This season has felt strangely unfamiliar for Kyle Larson. While teammate Chase Elliott has stepped up as the steady hand for Hendrick Motorsports to deliver statement wins at Martinsville and Texas this year, Larson has quietly found himself stuck in territory fans rarely associated with the two-time Cup Series champion: a winless streak. In fact, Larson’s last victory came a year ago at Kansas Speedway, making this the longest drought of his recent NASCAR career, and he isn’t pretending otherwise.
“We’ve made this sport, the Cup Series, look easy at times, and I’ve never thought it was, so I’m glad that we can show you that it’s not easy,” Larson said post-race in a media availability at Watkins Glen last weekend.
And considering how dominant Larson looked during the Kansas win in May 2025, the drought seems even more surprising.
Driving the No.5 Chevrolet, he absolutely dismantled the field, leading 221 of 267 laps, the most laps ever led by a Driver in a Cup race at Kansas Speedway.
Combined with NASCAR’s “win, and you’re in” playoff format last year, that victory immediately locked Larson into the postseason. So, even though Larson only won three races in 2025, there were flashes of brilliance.
This year, though, things simply haven’t clicked the same way. With NASCAR returning to its 10-race Chase system, wins alone do not guarantee a spot in the top 16; consistency matters too. And that is exactly what’s missing in the No.5 camp.
Through 12 races, Larson is eighth in the standings with six top 10 finishes and three top five, but the speed hasn’t consistently translated into victories. A pair of DNFs, including a brutal 40th-place finish at Talladega, have only added to the frustration.
And while Elliott seems to be the new face of the organisation, with him being the only driver to have won races for HMS so far and sitting high up in third in the drivers’ standings, Larson is aware of the pressure the series puts on its drivers.
It’s been more than a year since Kyle Larson won a NASCAR Cup race.
Is he concerned?
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“I would have loved to have won to this point, but we just haven’t been good enough and Yeah, I feel like at times we’re really close to getting win and then you know, we’re at times I feel like we’re far from getting a win. So it’s just kind of shows how tough the series is,” he added.
Moreover, the Watkins Glen race proved that difficulty. It marked the first time in 21 years that HMS had all of its drivers outside of the top 20 at the track, marking a new low for the organization.
Shifting back the focus to Larson, for years, his raw talent and aggressive driving style made NASCAR’s highest level look almost unfairly simple at times, especially during his famous 10-win 2021 season. The HMS driver himself never bought into that narrative. If anything, this rough stretch has reinforced just how brutal the Cup Series can be, even for elite drivers and championship-winning teams.
However, the encouraging part for Larson is that the Charlotte Motor Speedway and the Coke 600 are up next, exactly the kind of high-speed intermediate track where the No.5 team usually comes alive.
Can Larson snap his winless streak at the Coca-Cola 600?
Few drivers in modern NASCAR have been as naturally dominant at Charlotte Motor Speedway as Kyle Larson. The HMS star already owns multiple cup victories at Charlotte, including the 2021 Coca-Cola 600 during his legendary 10-win championship season.
Even beyond wins, Larson has consistently been one of the fastest cars on intermediate tracks, especially at high tire-wear venues like Charlotte, where his aggressive rim riding style becomes a major advantage. However, ironically, Larson’s recent Charlotte story has also been filled with frustration.
His 2024 Coca-Cola 600 bid disappeared because of weather delays at Indianapolis that prevented him from arriving on time during his Indy-Charlotte Double attempt. Then in 2025, another promising run ended with a 37th in NASCAR’s longest race.
These unpredictable finishes are what make Charlotte a tricky one. However, despite the winless stretch, the No.5 team still has elite pace on intermediate tracks, and Charlotte has historically been one of Larson’s best opportunities to reset a season.
If the team avoids mistakes and executes clearly through the night, this feels like the kind of race that Larson can suddenly remind the garage why he’s still considered one of the most dangerous drivers in the Cup Series.
