Monday marks exactly one year since Kyle Larson’s most recent NASCAR Cup Series win, a victory achieved on May 11, 2025 at Kansas Speedway. As the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 team navigates an inconsistent start to the 2026 season, Larson sits eighth in the championship standings, needing a top-five finish by the end of the regular season to solidify his title hopes. While the team clinched the championship last November under a different format, their performance has fallen short of their usual high standards.
When asked how aware he is of the winless streak, now stretching 36 races, Larson downplayed the focus on it.
“I think you guys pay attention to it way more than I do,” Larson said during a press conference at Watkins Glen. “Obviously, I would have loved to have won by now, but we just haven’t been good enough. Sometimes we’re really close to a win, other times far from it. That just shows how tough this series is. We’re working hard, we’re searching for ways to improve, and maybe sometimes we search too much and get off track.”
Crew chief Cliff Daniels emphasized the importance of maintaining emotional stability.
“We’re very aware that we haven’t won on a Sunday,” Daniels said last month at Bristol Motor Speedway. “Yes, the championship is one thing, but we haven’t taken the checkered flag in about a calendar year. With the evolution of our team and being more seasoned in handling these situations, we know now more than ever that we can’t get emotional or sad.”
A silver lining for Hendrick Motorsports, as the organization adapts to the new Chevrolet body, is the strong start of their No. 9 teammate Chase Elliott. The challenge remains for Larson and his crew to match that execution level.
“Chase has had a good start to the year, but the rest of us have been kind of off,” Larson noted. “We’re still working through it. We’ll keep fighting. We’ve made this sport look easy at times, but I never thought it was, so I’m glad we can show it’s not.”