Rick Hendrick Exposes Major Kyle Larson Regret Involving Jeff Gordon
Rick Hendrick admitted that he regrets not signing Kyle Larson early in his career and letting him go to Chip Ganassi Racing.
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Jeff Gordon, Rick Hendrick and Kyle Larson (Via IMAGO)
Kyle Larson was in a career crossroads in 2021, as he was ready to come back to the sport following a one-year ban over racially insensitive comments and losing his Chip Ganassi seat. Rick Hendrck’s Hendrick Motorsports gave him the opportunity for redemption, which he took graciously. He repaid the them winning the championship with ten wins season.
Since joining the No:5 HMS Chevy he has won two championships, 32 wins making him the face of the Chevy giants. Kyle Larson recently signed a five-year contract extension with the team that will see his race the HMS Chevy’s till the 2031 season.
Rick Hendrick could have secured all the success they are having now years ago with Larson, if he had listened to his Vice-Chairman Jeff Gordon. He missed out on the opportunity to sign the racer when he was offered the chance before Larson signed the CGR deal. The veteran would have had a different legacy if the deal hadn’t fell through.
Jeff [Gordon] actually brought him to me before he ever got in a car with Ganassi. And that’s where I made a mistake. And if I had listened to Jeff, we would have been down the road further.
Rick Hendrick said via Happy Hour podcast.
So, when he got a second chance to sign the veteran racer in the 2021 season, Hendrick didn’t think twice and even gave him the No:5 car, which is close to his heart. He was rewarded for the trust with the dominant season and the bright future they have together ahead of them.
But then, when I met with Kyle and Jeff, and I did, and we knew that he could get the job done if we put him in the right situation. Boy, did it work out the first year with 10 wins and a championship.
Rick Hendrick added.
Jeff Gordon explained the dynamic between Kyle Larson and his crew chief
One prominent name that deserves a lot of credit for Kyle Larson’s success with HMS is his crew chief Cliff Daniels, who has stood beside the veteran though out the highs and lows. Both of them loves race cars that are on the edge and that gives then an advantage no other team has.
He’s on the edge, and that pushes Cliff [Daniels] to make sure that the car can live there on the edge, right? He can tune the car to get it to do what he wants it to do.
Jeff Gordon said.
According to Gordon, the duo pushes each other consistently to be better versions of themselves and setting new bars as standard. The partnership they have build help them to stand out from the already star-studded HMS garage.
They push one another to just constantly raise the bar with the speed of the car, the abilities of the team, and I mean, to me, when you’re around these guys, it’s pretty obvious why they’re successful.
Jeff Gordon added.
The comments from Gordon and Hendrick shows how the HMS team is built around Kyle Larson as well as how much resources they have invested for the No:5 teams’ success. It would be interesting to see how everything is going to playout for the team in the coming years.
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