CONCORD, N.C. – Kyle Larson has been named to NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers list, as revealed by the sport on Thursday.
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Since coming to Hendrick Motorsports ahead of the 2021 season, Larson has recorded 15 of his 21 NASCAR Cup Series wins in the No. 5 Chevrolet. His record-breaking first season with the team saw the Elk Grove, California, native win 10 points-paying races, the All-Star Race and his first career Cup Series championship. His 2,581 laps led in a single season where the most since team vice chairman Jeff Gordon led 2,610 in his first of four championship years in 1995.
Last season, Larson tallied three wins and led the No. 5 HendrickCars.com team to a spot in the owner’s Championship 4. In addition, he won the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly (ESPYS) Best Driver Award, beating out fellow motorsports starts Alex Palou (IndyCar), Steve Torrence (NHRA) and Max Verstappen (Formula One) for the honor.
This season, the 30-year-old already has recorded two wins with victories at Richmond Raceway and Martinsville Speedway. His latest win puts Larson in a tie for 38th on the all-time Cup Series wins list. He also made his 300th series start in March at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
With 15 wins at Hendrick Motorsports, Larson has the fourth-most victories in the organization’s history and the most in the series since 2021. He also has the most wins in the No. 5 car – topping a list of drivers that includes Terry Labonte (12 wins), Geoff Bodine (seven wins), Kasey Kahne (six wins), Mark Martin (five wins), Kyle Busch (four wins) and Ricky Rudd (four wins). Many of the past drivers of the No. 5 were part of the list of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers. Kahne was named the 75 Greatest Drivers list earlier this week.
In honor of NASCAR’s 75th anniversary season, the sport is revealing a list of the 75 Greatest Drivers leading into the throwback race weekend at Darlington Raceway on May 12-14. Twenty-five names will be added to the 50 Greatest Drivers that were announced in 1998 as part of NASCAR’s 50th anniversary season. Larson is the first active driver to be included among the additional 25 names.
