Over the last few seasons, Kyle Larson and William Byron turned out to be the only HMS names on top, while Chase Elliott had to take the backseat. Amidst this, Elliott's resurgence this season, with two wins, has presented a different picture at a time when Larson is going through a drought in the Cup Series.

Despite this, Harvick, the former NASCAR driver, rooted for Larson as the better driver between them. “I mean, I would say Kyle Larson has a better chance of beating Chase Elliott,” Harvick said in the Happy Hour podcast.

“But on a year that he’s winning and got everything rolling, he might have a chance. I mean, based upon the souvenir sales and things that happen out front, he’s actually beat Chase Elliott a few times in souvenir sales out front," Harvick further added.

Notably, Harvick's statement comes after Larson was proven to be the better driver and had a better sales figure between them.

From a race-winning perspective, Larson has more wins and is slightly more popular in that sense, even though Elliott is officially the most popular driver.

When Kyle Larson was furious with Chase Elliott

During last year's Iowa Corn 350 at the Iowa Speedway, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott had several back-and-forth and bumper drafts. This let Larson loose, and in doing so, he lost several places during the race.

In the end, the #5 HMS driver came home in 28th place, and following this, he was furious at his teammate. Without naming him directly, Larson took to his team radio, and said, "How much [expletive] room do I have to leave people? …. I've been trying to be a good teammate, a good competitor, and it hasn't gotten me anywhere for the last hour."

With the last season gone and coming into this season, Chase Elliott is in third place in the Drivers' Standings with 422 points. Whereas Kyle Larson is in eighth place with 332 points after 12 races.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Sabyasachi Biswas

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason