Larson entered the Chase winless across 26 races, yet emerged as champion. Team owner Rick Hendrick admitted that the 2026 campaign began during one of the lowest periods he could remember, with the organization struggling to find its usual form. The turnaround, however, was remarkable. Larson and crew chief Cliff Daniels found their rhythm when the Chase began, transforming a difficult season into another historic championship run for the organization.

“I really think it’s the way we started this year and we were really off, and the guys worked hard, everybody worked together, and then when the Chase started we really started performing. So from probably one of the lowest times that I can remember early on to being able to actually almost clinch it before the last race is an outstanding effort from our people. So real proud of Kyle and Cliff,” Rick Hendrick told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

The Hendrick Motorsports owner had plenty of reasons to celebrate Kyle Larson’s third NASCAR Cup Series championship at Homestead. But the team owner’s comments revealed how close Hendrick Motorsports came to enduring a very different kind of season. The No. 5 team spent much of 2026 searching for speed, with its struggles becoming particularly frustrating as Chevrolet introduced an updated body. Hendrick even considered confronting his teams during the summer. Instead, one important decision helped change the atmosphere inside the organization.

Larson entered the 2026 Chase without a single victory across the 26-race regular season. His winless run had stretched to 51 races, dating back to his Kansas victory in May 2025. For a driver who had won 10 races during his dominant 2021 championship campaign, the drought was difficult to ignore. Larson finished the regular season seventh in the standings, while Denny Hamlin entered the Chase as the top seed, 55 points ahead of him. The No. 5 Chevrolet had shown flashes of speed, but consistent finishes remained elusive.

The updated Chevrolet body had created another challenge for Hendrick. The organization struggled to understand the car’s balance and find the performance needed to compete with Toyota. Crew chief Cliff Daniels admitted that the team had taken too many risks and tried different approaches while attempting to close the gap. Larson, however, continued backing his crew and believed the organization would eventually find its way forward. He had said earlier in the season that Hendrick always figured things out, whether it took a week, a year or two.

The turning point came during a meeting involving Hendrick, vice chairman Jeff Gordon, drivers and crew chiefs. Hendrick initially entered the room prepared to ask his teams what was going wrong. But after speaking with Gordon, he decided that another dressing-down would only add pressure to an already exhausted group. Instead, he reassured everyone that the organization would work through the problem, even if it took the rest of the season. Gordon later called it the best meeting of the year, explaining that the teams expected criticism but instead heard that leadership had their backs. The change encouraged everyone to share more information and work together.

Larson also played a role in lifting the team’s confidence. According to Hendrick, the driver told the room, “Nobody can beat us if we work together.” That message reflected the trust Larson continued to place in his crew despite the results. Daniels later highlighted another important moment when Larson finished sixth at Richmond after starting 30th, then traveled to Iowa and won the Knoxville Nationals. The team supported his dirt-racing commitment even during a difficult Cup season, reinforcing that its relationship with him extended beyond Sunday results.

Once the Chase began, the No. 5 team finally delivered the performance Hendrick had been waiting for. Larson opened the postseason with finishes of fifth, first, second, first and second across the first five races, averaging 2.2. His victory at Gateway ended the drought, while his dominant Kansas performance included a stage sweep, 235 laps led and 76 points. Even when a lengthy pit stop dropped him a lap down at Las Vegas, Larson and Daniels recovered to finish second.

The team eventually secured three Chase victories and carried its momentum into Homestead. Larson collected enough points in the opening stage of the finale to mathematically eliminate Christopher Bell and Hamlin from championship contention. He became the first back-to-back Cup champion since Jimmie Johnson in 2009 and 2010, joining an elite group of three-time champions. Hendrick Motorsports also extended its record to 16 Cup Series owner championships.

The recovery also differed from Larson’s previous title campaigns. In 2021, he dominated almost from start to finish, winning 10 races. In 2025, he started with three victories in the opening 12 races before fading during the regular season and finding better form in the playoffs. This time, he went winless through all 26 regular-season races before producing one of the strongest Chase runs in the format’s history.

For Hendrick, the championship was therefore about more than another trophy. His team had endured months of frustration, nearly reached a breaking point, and then found its way back through trust and collective effort. That made Larson’s third title particularly satisfying for an owner who had watched the organization climb out of one of its lowest periods in recent memory.