2020 with the help of five wins and Larson won his first Cup Championship the following year, scoring 10 wins. Meanwhile, both HMS drivers were impressive in the 2022 season, with Elliott having a much better season compared to Larson.
Heading into the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, the battle between Larson and Elliott for their second title will be one of the main storylines. The race to become the first to win a second title will surely be hotly contested.
According to former Cup Series driver and NASCAR analyst Clint Bowyer, Elliott and Larson can't both be the "number one guy" for the HMS. But he feels that both are certainly capable of holding that position.
“They both can’t be the No. 1 guy, and that’s a dangerous thing,” Bowyer said. “But I think both of them are certainly capable.”
Like Larson and Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports has witnessed a similar rivalry in the past between Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Bowyer feels the same way about the rivalry between the #5 and #9 drivers. He also called it the toughest rivalry in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Bowyer said:
“When you’re in the same organization, you have the exact same cars,” he said. “That’s when it’s like the Jeff Gordon-Jimmy Johnson rivalry. I believe the toughest rivalry that we have in our sport is right in between those walls at Hendrick Motorsports.”
Chase Elliott scored five wins in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season
Driving the #9 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, Chase Elliott claimed his first win of the 2022 season at Dover Motor Speedway. Later in the season, he had an incredible run of three wins and two runner-up finishes in five races.
Elliott was one of the Final 4 drivers and finished the season in fourth place in the Championship standings, scoring five wins, 12 top-fives, 20 top-10s, 3 poles and leading for 857 laps. He had the most wins last season and was the most dominant driver in the regular season.
Chase Elliott will be seen in action in the Cup Series at the Daytona International Speedway on February 19th, 2023.
