Kyle Larson just won his third NASCAR Cup Series championship, but Rick Hendrick believes the car he’s driving could make adding more titles to that collection considerably harder.
Following Larson’s championship victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, Nov. 8, the Hendrick Motorsports owner offered a candid assessment of NASCAR’s Next Gen car and the limitations it places on teams trying to build sustained success.
Hendrick wasn’t questioning Larson’s ability. Quite the opposite. He believes the three-time champion and crew chief Cliff Daniels have what it takes to win more titles together.
But when the conversation turned to whether Larson could eventually challenge Jimmie Johnson’s record-tying seven championships, Hendrick pointed to one significant difference between the two drivers’ eras.
“Jimmie had an unbelievable run, and it wasn’t in this car. So I think that’s a big difference,” Hendrick said, according to comments shared by The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck on Sunday evening.
It was a revealing observation from an owner who has experienced championship success under both generations of NASCAR machinery.
Rick Hendrick Addresses Limitations of NASCAR’s Next Gen Car
Johnson won seven Cup Series championships between 2006 and 2016, including an unprecedented five consecutive titles from 2006 through 2010.
Larson, meanwhile, has captured three championships since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2021, including back-to-back titles in 2025 and 2026.
Both drivers have enjoyed extraordinary success with Hendrick Motorsports. But according to Hendrick, the circumstances surrounding those achievements aren’t quite the same.
“We can’t do very much in this car. We could do a lot with the car we had before, but I think it’s very possible, as talented as he and Cliff are together, for him to string them together,” Hendrick said.
That first sentence is particularly noteworthy.
Since NASCAR introduced the Next Gen car in 2022, teams have operated with a greater number of standardized components and tighter restrictions on development than they faced with previous generations of Cup Series cars.
The platform was designed in part to control costs and create a more competitive field. But those changes also limit the opportunities teams have to develop technical advantages through their own engineering.
For an organization such as Hendrick Motorsports, which built much of its championship history through engineering excellence, that represents a meaningful change.
Hendrick’s comments weren’t an outright criticism of NASCAR’s direction. He didn’t call for the Next Gen car to be replaced or suggest Larson’s team was being unfairly disadvantaged.
Instead, he acknowledged a reality that makes Johnson’s remarkable championship streak difficult to replicate under today’s rules.
And despite those limitations, Hendrick remains confident in what Larson and Daniels can accomplish.
Hendrick Believes Kyle Larson and Cliff Daniels Can Keep Winning
Hendrick knows better than most what it takes to win consecutive championships.
Johnson’s five-title streak remains one of the most remarkable achievements in NASCAR history, and it helped establish Hendrick Motorsports as the sport’s dominant organization during that period.
Now Larson and Daniels have delivered another championship run of their own.
“I don’t know we can win five in a row, but they sure have a chemistry to do multiple wins,” Hendrick said. “I couldn’t believe we did five in a row, but I think two in a row is pretty awesome right now.”
Larson’s latest championship gives Hendrick Motorsports consecutive Cup Series titles with the same driver for the first time since Johnson completed his streak in 2010.
The organization has also made a substantial commitment to keeping its current championship combination together.
In February, Hendrick Motorsports announced a five-year contract extension that will keep Larson in the No. 5 Chevrolet through the 2031 season. Daniels also signed a multiyear agreement to remain as his crew chief.
Their partnership has already produced three Cup Series championships, and Hendrick clearly believes there’s more success ahead.
Whether that translates into another prolonged title streak remains to be seen.
The Next Gen car has changed how teams prepare, develop and compete, and Hendrick isn’t pretending those differences don’t matter.
His assessment carries particular weight because he’s watched both Johnson and Larson reach the pinnacle of NASCAR with his organization.
For now, Larson has accomplished something no Cup Series driver had managed since Johnson: winning consecutive championships.
And while Hendrick isn’t ready to predict another five-year championship streak, he isn’t ruling out more titles for the No. 5 team, either.
Rick Hendrick Raises Concern About Next Gen Car After Kyle Larson’s Third Title