The month of May will certainly be an eventful one for Kyle Larson. After all, the Hendrick #5 will become only the sixth NASCAR driver to attempt 1100 miles of demanding racing action on May 26 at the iconic Indy-Charlotte Double Duty. But before his superhuman feats truly shine through later this month, Larson must overcome a familiar rival in Denny Hamlin as he suits up for the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway on Sunday.

Last spring, at the 1.5-mile oval in the Sunflower State, Yung Money narrowly missed out on his career’s second Cup victory in Kansas, courtesy of his #11 rival from Joe Gibbs Racing. But with Hendrick Motorsports and JGR combining to take home 9 out of 11 race wins so far this year, the question arises: Will it be another HMS-JGR tug-of-war as the NASCAR season heads to Kansas and beyond in 2024? Kyle Larson himself has some interesting observations to make regarding this question.

Kyle Larson reflects on last year’s Kansas heartbreak

Last weekend at Dover, Larson finished behind Denny Hamlin in what would be the 43-year-old’s 54th Cup Series victory in a manner similar to his Kansas fortunes last year. Interestingly, by this time last year, the #11 driver did not have any wins to his name, while the #5 missed out on his season’s third race victory.

In pre-race interviews, Larson reflected on his Kansas P2 finish behind Hamlin, eager not to follow up on his 2023 showing, as he stated, “I mean I just would have loved to have won that race but it was a close finish and I wasn’t mad at him then so nothing’s really different. I just kind of look at like what I could have done to not be you know close to his front bumper on the last lap and you know, put together some better laps to not be in that spot.”

Their rivalry shines brighter than ever with the 2024 season making its stop in Kansas for the first time. Moreover, the script seems to have flipped in Hamlin’s favor this time as it is Larson, who currently stands with a solitary triumph, earned at Vegas in March. Denny Hamlin on the other hand will be looking for his fourth victory this season, extending Coach Gibbs’ race team’s wins tally to 5 in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series, effectively tying Hendrick Motorsports one more time.

Larson expressed his due respect for this early HMS-JGR trend when he said, “I think especially on the intermediates I would say him (Hamlin) and I, and then William and the #19 are probably the best… As well as you know Chase is really good.” Regardless, he also talked about the visible dominance of his teammates and his JGR rivals as he confidently concluded, “But the four or five of us are kind of on a different level compared to the field. So yeah, I mean I think when your teams are operating at a high level, then yeah, you’re going to be battling for wins more often.” 

The consistency in solid results for two of the biggest teams in NASCAR, at the moment, has incited varied reactions from fans and drivers alike. But on a track many claim showcases the perfect display of Next Gen racing, Larson could very well be surprised to see a new face drive the Gen 7 vehicle to victory lane.

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In the last two years, since the debut of the Next Gen, Toyota Racing Development teams have swept all four victories at the 1.5-mile tri-oval. Ironically, Larson was the last driver to win a different manufacturer the Kansas crown in his championship year of 2021 with Hendrick Motorsports. However, another Toyota-backed team, 23XI Racing heads to Kansas as the common underdog pick for a surprise victory.

23XI, but especially its #45 entry has been eerily dominant at Kansas since ’22, sweeping consecutive wins in Kansas, all coming at the hands of different drivers. Even the blue ovals could turn up in big fashion with Team Penske’s Joey Logano or Stewart-Haas Racing’s Noah Gragson eager to prove themselves.

However for any team to match their records with Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing this season, they must win four back-to-back races ensuring none of the eight drivers from either JGR or HMS win those races. Considering the red-hot form almost all those eight drivers have shown thus far, it will be a difficult feat to achieve. But that is exactly what makes the unpredictability of the world’s premier stock-car racing viewership experience so remarkable.