Through 24 races in 2026, Hendrick Motorsports has won just two races, both courtesy of Chase Elliott. Defending champion Kyle Larson has eight top-five finishes and sits eighth in the standings. It’s not the kind of performance fans and the garage expect from him or the organization as a whole.
Elliott, however, believes HMS remains firmly in the championship picture despite the Chevrolets’ struggles against the Toyotas, largely due to balance issues. Last week, Larson said they could challenge for the title without being the fastest team during the regular season, and Elliott agrees.
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“I think he’s right,” Elliott said to journalist Tim Moore at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “You know from the standpoint of executing can take you a long way and you know it’s also, the speed goes in waves and I mean I’ve been around it long enough to see some of those waves come and go and roll back in again and it’s also one of those things that in my view you just never know when those waves might roll back your direction.”
Larson had said ahead of the Cook Out 400 last week that no one at Hendrick Motorsports may seem too confident about the championship heading into the Chase. But the fact that the team has come back from difficult situations many times in the past has kept the hope alive internally.
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“At any point, we can turn it around,” Larson had said at the time.
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Elliott sees eye to eye with his teammate. He knows their results have not been ideal, but they are doing the things within their control. The Toyotas have dominated the Chevrolets, but when it comes to strategy and making the right calls, they are right up there.
Just last week at Richmond, they executed a perfect strategy in a race with high tire wear, helping all four HMS drivers finish in the top 10 for the first time in over a year.
“If it helps buy you another week, it could be the difference in you being able to perform at a higher level, and then you’re talking about big chunks of points you know when you can do those things,” Elliott added in the same interview.
Elliott and Larson both feel that the team does not need to win every speed battle across the regular season to clean the championship. It only needs to remain close enough through consistent finishes and error-free weekends to strike when the opportunity arrives.
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Currently, Elliott leads the HMS drivers in the standings. He’s 6th heading into New Hampshire. Larson is eighth, and William Byron is 12th. The only HMS driver who won’t be making the Chase is Alex Bowman, who’s 29th.
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