Bristol, Kansas could provide refuge for Kyle Larson amid long winless drought

Kyle Larson is enduring something he has seldom encountered since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2021: a long winless streak. 

His consistency and the championship it yielded in 2025 somewhat masked the drought for Larson and the No. 5 team, who go into the April 12 race at Bristol Motor Speedway on a 31-race winless drought. That's the longest such streak for Larson in his five-plus years with HMS. 

The good news for Larson? The next two races on the Cup Series schedule give him an excellent chance to snap that streak. 

Kyle Larson's winless drought could soon come to an end

It's not as if Larson, a 32-time Cup Series winner and two-time champion, has been bad during his winless drought. He stole the 2025 Cup Series championship on the back of ruthless consistency and is ninth in the Cup Series standings through seven races in 2026 with four top-10 finishes. 

But consistency by itself has been far from the norm during Larson's tenure at HMS. Larson and crew chief Cliff Daniels are used to being frequent visitors to victory lane, though it's been nearly a full season since they last made the trip at Kansas Speedway in May 2025. 

However, Bristol on April 12 and Kansas on April 19 are both circled on the No. 5 team's calendar. Larson destroyed the Cup Series field in the spring races at Bristol and Kansas a season ago en route to victories. 

Larson led a staggering 411 of 500 laps and maximized in his points in a rout at Bristol before winning the pole, leading 221 of 267 laps and winning in another romp at Kansas three weeks later. He finished 32nd and sixth at Bristol and Kansas, respectively, in the fall of 2025. 

2026 has been a different story so far. Larson has led 137 laps so far, but he has only one top-five finish, a third-place run at Phoenix. True winning speed has been hard to come by for the No. 5 group. 

If that's going to change at any two racetracks, it'll be Bristol and Kansas. A win over the next two races could rejuvenate the No. 5 team heading into the summer as Larson looks to take the first step towards defending his championship.