Last year, Kyle Larson didn’t just race—he declared war on motorsport’s boundaries. After winning the Knoxville Nationals for the third time in four years, he went on record saying he believed he was the best all-around driver in the world. “There’s no way [Max Verstappen] can go win the Chili Bowl. There’s no way he can go win a Cup race at Bristol,” Larson said. He wasn’t bluffing. His resume backed it.
Larson’s words weren’t just empty bravado. On paper, they checked out. He led laps in nearly every type of car he touched. He won in NASCAR, sprint cars, midget cars—you name it. The Hendrick Motorsports driver even looked competitive at the Indy 500 until he missed his markers on a pit stop. In NASCAR’s 2024 season, he was the fastest, most aggressive, and most feared on the grid. But he didn’t win the championship. Why? The answer is simple but costly: crashes.
Whether it was a self-inflicted error or a high-risk move gone wrong, wrecks have haunted Larson in crunch time. And now, as the 2025 season hits its one-third mark, the same story is repeating. Larson is once again leading laps and grabbing wins, but his Achilles’ heel is back in full view. And to make matters worse, while all eyes were on Larson’s dominance, Chase Elliott’s steep drop-off quietly became impossible to ignore.
Kyle Larson: A champion with cracks
In terms of raw speed, Kyle Larson remains unmatched. In 2025, he already has two wins, five top-five finishes, and leads the Cup Series in laps led with 503 in just nine races. Most of those—82%—came during his masterclass at Bristol, where he won after leading 411 laps. He also won the Xfinity race the day before and finished runner-up in the Truck Series. His triple-duty weekend was the talk of the sport.
But here’s the catch. Larson may be the fastest driver in the field, but he’s also the most crash-prone among his Hendrick teammates. As per a chart of Hendrick Motorsports driver shared by Auto Racing Analytics, Larson has been struggling. He ranks at the top for short and long-run speed, restarts, passing, and pit crew efficiency. He’s nearly flawless—until it comes to crashing. That’s his Achilles’ heel.
Through the first nine races of 2025, Larson already has one DNF and two finishes outside the top 30. He was caught in a late wreck at Daytona, triggered a multi-car crash at Atlanta, and got wrecked out at Darlington. That means in one-third of the races so far, Larson’s results have been ruined by wrecks. Even though he’s improved from 2024, when he had five DNFs and six finishes outside the top 30, the trend is still alarming. Analysts have long pointed out that Larson races with the confidence of someone who knows he’s faster than everyone else. And that’s true. But that same mindset gets him in trouble.
Hendrick Motorsports Team Rankings 2025
The closer to the edge, the better for all categories
What do you notice? pic.twitter.com/TkrkXhl8ny
— Auto Racing Analytics (@AR_Analytics) April 23, 2025
He takes risks others wouldn’t. And while that often results in highlight-reel moments, it also costs him championships, take the instance of the crash at the Homestead playoff race last year. In 2024, Kevin Harvick called this out. “Kyle Larson is just willing to do things that other people aren’t. He’s not worried about making a mistake. If he had crashed right there and spun out and finished as the last car on the lead lap, he would have been fine with it. Like, it’s not gonna affect him,” he had said.
While Larson’s flaw is clear and costly, Chase Elliott’s issues are more layered—and possibly more alarming. A former champion, Elliott was once seen as Hendrick’s golden boy. But in nine races, he has zero wins and only two top-5 finishes. His best result? Fourth. He’s run more laps than any other HMS driver (2,604) and completed 99.96% of all laps. But he’s only led 44 of them. Even more concerning? Elliott’s radar chart.
He’s solid in passing and defending—classic racecraft—but he’s falling behind in speed. He struggles with long-run pace and intermediate track performance, and today’s NASCAR rewards strength in those areas with championships. He also falls behind on restarts, where drivers often win or lose races in the final laps. As Jeff Gordon put it, “You’ve got to get through the rocky times.” But for Elliott, the rocks have been piling up. He hasn’t won a points race since April 2024. He’s fifth in the standings but looks miles behind Larson, Byron, and even Bowman in key areas.
That’s the surprising twist. Bowman, the quiet driver often overlooked, has better performance stats than Elliott in pit stops, crash avoidance, and even intermediate speed. And unlike Larson, Bowman avoids trouble. He might not lead headlines, but he’s surviving, which matters when the playoffs start. Dale Earnhardt Jr. tried to put a positive spin on Elliott’s year, saying, “They’ve improved and are starting to head in the right direction.” But improvement isn’t enough when you’re supposed to be the face of the team.
Can Larson break his record at Talladega?
Larson’s crash issues haven’t just hurt his title runs—they’ve kept him winless at Talladega. In 20 starts at the 2.66-mile superspeedway, he’s never taken the checkered flag. Zero wins. Just two top-5s. Four top-10s. An average finish of 21.9. For a driver as dominant as Larson, that’s hard to ignore. Talladega isn’t just any track. It’s a drafting battleground. Survival and smart positioning mean more than raw speed.
Larson’s aggressive style hasn’t worked here. He crashes or loses track position when it matters most. He leads laps in chaotic conditions—but not the final ones. Compare that to his HMS teammates. Elliott has two wins and 215 laps led at Talladega. Byron has the best average finish (14.4) among current drivers with at least five starts. Even Bowman has run better than Larson in recent Talladega events.
But Larson is showing signs he might finally be ready to crack the Talladega code. He’s calmer this year. He’s reading races better and picking his moments. That matters at a track where one wrong move ends your day. Larson also has momentum. He’s already won two races and leads the laps-led chart. His pit crew is sharp. His restarts are on queue. If there’s ever a time for him to conquer Talladega, it’s now.
Still, history hangs over him. He’s never broken through here. And while he may claim to be the best all-around driver in the world, Talladega doesn’t care about résumés. It demands patience, positioning, and a little luck. If Larson can manage all three, he might finally silence the last lingering doubt on his NASCAR record.
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