Hendrick Motorsports’ legend compares the No. 5 team to NASCAR icons after a resilient runner-up finish proves that overcoming mid-race mechanical chaos is the hallmark of championship contenders
LAS VEGAS — Jeff Gordon has seen championship teams up close for a long time. After watching Kyle Larson turn a potential disaster into a second-place finish on Sunday, the Hendrick Motorsports co-owner reached for the biggest names he could find.
“It reminds me of (Dale) Earnhardt. It reminds me of (Richard) Petty. It reminds me of (Jimmie) Johnson. There were times we pulled that off with the 24 too,” Gordon said.
“That’s why I reflect on championship caliber teams, and how they react to adversity.”
That was the story of Larson’s afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
He started sixth and almost immediately knew the car was wrong. The No. 5 Chevrolet was tight, loose, or both — whatever it was, it wouldn’t turn the way he needed. Larson started fading fast. Instead of riding around and hoping for a caution, crew chief Cliff Daniels made the aggressive call to bring him in under green for a lengthy pit stop to work on the right-front suspension. The stop cost them a lap.
A caution a short time later handed Larson the free pass, and he got back on the lead lap before Stage 1 ended. He finished that stage 23rd. From there the No. 5 team spent the rest of the afternoon climbing. Even after losing the brakes late in the race, Larson still came home second behind race winner Chase Briscoe.
That kind of recovery does more than save a bad day. According to Gordon, it builds something bigger.
“Obviously there’s days where you dominate like last week which they did, and you come in here with the points lead,” Gordon said.
“I think a day like today almost builds as much confidence and momentum in your driving, and your team, than anything, and the message that it sends to your competitors.”
The message is pretty clear right now. Larson has finished first, second, first, and second in the last four races. St. Louis, Bristol, Kansas, Las Vegas. The same driver who went 51 races without a win before that stretch is suddenly the hottest in the series and the points leader by 40 over Denny Hamlin.
It wasn’t that long ago that the No. 5 team was still searching. They entered the season as defending champions and then spent months trying to adapt to Chevrolet’s new body package. The speed wasn’t where it needed to be. The wins weren’t coming.
Larson talked at St. Louis about embracing the struggle and still having fun while they worked through it. That patience is starting to look smart.
Gordon pointed straight at the relationship between Larson and Daniels as the reason they keep finding ways to survive these days.
“They just never give up. They’re relentless. They communicate well. The team executes well. That’s why they are in the position they’re in.”
It’s hard to argue with any of that. Larson and Daniels have become the premier driver-crew chief pairing in the garage. When the car is right, they can dominate. When the car is wrong, they still find a way to leave with solid points and momentum. That combination is exactly what wins championships.
History backs it up. Larson already knows how to close out a title. He did it last year. Daniels has been through the fire with him. The rest of the field has watched this group turn a winless streak into a four-race stretch of excellence. Now they’re watching them turn a lap-down, ill-handling car into a second-place finish and a bigger points lead.
Days like Sunday are the ones that separate real contenders from everyone else. It’s easy to look like a championship team when you lead 200 laps and drive away. It’s a lot harder to look like one when you start the day fighting the car, lose a lap, and still end up on the front row at the finish.
Gordon has lived those days. He saw Earnhardt, Petty, and Johnson live them too. He recognized the same trait in the No. 5 team on Sunday.
The championship is Larson’s to lose at this point. A 40-point cushion is comfortable but not safe. What should make the rest of the garage uneasy is the way this team is collecting points even on the afternoons when nothing comes easy. They’re not just winning when they’re supposed to. They’re refusing to lose when the race tries to take it away from them.
That is the mark of a group that has figured something out. The speed is there now. The execution is there. The mindset has been there the whole time.
Jeff Gordon saw all of it in one messy, impressive afternoon in Las Vegas — and he reached for the names of the all-time greats to describe it.
When a guy like that starts making those comparisons, the rest of the field should pay attention.
Kyle Larson and Cliff Daniels are making it very clear that if you want this championship, you’re going to have to go through them.
