Kevin Harvick Says Pressure Is Rising for Hendrick Motorsports and Kyle Larson – A Simple Guide

The Big Picture: Seven Races Left Before the Chase

• There are seven races left before a special part of the season called The Chase (think of it like the playoffs where the top drivers fight for the championship).
• Kevin Harvick, a former driver now talking on his podcast, sees pressure mounting (getting stronger) on the Hendrick Motorsports team and driver Kyle Larson.
• Larson is the reigning NASCAR Cup Series Champion (he won the big trophy last season), but he is now on a 43-race winless streak (that means he hasn’t finished first in 43 races in a row).
• The big question: Can Larson get back to his winning ways from last season?

Important: A "winless streak" is just the number of races since a driver last won. For a defending champion, 43 races without a win is considered very long and surprising!

What Kevin Harvick Said on His Podcast

Harvick spoke on his Happy Hour podcast (a casual talk show where he discusses racing). Here’s what he said, in simple, kid-friendly terms:

• “We still haven’t seen a Kyle Larson-dominated race this year.”
  That means Larson hasn’t shown up and controlled a whole race like he used to.
• He added that Larson has had moments where he was leading laps (being in 1st place for parts of the race) only when other drivers had problems.
• “But we’ve not seen all four Hendrick cars show up and be good.”
  Hendrick Motorsports has four drivers. Most weeks, one or two are off their game, but not terrible—just not all lining up perfectly for Larson.
• Harvick said the long winless streak is “pretty wild” for a reigning champion: “I thought by this point they would have it figured out.”

Promising Weekend at Chicagoland

Despite a small mistake (a spin on lap 92) at the eero 400 race at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday, Larson was running in the top‑5 (that means 5th place or better) at that time.

The other Hendrick drivers did well:

• William Byron and Alex Bowman finished in the top‑5.
• Chase Elliott finished 11th, rounding out a solid day for the whole team.

Harvick noticed improvement:

• “Now I think that they were better. It’s the best I’ve seen William Byron run all year.” Byron led many laps and did what he needed to be back in the conversation for winning.
• Chase Elliott “was in the mix.”
• Alex Bowman’s #48 car ran good but has been the most inconsistent; Byron’s #24 isn’t far behind in inconsistency.
• Harvick wonders: “But is this where they’re going to wind up?”
• Next race is at Atlanta, a super speedway (a very big, fast track). “We’ll see.”

Important: “Leading laps” means your car is first place for a while. “Top‑5” means you finished among the first five cars. These are good signs even if you don’t win.

Pressure Mounting at Hendrick Motorsports

Before the Atlanta race, here is where the Hendrick drivers sit in the standings (the season ranking that decides who makes The Chase):

1. Chase Elliott – 5th place (safe inside the cut line)
2. Kyle Larson – 6th place (safe inside the cut line)
3. William Byron – 12th place (safe inside the cut line)
4. Alex Bowman – 29th place (not safe)

The cut line is like an invisible boundary: if you are above it in points, you are in The Chase; if below, you might miss out.

Pressure to win is growing at HMS (Hendrick Motorsports). It’s not just from the team owner Rick Hendrick. Harvick pointed out that Rick’s wife, Linda Hendrick (Mrs. H.), hates to lose even more than Rick does!

Harvick said:

• “Rick does not like to lose. Rick is a winner, and he is, I guarantee you, pushing the buttons, but his wife [hates] to lose worse than he does.”
• “There is a lot of pressure on those people in that race shop to get this thing fixed and be able to put themselves in victory lane.”
• But he also noted: “There were definitely signs of things that from the weekend.” (Meaning the Chicagoland race showed hopeful signs.)

Summary

To sum up in easy, ELI5 style:

• Kyle Larson, last year’s champ, hasn’t won in 43 races, which is surprising.
• Kevin Harvick says Hendrick Motorsports’ four cars haven’t all been good at the same time.
• At Chicagoland, they showed improvement: Byron and Bowman top‑5, Elliott 11th, Larson was top‑5 before a spin.
• Three of the four HMS drivers are safely in the Chase picture; Bowman is not.
• The Hendrick family (Rick and Linda) really hate losing, so the team feels pressure to fix things and get back to victory lane.
• Next stop: Atlanta, where we’ll see if the progress continues.

FAQ (Easy Questions & Answers)

1. What is "The Chase" in NASCAR?
The Chase is the part of the season (like playoffs) where the best drivers compete for the championship. Drivers need to be above the "cut line" in points to get in. With seven races left before it, teams are pushing hard.

2. Why is Kyle Larson’s 43-race winless streak a big deal?
Because Larson won the NASCAR Cup Series Championship last season. A reigning champion normally wins again soon, so Harvick called the long streak "pretty wild" and expected the team to have solved it by now.

3. What does "all four Hendrick cars" mean?
Hendrick Motorsports is a team with four drivers: Kyle Larson, William Byron (#24), Alex Bowman (#48), and Chase Elliott. Harvick notes that every week one of them is off, so they haven’t all been fast together.

4. What happened at Chicagoland to give hope?
Larson was running top‑5 before a spin; Byron and Bowman finished top‑5; Elliott was 11th. Harvick said it was the best he’d seen Byron all year, showing signs the team is getting better.

5. Why is Linda Hendrick mentioned?
Kevin Harvick says both Rick Hendrick and his wife Linda hate to lose, with Linda maybe even more. That adds extra pressure on the team workers to fix the cars and win.