LOUDON, N.H. – Hendrick Motorsports could visibly see progress being made during Sunday’s Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. It wasn’t enough to compete with Team Penske, however, as the winners of the last three NASCAR Cup Series championships combined to lead a whopping 263 of 301 laps.
“Penske was even better than I think they are compared to the rest of the field in the past,” Kyle Larson, pleased with a seven-place performance, told Jayski.com. “When I was behind [Ryan Blaney], his car was crazy gripped up compared to mine. Mine didn’t even feel that bad that run and I just let him go and he was flying. [Joey Logano] was a step off of him and I thought [Josh Berry] was pretty close to Ryan.”
William Byron led the way for Hendrick Motorsports in third, snapping a five-race skid of finishes outside the top 10. Chase Elliott rebounded from a lackluster qualifying effort in 27th to finish fifth. Meanwhile, Larson scored stage points in both stages and faded to seventh in the waning laps. It was the first time HMS put three cars inside the top 10 at New Hampshire in a decade.
Compared to Joe Gibbs Racing and other playoff organizations, the HMS drivers believe incremental steps were gained at the flat 1.058-mile oval. It’s a track that by most metrics is comparable to Phoenix Raceway, host of the 2025 championship in six weeks.
But with Team Penske having a statement victory, there is still plenty of room to improve for Hendrick.
“No,” Larson said with a chuckle, when asked if the winningest NASCAR organization in history closed the gap to Penske at flatter tracks. “I thought Hendrick Motorsports was better than [Joe Gibbs Racing] today.
“At times, I thought we were the third or fourth best car. On cycled tires and right sides, those runs, I wasn’t as good. We will look at that and see what to learn from it. All and all, it was a great points day.”
Meanwhile, Byron, the 2025 Regular Season Champion, is more enthused by the No. 24 team’s performance. He finished third in all three stages, earning 50 points for the performance.
“We weren’t close today in terms of [Penske’s] pace, but I thought we were so much improved for our standard,” Byron said. “This is definitely a shot in the arm for us. It shows what we’re capable of and that we can put our mind to. I’m excited going forward after today. We’ve got to keep building. We’ve got to keep working on it, but this is a lot closer than we’ve been at this track.”
Of the three HMS playoff drivers, Elliott had to overcome the biggest track position deficit, taking the initial green flag from 27th position. The No. 9 Chevrolet cracked the top 20 by the end of the opening stage and raced to seventh at the conclusion of Stage 2. Elliott hovered inside the top 10 for the final stage, taking the checkered flag in fifth position, his third top-five finish in 12 New Hampshire attempts.
While admitting he wants to run closer towards the front of the pack, Elliott believes the No. 9 team’s performance was akin to what it had at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway during the Round of 12. In that 240-lapper, he finished third, behind JGR drivers Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe.
“I feel like it was about where we were at Gateway,” Elliott stated. “The Saturday stuff, we’ve got to be better and not to be digging [ourselves] out of these situations every weekend. That’s on me – just have to figure it out.
“I thought our pace was really good today. We weren’t up there with [Blaney] and them, but otherwise, I thought we were pretty solid.”
All three HMS drivers are above the cutline with races at Kansas Speedway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval remaining in the Round of 12. Byron has the biggest buffer at 47 points, while Larson is 41 markers above ninth position on the playoff grid. Elliott is currently seventh in the standings, 14 points above the bubble.
“Never enough of a cushion,” Byron said of his positioning. “Just try to go to every race, every weekend and execute well. Certainly a better start than we anticipated.”