Who do you think has been the better driver between Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson in the Next-Gen era? If your answer is Kyle Larson, you’d be forgiven for thinking so, but you’d be wrong. A recent stat was shared by veteran motorsports journalist Bob Pockrass and according to that, Larson is nowhere near his teammate. In fact, Elliott is not just ahead of the #5 driver, he’s ahead of every single driver in the NASCAR Cup Series today. That’s incredible considering he just broke a 42-race winless streak last Sunday.

How can Chase Elliott have better numbers than Kyle Larson?

NASCAR can be a funny sport at times. You’d see one driver doing well and another not so much, but certain stats will put the latter over the former by quite a long way. Chase Elliott, ever since the Next-Gen car came into existence, has recorded an average finish higher than anyone in the Cup Series. That includes Kyle Larson, who is regarded as the best driver in the series today. This just proves that the driver of the #9 car has been more consistent than his teammate, but is that all there is to it?

Yes, consistency plays a big part in being the driver with the highest average finish but another thing to remember is the big chunk of races Elliott missed last year due to injury. But the 2020 Cup Series champion has an average finish of 12.45 and the 2021 Cup Series champion has an average finish of 14.07. How is that possible?

Well, if a driver misses races due to whatever reason, then those are not going to be counted. While calculating the average of something, all of the available numbers have to be counted. Larson just took part in more races which is why his average finish is low.

That’s probably the reason why Chase Elliott is higher up than even William Byron on the list, who has had substantial races ever since the #9 driver got injured. And when it comes to those two drivers, an eminent NASCAR insider believes that there could be an intense rivalry brewing inside Hendrick Motorsports.

A potential rivalry brewing inside Hendrick Motorsports, says eminent insider

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Former Cup Series racer Kyle Petty is a big believer in Chase Elliott and his redemption season. The driver of the #9 car was underwhelming beyond measure last year. After Chase Elliott’s win at Texas, Petty stated that he was going to win more races in the season. But he also stated that there is going to be some stiff competition within the team. Last year, William Byron was the most impressive driver in the competition. Despite being one of the youngest, he won a whopping 6 races and he’s already won 3 this year.

“I think if we’ve looked at the sport this year, it’s been up and down. It’s been a little everywhere. Obviously, William Byron has shown that he is the class of the field. But I think after two years, basically two full seasons, because he missed some races, of not winning, this is going to be the first of many wins that we see from Chase Elliott this year. Will it be a battle to the end, between Chase Elliott and William Byron? Stay tuned,” Petty said as per On3.

Between the two of them, who do you think will perform better this season? Let us know your predictions.