Is Chase Elliott more successful than Kyle Larson at HMS? Everything you need to know

Chase Elliott has been a top driver at Hendrick Motorsports since he graduated full-time to the NASCAR Cup Series with the said team in 2016. However, Elliott got competition within the team when he was paired with championship-calibre driver Kyle Larson in 2021.

In Larson’s first year with Hendrick Motorsports, the now 32-year-old driver set his place in the team by winning the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series championship title. This means both drivers have won one championship each, with Elliot winning in the 2020 season.

With Elliott and Larson showing up big time week in and week out, it is inevitable they would fight each other for wins. Since becoming teammates, the two drivers have shared intense on-track battles that could’ve birthed a rivalry - reminiscent of the Jimmie Johnson-Jeff Gordon friendly rivalry at HMS.

How do the two drivers fare up against each other as teammates for four seasons so far? Let’s take a closer look.

Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott's career stats since becoming teammates

2021

Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson shared several 1-2 finishes throughout their first year as teammates in 2021. Notably, they had 1-2s in three consecutive races, namely at Circuit of the Americas won by Elliot, and Charlotte and Sonoma won by Larson.

During the overtime period at Sonoma, the two battled for the win where the #5 car of Larson managed to fend off the #9 car of Elliott.

If the Dover race before COTA is included, wherein Alex Bowman and Larson finished in P1 and P2, respectively, Hendrick Motorsports had four consecutive 1-2 victories.

Both Larson and Elliott were able to qualify for the Championship 4 in Phoenix. Larson then finished ahead of the entire field, thus securing his first NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Kyle Larson finished his first season with HMS with 10 wins, 20 top-5s, and 26 top-10s. Meanwhile, Chase Elliott had two wins, 15 top-5s, and 21 top-10s.

2022

The on-track battle between Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott started to ramp up the season when the next-gen cars were introduced.

The second race of the season at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California witnessed a late block by Larson on Elliott with 20 laps to go, causing the latter to hit the wall. The No. 9 Chevy driver plummeted to 26th, while the No. 5 driver went on to give Hendrick Motorsports its first win of the season.

Another significant battle between the two happened at the penultimate race of the regular season at Watkins Glen. During the final restart with five laps to go, Larson ran Elliott wide on turn one. Elliott dropped to P5 before fighting back for P4, while Larson got his second win of the season.

At the end of the season, Chase Elliott bested Kyle Larson by winning five races to his teammate's two. Elliott scored 12 top-5s and 20 top-10s, which are close to Larson’s 13 top-5 and 19 top-10 finishes.

2023

Kyle Larson beat Chase Elliott by a country mile in 2023, the worst season in the No 9. driver's career so far. He had a snowboarding injury, which resulted in missing six races. NASCAR also handed Elliott a one-race suspension after wrecking Denny Hamlin at the Coca-Cola 600.

With all the mishaps Elliott had in 2023, he was winless for the first time since 2017. As the season progressed, the Georgia native failed to qualify for the postseason on points—a first in his Cup career spent only with Hendrick Motorsports. He concluded the season with seven top-5s and 15 top-10s.

In comparison to his teammate, Larson recorded four wins, 15 top-5s, and 18 top-10s. He also competed in the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway but it was Ryan Blaney who walked away with the Cup Series championship title.

2024 (so far)

The Hendrick Motorsports teammates have been having a close battle this season. Kyle Larson may have more wins (four to one) and more top-5s (10 to seven) than Chase Elliott, but the two were in contention for the regular season championship title.

However, the award went to 23XI’s Tyler Reddick after beating Larson by a mere point (860 to 859). Elliott wasn’t far off the leaders in the regular season standings with 831 points.

As of this writing, Chase Elliott leads Kyle Larson in the playoff standings in 8th and +24 above the cut line. Meanwhile, Larson dropped from 1st to 10th after crashing out in Atlanta on his own. He is +15 to the cut line above Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs.

The two HMS drivers may be mostly neck and neck since becoming teammates, but Larson got the best of Elliott numbers-wise. The No. 5 driver won 21 times and led 5,432 laps, while the No. 9 driver had eight wins and led 2,217 laps.