Kyle Larson does not love that his No. 5 team has not won a race in more than a calendar year, but there is one aspect of this stretch that he enjoys. He actually likes the post-race debriefs after a bad weekend.
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They provide an opportunity for him to get better instead of just talking about how great the team is. It's something that he mentioned during an interview with The Athletic's Jeff Gluck, and it's something he reiterated after a trip to Richmond Raceway.
"I've enjoyed the process of trying to get better," Larson said on Tuesday. "I think it's been a new challenge for us, and I think one that we've been able to tackle fairly well. And I think — or I know — we'll eventually get out of it.
"It's just you having the patience and sticking to the process and enjoying that process, like I mentioned. So, I have enjoyed it. It's been a different season for me. I felt like I've put in way more effort than I've ever put into racing before this year."
Larson's first few seasons at Hendrick Motorsports featured considerable success. He won 10 races and the championship in 2021 and then he won at least three races every season between 2022-25 while adding another championship to his resume.
He also finished second in the championship standings in 2023 after winning four races.
This season has not featured the same level of success. He has no wins, and he only has 12 top-10 finishes in 24 races. His average finish has fallen to 17.2, his worst mark since he posted an average finish of 19.3 in 2015.
It's not that Larson is the only driver who is struggling in the Hendrick Motorsports stable. He is one of four.
Chase Elliott has two wins but only nine top-10 finishes. William Byron has 11 top-10 finishes and four top-fives. He has not won a race since October 2025.
Alex Bowman has five top-10s and three top-fives. He also missed four races due to vertigo.
This is no longer a matter of one team struggling while the other three achieve success, which makes the post-race debriefs more enjoyable for Larson. They are now about all four teams working together to try and figure out exactly why they are running behind smaller teams.
"I enjoy seeing everybody work hard," Larson said. "Not that they weren't working hard back when we were dominating, but it's just like a different, it's a different mentality, I think, for all the teams.
"And I appreciate just seeing the hard work and the extra dialogue that goes into meetings, and everybody just really grinding, trying to figure out the equation that it takes to be fast."
While Larson doesn't remember having post-race debriefs at Chip Ganassi Racing, he says he has always enjoyed the difficult conversations. It's a part of the racing journey that he has embraced fully.
He would much rather have an honest conversation about why the team fell short of expectations, even if he is the one to blame.
These difficult conversations have become more frequent during the 2026 season as all of the Hendrick Motorsports teams have struggled. They have also featured team owner Rick Hendrick, who has provided his thoughts on the situation.
As the winningest owner in NASCAR history, Hendrick has a standard that he likes to see upheld by the teams under his roof.
But that doesn't mean that he is going in and berating his drivers, crew chiefs, and other employees when they fall short of expectations.
"I've seen a couple different versions of Mr. H this year," Larson said. "I would say he's been more motivating. You know, I think he knows that everybody's down and not happy with where we're running and all that, but he's been the kind of guy to just give you a little pep talk and motivate you and remind you all that you're really good at what you do.
"And he usually does that at the right times, I feel like, when we all kind of need it the most, but there's definitely been other meetings over the years where when things don't go right on the track, he'll come in and and kind of be stern. And those are good as well."
Make no mistake, Larson would much rather achieve success on the race track and get back into championship contention than continue to struggle behind the wheel. But if he has to go through this stretch of the season, he is going to continue to embrace those hard conversations.
