NASCAR News: Larson, Daniels, Hendrick, Gordon Phoenix Post-Race Press Conference

The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship team met with the media after the season finale race at Phoenix Raceway Sunday. The race was won by Ryan Blaney and the championship was won by Kyle Larson.

• Kyle Larson – 2025 NASCAR Cup Champion
• Rick Hendrick – Larson’s Team Owner
• Jeff Gordon – Hendrick Motorsports
• Cliff Daniels – Larson’s Crew Chief
• Dr. Eric Warren – Chevrolet winning manufacturer

THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series champion, and that is Kyle Larson.

We’ll get right to questions for Kyle.

I asked Jeff and Mr. Hendrick this question, but on that last restart, when you saw where you started and you knew where Denny was, was this the moment you said, I got this?

KYLE LARSON: Never did I feel like I had it. I was honestly surprised people stayed out. I thought I was going to line up on the front row with Ryan. This is going to be good, he can choose the bottom. I know what to expect into one with grip. When they said a few of them stayed out, I was like, Oh, no, this is not good.

I was able to line up behind Alex, just run really hard through one and two and get the clean air I needed.

My hope was that Denny was not going to get a great one and two. I thought with four fresh tires, he might get through there well. We might be side by side. I thought that’s how it would net out off of two.

I got a better one and two than I expected. Then yeah, for a bit I thought I was going to win. They were going kind of crazy on the radio, my spotter was, telling me that the 11 was kind of jammed up back there.

I was going to be committed to the outside lane. I felt like that was going to be my best opportunity to find clean air, maintain momentum. Yeah, was just trying not to crash there at the end.

I still wanted to win really bad. It’s been a while. I was trying what I could to win the race. But yeah, we did what we had to do to win the championship. Just insane. Insane circumstances to get us to this point.

You said ‘insane circumstances’. What is it like to win a championship under insane circumstances?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, it’s insane (smiling).

I don’t know. I mean, did anybody in here think that we had a shot? Like, I definitely — like Cliff was saying, we weren’t dead but we were pretty close.

Yeah, the final stage was not going how we needed it to. I didn’t feel great about my car, but I thought my team was doing a good job to keep me in striking distance if we had a caution, we could get a good pit stop and make it work, hopefully have a shot that way.

We had whatever happened on the one pit stop, lined up 18th. From then on, I was, This is going to be near impossible to beat these guys. The 11 was by far the best car. I thought him and the 12 was really good. Out of the four of us, the 11 I thought was the best. I’m much further behind them.

Then that same run, I had the right front go down. Just knew I was going to lose one lap, hoping it was going to time out where I didn’t lose two laps. Thankfully that was the case.

Then, yeah, we got a caution. Thankfully, just one and a half laps on my tires, we were able to do the wave-around. Kind of at a slight disadvantage on tires, so I wasn’t able to make my way forward very well.

Then, yeah, we got a caution with however many to go, 30 something to go. We decided to take rights. I was like, Oh, boy, I wasn’t expecting that. As I turn in the stall, he said, We’re doing right sides.

I was like, Oh, man, we’ll see here.

Yeah, the grip much better than I thought it was going to be on those right sides. Was able to maintain in fifth. We’re back in it here. If we get another late caution, maybe we might take two tires. If we take four, we can have a good stop. I know we can do it, done it before, gaining four spots and winning the championship.

Yeah, when this unfortunate break for William came out, caution, Cliff and I were on the same page about right sides. Yeah, just kind of knew what to expect with the grip from having one go at it already.

With potential change in formats, Homestead being part of the championship race, do you feel things could be more in your wheelhouse for more titles?

KYLE LARSON: You never know. Yeah, I mean, right now I don’t even know the format, so…

But yeah, I mean, I think it would be a little bit more in my favor. I think it would be a little bit more in everybody’s favor, honestly. I think we all would take multiple races rather than just one because a lot can happen in just one, obviously.

Thankfully we were on the right end of it tonight. It could easily have been the other way around, like what happened to Denny.

But yeah, I mean, I think if it’s a single race, sure, I feel better about it at Homestead. If it’s multiple races, I feel better about that. Any track, you can throw any tracks, whatever it might be, 10, four, 36, I would feel better, my chances are better.

We’ll see. I’m just soaking this in right now, still trying to figure out how it all happened.

When I was talking to Joey after the race, asked him what it meant to have you in the multi-time champions club, he said that you guys obviously are a great team, you’re a great driver. Whenever you’re down and out, you still come back and win the championship. What does that mean hearing another champion talk about you like that?

KYLE LARSON: Well, it feels cool because I don’t think there’s anybody, any team, better at it than Joey’s and the 22 team.

This Playoff for us was as Joey Logano as it gets (smiling). Maybe not being the fastest, but our team getting us through it all, ultimately getting us the championship.

It feels amazing to join him as well as the other multi-time champions. I’m really excited. I think one of the most special things, probably the most special thing about being a champion, is getting that book.

I’m grateful to get my hands on it again, get to see what was written in the few years since I have won. Yeah, it’s going to be pretty neat.

He’s a great champion. Hopefully I can carry myself as a great multi-time champion, as well.

Now that you have accomplished this feat, what do you feel like a second championship does for your legacy?

KYLE LARSON: I don’t know. I still don’t know. I don’t think any of us foresaw us getting a second championship in the fashion that we did today. That probably makes it seem even different.

Nonetheless, we’re on the list two times. That’s something to be proud of.

As far as for legacy, I really don’t put a whole lot of thought into that yet. Like I’ve mentioned many times before, I think it’s really hard to think about that sort of thing right now as you’re still competing and plan to compete for quite a while.

We’re still going to try and go out there and win more races. The legacy will kind of take care of itself as we approach that.

You got to drive your kids to Victory Lane. Denny Hamlin was greeted by his daughters in absolute tears. What kind of empathy can you have or do you have for him? Whenever you talk to him, what do you say to him after today?

KYLE LARSON: No, I mean, I definitely have a lot of empathy for him. I said it I think in the interview I did on the stage. It’s great to celebrate and all that, but it does feel a little awkward because he has put so much time and energy, has been so close to winning so many championships. This is as close as he’s ever been.

Sure he’s a competitor, but he is a friend. I was going to be happy for him to win. That’s kind of what I was thinking about. Like, man, I can’t wait to go tell him, Good job. Then the caution came out and the script flipped right there, so…

Yeah, I haven’t seen him. I haven’t seen an interview. I haven’t seen the moments that I’m sure he had with his family, shared that with his daughters.

Yeah, no, I mean, sure I’m happy, but there’s definitely a piece of me that is sad for him, as well. I’m sure all of us in here, even the Denny haters, I’m sure there’s a spot where they’re sad, too.

That’s competition. That’s the format. It’s just weird, you know? But yeah, I still hope someday he can get to feel what it’s like.

Have you been briefed at all or told about what your public champion schedule is going to look like? Trip to New York, et cetera. What does that look like?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, it starts early tomorrow (smiling). That’s scary. Yeah, I think it is early tomorrow. I know that. I don’t know how long tomorrow lasts.

Yeah, banquet Tuesday. I’m not really sure what goes on Monday and Tuesday. I think Wednesday we go Chicago. Am I not supposed to talk about it?

Indy, then New York.

KYLE LARSON: Then to Cabo (smiling). I’m missing Cabo. I was supposed to go to Cabo on Wednesday, but now I guess we’ll get there Thursday night.

Thursday night.

KYLE LARSON: All right. With tequila.

What do you think you’re going to remember most about tonight’s championship run?

KYLE LARSON: I don’t know. It’s still so fresh that it’s honestly hard to believe that I’m sitting right here talking to you guys after what we went through tonight. I think that’s probably what’s going to probably be the thing that I look back on, is just how unbelievable today was, the last 40 minutes of the race for us.

Yeah, just incredible. Just really proud of my team, proud of Cliff. So proud of Cliff and the work that he puts in obviously on the race cars and all that. But the work that he puts in on the team, the leadership, himself personally, is just amazing. I think he is the reason why we are champions again.

Your comments about Denny, you brought that up unprompted in your television interview. You win a championship, but instead you’re thinking about a guy that you beat. What did you feel in that moment to bring him up? Did it feel not like you didn’t deserve it, but were the emotions split there?

KYLE LARSON: No, I mean, it was all so wild and crazy. I had all the elation, obviously, because we had just accomplished something that was not on our radar for a lot of it. I was so happy and thrilled. Celebrated with my team on the backstretch. Went to the frontstretch to do my celebrating, interviews, whatnot.

I got done and I could see his car and team and him doing interviews. It kind of hit me like, Oh, man, I can’t imagine what he’s feeling right now.

We’ve all gone through our own defeats. I really can’t imagine what he’s feeling. It’s got to be something completely different than I ever felt before through any of my defeats.

Yeah, I had another opportunity to give an interview. I just wanted to let everybody know how I felt. Again, he’s a great competitor. He’s a good friend. In 20 years of trying, getting so close, I just…

There’s definitely a large piece of me that feels really bad and sad. But at the same point, I’m happy. It’s such a weird feeling. When you don’t win the race, you don’t lead a lap, you win the championship, you steal it from a guy who has tried for so long and had it in his fingertips, it’s a really weird feeling.

You said you were hesitant about the two-tire call. Cliff gave credit to some of the guys on your crew that were in his ear. He knew that he had to make that two-tire call, then the second one was kind of a no-brainer. You’d already given him the code. For a guy who already had issues with tires, did you ever have hesitancy? Did you know that was the right call?

KYLE LARSON: The first two-tire call, I didn’t know if it would be the right call. I’ll be honest, I didn’t have as much confidence that time. We just ran a long run, I was struggling. I thought with this softer tire, the lefts maybe were going to be not as strong as what they ended up being.

Then when I went through that first restart, was kind of a ways back from the 19, just throttled up, and I got back alongside of him, ultimately passed him. Sure, yeah, I fell back to fifth. Guys on four tires passed me.

Yeah, I knew if we got another caution, give it any laps, that two tires in my mind is going to be a no-brainer. I hoped that Cliff was thinking the same way.

Yeah, when the caution came out, I named off the code words. I was like, C’mon, say it. What he did. He did. I was like, Cool, we got a shot here.

The question was asked earlier about having empathy for those drivers and families that didn’t win. How special is it that you got to take your kids on that victory lap, especially with Audrey and Owen being able to remember that?

KYLE LARSON: It’s great. Have my family here and my kids. They love to celebrate, too.

Audrey, it’s been a while since I’ve won, and I’ll never forget the first thing she said to me. She was like, Dad, you finally won again.

I was like, Kinda.

Cooper wasn’t even born yet for our last one. I can’t wait to go take all the photos that we get to after this, update my iPad with him sitting in the Cup. Last time it was Audrey sitting in the Cup. We’ll throw him in the Cup.

Yeah, I got a lot of friends here, too, and family. I look forward to getting through all this and getting to hang out with them and celebrating because they’re all a big piece of it, too.

How does this compare to the first championship?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I mean, I think it means every bit as much as the first one. I thought that’s kind of how it would be. I didn’t anticipate obviously winning the championship in the fashion that we did today. So I think that takes it kind of another level up from what I thought it might feel like.

Yeah, the first championship, we dominated the season, led tons of laps, all of the things that a champion should do. Everything kind of came easy back then. The championship race didn’t, but the season was.

Today the season has been a challenge. Today was way more challenging even than that 2021 victory was. Hopefully I am fortunate enough to win other championships along the way. I think each would mean something different. Keep it equally as special.

Yeah, this one was such a team win throughout the whole year, all of that, that I think I’ll never forget it for that, for sure.

If we rewind this movie two, three years ago, we put it today, what is the title of this movie? You already told us what the sentiments, feelings were, but the mindset that you were right there putting in your eyes, what it meant? Tell us.

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I don’t know. I’m not good at coming up with one-liners, obviously titles to movies.

I don’t know. Cliff kept saying, We ain’t dead yet. It was hard to believe him, but we weren’t dead, so…

But no, again, just an unreal feeling that I hope I’ll remember. I hope I’ll get to experience it again along the way. Just shock, proud, all of the emotions, and sad also at the same time.

Yeah, just couldn’t wait to celebrate with my team because it was such a team victory, team championship. Again, just proud of everybody. Look forward to hopefully more opportunities along the way.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. We look forward to celebrating you on Tuesday.

KYLE LARSON: Thank you. Thank you, guys, for all you do for our sport, all the hours you put in promoting us. Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship team, sans the driver, but we’ve got Dr. Eric Warren from Chevrolet, Rick Hendrick from Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Gordon from Hendrick Motorsports, and Cliff Daniels, the crew chief of the No. 5.

I’d like to start with Mr. H and Jeff. If you would, each answer what is it like winning this on the 30th anniversary of the first championship with you, Jeff, in 1995?

RICK HENDRICK: Well, it’s hard to believe it’s been 30 years. We’ve been talking about this a lot. It’s a great day to have the 24 win the first championship, then the 5 win today.

15 is unbelievable, and we’re just excited for the company and all the people that work so hard. Never thought we’d win one. I thought I’d go to New York and watch Richard Childress and Dale Earnhardt get a trophy every year. It feels good to get 15 of those things.

JEFF GORDON: When I arrived, Ray Evernham arrived, what Rick was building, what he had put in place, the resources and what he wanted to accomplish, was already there. A lot of great people, as well. There were a lot of amazing things that were happening.

For whatever reason, we were just that spark, the stars aligned with the resources and his leadership. We did something really special in 1995.

To me it seems like the organization’s never looked back. It’s like once you know you can win one, then it’s you feel like you can win it every year. We did that for a few of ’em, between Terry and myself, then later with Jimmie. Just unbelievable to me that over the 30 years, it’s been 15 of ’em. That’s a pretty good percentages, boss. I know you like the math. I think you like those odds.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll start with questions.

Cliff, you’ve been very up front how trying a year this has been. Was it almost apropos that this is how you won the championship?

CLIFF DANIELS: It was. I want to start by saying thank you to Mr. Hendrick and Jeff for their leadership along the way.

This has been a very tough season for the 5 team on a lot of fronts. We had some really strong wins early in the year, a lot of strength. The summer was tough. We were down and sideways. Never quite down and out.

A lot of our team guys have just been through a lot this year. We’ve had things going on away from the racetrack where we’ve had to overcome obstacles, sometimes even tragedy, and work through a lot of things together, which to me there’s just a lot of beauty in that, of a team banding together the way that we have this season.

That was really showcased today. I have to acknowledge that it was a pretty ugly day for us. At times we were up front, kind of in the top three, a little bit in the mix. Certainly the 11 was better than us. I think we were beat on raw pace today. After we had the flat tire, there wasn’t a lot of good things coming our way at the time.

We knew we would have more shots for pit stops and for restarts and maybe mix it up a bit. The way that the team stuck together and continued to believe in each other, Kyle continued to believe that if we just had a shot, we could close it out. That was what was put on display today.

Jeff and Rick, as you fall down a lap, Denny has the pace, did you think the 5 could come back and be in contention?

JEFF GORDON: No.

RICK HENDRICK: No, no, no.

JEFF GORDON: I mean, got to be honest. At that point I really felt like they were out of it. But I was also listening on the radio. Cliff never wavered that they were out of it. I love that about him, his leadership.

I think the spark to me was a couple cautions that kind of helped him stay in the game there. Them and the 19 were moving their way up there, kind of got stuck. They made the two-tire stop prior to the last one, right? When they were hanging in the top five, I heard Cliff going, We’re okay here, guys.

I don’t know exactly what he meant by that because we were running out of laps. But the car had speed, had balance. It wasn’t bad.

Then when that last caution come out, I mean, William Byron, those guys, they had a great year, hate it for them because they’ve been in this position last three years, that being the caution.

My first reaction was, Oh, no, man, the 24 has got a problem. Then I started hearing Cliff on the radio talk about, We’re definitely taking two. Don’t let me put those words in your mouth, but to me it sounded like there was no choice, no doubt. Then it just came down to how many are going to take two and what are the 11 going to do.

Cliff, Joey Logano said that you’re a great team, even when you’re down and out you find a way to win the championship. What does that mean that even when you blow a tire, a fellow champion talks about you that way?

CLIFF DANIELS: It’s an honor to hear that from Joey, a three-time champ, the 2024 champ. That’s something that I think has been built and bred into the culture of Hendrick Motorsports for many years, long before what we showcased on the 5. You think back to many magical moments with Hendrick Motorsports that were on the cusp of overcoming an obstacle, setback.

That’s really something that’s been put on us this year. Everyone, if you draw your season plans on the whiteboard, you don’t include all of the things that happened to us this summer, you don’t include the struggle, all the challenges. There was no other way.

Now that I can see it fresh, but in the rearview mirror there was just no other way for us to get toughened up, gritty enough, determined enough to show that level of perseverance that is what the team showcased today.

It’s far more than just me, than Kyle. It’s all the men on the team, the support system they have at home, the hours and the grind and the resiliency to be able to show what we showed throughout the season, then especially to end the race today.

I’m very grateful to be a part of a team and an organization and a group of people that all share that belief.

Cliff, you talked about the two tires. It worked out. Was it a gamble at the time?

CLIFF DANIELS: So something that I want to acknowledge, and I think these guys deserve a lot of credit, there’s a group of engineers, that one is here at the track, we have some others in the war room and on an intercom with me. Cal Stewart, Brian Ross, Shelton Ware, Nathan Woodby [phonetics], kind of a team of guys that were on the intercom with me talking throughout the day. I’m going to give those guys the first bit of credit.

I can’t remember what place we were in at the time when the first caution came out that we took rights. They pushed me. Almost a no-brainer to do something different. I wanted to have a really fast, efficient, four-tire stop, gain a couple. We were going to restart probably in the top eight. That wasn’t going to be enough. Those guys are like, Hey, man, think about doing something different here.

I give a lot of credit to those guys because they pushed me in that moment to see what you’re asking of that’s almost the call that we have to make to get ourselves up front and to give ourselves a shot.

Once we got the final caution, we knew it was going to be a green-white-checkered, that decision almost made itself because Kyle in our code words had already called it out to me, that told me he was already going to have confidence and belief if we did it, he felt he had enough under him to go make it happen.

There was a lot that was powerful in the communication and the way that we went through that to make those calls. They were bold, but they were probably proper for the situation, and Kyle to have enough belief in it to go drive his butt off and get it done.

We saw a lot of tire problems, accidents you can call it. I was a little bit shocked when I saw this. Denny Hamlin was here and said it’s related to the tire pressure. With teams running on the low tire pressure, do you not see it as gambling with safety? Why is this done when it can be dangerous?

CLIFF DANIELS: Yeah, I understand your point with safety. First I have to give Goodyear a lot of credit. We’ve been trying to improve the product on track of tire wear, tire degradation, falloff of lap time, to be able to mix up different lanes, have guys that have tires wear out and all that sort of thing.

What we do as the teams is we try to push every area to extract the grip out of the tires that we have to do. There’s several ways that you can do it: with load, with camber, with pressure. It’s one of those things where the performance side of it, there’s so much to be gained in what we have to push to get the performance out of ’em, that safety is absolutely a concern. The longevity and ability of your day to stay in the mix is, of course, a concern.

What’s interesting to me is the run that we had a failed right front tire, we had actually come back up on air. I wouldn’t put us in the category of pushing the limits of air. I was trying to be conservative and still had an issue.

Today was a really hot day. There was a lot of punishment of load and pace in the car and in the tires. I certainly don’t think in any way that is a miss on Goodyear’s part. I think we all knew what we were all working with coming in today. And it was hot. It was the perfect conditions set to really punish the tires, with the tire they brought, with what we had on track. That’s just kind of the way it was.

It’s all about teams pushing what we have to do for performance.

(No microphone.)

CLIFF DANIELS: We can to a point. There was a wheel force test a handful of weeks ago where Goodyear brought this tire. All the OEMs get a chance to come test. You try to learn all you can. It’s difficult to replicate the exact environment of the pace, the load, just the rubber on track, the grip level on track, what it means to have the entire Cup field here.

Plus, to your point of can we simulate it, there’s a lot of numbers that we crunch of all the things that I’m describing of pace and load and pressure and camber and all those things to try to predict it the best we can. When you’re living in a world where a 10th or two of a psi of air pressure can make the difference of a tire having an issue to lose inflation and you have a flat and crash or extract performance for grip, that is a very tough window.

You almost start getting into the calibration of a gauge to get it that tight of a window. That is the window that we’re living in.

Cliff, you told us last week at Martinsville you feel like this 5 team, after everything this year, is as strong or stronger than it’s ever been. Do you take this race and leave it on repeat in the office now?

CLIFF DANIELS: I would say that we do. Gosh, if there’s one thing that we’ve done well this year, it’s the growth mindset. You can never settle on what you accomplished yesterday. You can never settle on maybe what got you to a point.

More than ever this year, again, in sports and in life, we all have a whiteboard, whether it’s in your mind or when you want to go compete or accomplish something, it’s the things that aren’t on the whiteboard that are the most important, the things that you don’t see coming, the challenges that you have to overcome. That’s what teaches you about your beliefs and your character and your resilience.

The things that were absolutely not on the whiteboard is what made the team this strong this season to be able to come here and overcome what was a pretty dismal day for a while.

There’s going to be a lot of power in that message moving forward, which is your point. Something that was kind of on my mind through the summer and through the Playoffs is just continuing the growth mindset, what can we do to improve ourselves, our process, who we are. I told the team I want to be champions in life and racing in that order. If we do the life part right and take care of our families and each other and the team, hopefully the racing part takes care of itself.

That mindset isn’t going to change. We’re going to celebrate tonight, enjoy all the things that come from this. If we’re going to do it again the next year or the year after, it’s probably going to be really daggone hard, and it’s going to be the things that aren’t on our whiteboard that make the difference.

I don’t want to miss what those things are. I want to make sure we have a team that’s built to see those things and feed on those things and be better because of it.

Kyle said he’s chasing you and Tony Stewart, two drivers he looked up to, that have multiple championships. For you to see him now have multiple titles, he’s in your organization, thoughts or emotions around that? What he said about trying to chase you and your titles.

JEFF GORDON: Well, I have the utmost respect for his abilities behind the wheel. Couldn’t be more proud of the effort that Rick put into bringing him to Hendrick Motorsports.

I’ve known Kyle for many, many years, watching him race Sprint cars. I always knew if you can put him behind the wheel of a Hendrick Motorsports car, he’d do special things.

I also believe that records and championships, they’re made to be broken. As long as he’s on our team, I want him to win 10 (smiling).

He and I have a good relationship. I think being from California, close to one another, Elk Grove and Vallejo, the sprint car stuff. We built a good friendship.

You motivate people in different ways. He motivates himself in measuring and looking at what’s the next goal, the trophy, the championship. I use it for him, too. Buddy, you got three to go. You’re only at one. You got to get to two before you can get to three, before you can get to four.

We have a standing joke about, C’mon, come and get it.

I hope he gets it and plenty more after that.

Jeff and for Rick, when you saw how Kyle emerged after that final pit stop, that he was ahead of Denny, did you say, We got this? Did you know, knowing Kyle, how he is, did you feel a certain, We got this?

CLIFF DANIELS: I’m curious about this answer (smiling).

RICK HENDRICK: Things were happening so fast, you know, I just thought the race was over. I didn’t even know when Roger came to see me, Roger Penske, I didn’t know the 12 car won because I was watching the 5 car and how they were running.

I know when there’s a restart, and you get Kyle in position, he’s going to be tough because he will put the car in places that other people maybe won’t, and he’s got the talent to drive the car on the edge.

I almost jumped off the box. I mean, I was ready to call Joe and say congratulations to Denny. All of a sudden here we are, we’re going to win this thing.

I think I had one lap to think that, right, Jeff?

JEFF GORDON: I mean, wanted to see how the lineup went. He was happy with two tires prior to that. Felt pretty confident there. There was a nice gap between he and the 11.

But you saw what Corey Heim did in the Truck Series. He was leading in the first turn, almost. Denny was so good on short runs. For him, with four tires, against the two tires, being in the inside lane, being able to have all that room, I really thought he was going to go up there and wrap the apron and be right there. Maybe not the lead, but be right there.

Then on the launch, I didn’t think Larson got a great launch. There was a bit of a gap between the 48 in front of him. I was like, Oh, no. I thought he was going to go to the middle. He went to the outside. He and the 48 were really tight.

I was watching the 5, him getting around the outside. Wasn’t really even paying attention to 11 until he came off of two. I said, Okay, he’s still navigating some traffic.

I’ve seen it since then. The 22 was down there putting a pretty good corner together. That kind of stalled out Denny until the next lap where he dove in there, knowing he was kind of running out of time. Then he bobbled in.

It wasn’t until then that I felt like we got it.

At the same time with Kyle Larson, even though they’re screaming in his ear, You got it, I think he still wants to win this thing. He’s pounding the rear bumper of the 6 and Keselowski down the back straightaway.

I do know when we got the middle of three and four that he had it. But it wasn’t until then.

Jeff, what is it about Kyle Larson that if you put him on two tires and he’s in that mix that he can get the job done?

JEFF GORDON: Well, I mean, his experience in all kinds of racing, whether it’s sprint car racing, making aggressive moves that work.

This year, Cliff talked about the team has been through a lot, Kyle has been through a lot, right? You think about the double, the month of May, the 600. It’s the first time I saw his confidence get brought down a notch. I think it was a humbling experience.

Through all that I never saw him stop being his aggressive style. To me, when Kyle Larson has a shot at a checkered flag or a championship, he’s going to give 110%. You know that now. He might scuff the wall, or who knows what might come from it, but he’s come through the other end of it in a good place in his experience, victories or success doing it, that he brings that every time.

Rick, Kyle has two. How many more do you see in his future?

RICK HENDRICK: I think Kyle will win a lot of championships. It’s so hard. I look at Denny and how good Denny’s run, and he hasn’t got one. These things are really hard under these rules to win, to win a championship.

You can win all the races, win a ton of races. You get here, have a flat tire, things can happen. A lot of these things are kind of out of your control.

I like the old system. I like locking it down a race before you go to the Finals. Sleep a lot better. It’s a lot more fun.

No, it’s just hard. You’ve got to be here. I mean, Denny had tremendous speed today. It just didn’t work out. But I think Kyle can win, I think Kyle can, I think William’s going to win a lot, and I think Chase is coming. He is really coming on. Alex was really good here today.

I think we’re bringing four really good cars to the track. If we’re there every week running in the top five, going to win races, then we’re much better at Phoenix than we have been in the past. So I’m glad we’re not coming here for the championship next year, though.

JEFF GORDON: That’s all I was going to add. We knew today was going to be a big challenge, but we were already getting excited about Homestead next year.

RICK HENDRICK: We want Homestead (smiling).

Jeff, you had the opportunity to race Kyle when he came into the sport. Now to see him as a two-time champion, how have you seen him grow both on and off the track?

JEFF GORDON: Oh, gosh. I mean, just since he’s been with us, the maturity level. I mean, obviously he has three kids. As a father, that certainly forces you to mature quickly. I’m not saying that he wasn’t mature.

When I first met him, he just kind of had one singular focus and goal: just be aggressive, win races, be a dirt racer on top of being a stockcar racer. He never wanted to give that up.

I think what I’ve seen now is how he embraces his teammates, the whole organization, Chevrolet, what they’re doing. He’s just seeing the bigger picture and his role in it and how important the other people around him are to that effort.

He engages in our meetings. I guess I thought when he came, it was — great race car drivers can be pretty selfish. Don’t say anything, Rick (laughter).

RICK HENDRICK: I’m going to tell him you said that.

JEFF GORDON: They can be really selfish. I kind of had this impression of him coming in and being pretty selfish. You’re coming into a four-car organization.

He’s surprised me. He’s been anything but that. He brings stuff out of the other drivers in the meeting. He’s giving everything that is on his plate or mind in the meetings. That brings out that same thing in others around him. It elevates the whole organization.

That’s what Rick has built as a foundation: you’re only as good as the information you have, and the information sharing, the collaborations. He’s really embraced that. That makes me excited about our future, not just with Kyle but the whole organization.

Cliff, what is it about you, what makes you a good motivator, a good coach?

CLIFF DANIELS: Yeah, it starts with having great people around you. I know that may at face value seem like a little bit of a cliché answer.

There’s always things that I look forward to find inspiration. There’s so much inspiration just in walking or driving onto our campus at Hendrick Motorsports. We’re surrounded by great people. We have the best boss in the world, great leadership around us. We have a lot of really good teammates, people we get to work with every day.

I’m inspired by my family, they were here just a little while ago. Not sure where they went. All those things to appreciate the world around us, the team that we have, the organization that we have. There’s just a lot in that.

One of the books that we read as a team this summer was called “Acres of Diamonds.” You don’t need to go elsewhere to find diamonds. You can find diamonds in your own dirt. That’s what we do really well at Hendrick Motorsports and the 5 team. That’s not going to stop anytime soon.

How did your Sunday look as far as trying to balance the four pit boxes, help, but stay out of the way?

RICK HENDRICK: I stayed out of the way and went to the 48 box. I told our guys, I’ve been through this before with Jeff and Jimmie, I’ve been through it with Terry Labonte and Jeff. They’re racing each other for the championship. I said, Look, I’m going to the guy to finish the second first, I want you to know it, and then I’ll go celebrate with you. I didn’t want the crew seeing me going down and celebrating and they just lost.

I did that today. I stayed on the 48 box until the end. That’s kind of a neutral zone. It’s kind of like having multiple children. They’re playing against each other.

No, it’s important to our organization to show that we’re impartial. We want to give them everything we have. Cliff has had his guys, his crew, read three books. I mean, I don’t know how many crews in the garage area are reading books. We use a Maxwell reader every day, every conference call in the automotive group and in motorsports and all the meetings. Chad Knaus and Jeff Andrews and those guys, Jeff Gordon, Cliff. It’s a well-organized group that really want to work together.

We’re very fortunate to have this guy sitting beside us over here, with GM, that’s doing data. His people are working hard to support us. We’re very fortunate to have the kind of effort we have from Chevrolet. We get a new car next year. Jeff’s told me not to get excited yet.

I think when you get to any company, it’s all about people. I think they rub off on each other. To me, to see all the pit crews come across, come over, congratulate each other, the drivers, the crew chiefs. I call Blaney after Martinsville because I thought he was a class act for coming to Victory Lane. He showed up again today.

I told him, I said you’re a big man to end up getting knocked out at Martinsville. Look, he won today. He still came to Victory Lane today to celebrate. Not to celebrate, but to congratulate us.

It’s respect among people. Cliff’s an awesome leader. Jeff and Jeff, Chad. We’re in the people business. I don’t care what kind of business you’re in, if you can get everybody to pull together and believe we’re stronger together, it’s hard to break that down.

Cliff, you sat in here after the 2021 championship, talked about how you didn’t sleep at all that year, not the Saturday night before the championship race, because of what the team had done. Has your sleep habits improved over the last couple years? How was last night?

CLIFF DANIELS: They’ve improved the last couple of years. It was hard to get some sleep last night. Had a lot on our mind.

Yeah, all the things you think about trying to be prepared. But I’ve had a few years to work on my sleep habits, so hopefully I guess by Wednesday I’ll pick those back up.

THE MODERATOR: We’d like to do a special toast to Jon Edwards, a very special person in this room, everyone on the stage.

CLIFF DANIELS: Had ‘Jon’ on the car today. That was cool.

JEFF GORDON: I do want to just say thank you for everybody in this room. Jon was special to all of us. You guys had a special relationship with him. I just want to thank all of you for the support. You came to Charlotte when we had the service for him. That meant the world to all of us at Hendrick Motorsports because Jon meant the world to us.

We miss him dearly. I believe he was riding in that car with our boy Larson over here today. So thank you.

THE MODERATOR: Jon would be very unhappy this was not an 9.8% IPA. We love Jon. Congratulations to the 5 team. Jon, we love and miss you.