It's been exactly one year since Kyle Larson last visited victory lane in the NASCAR Cup Series, and while the calendar might be marking the milestone, the No. 5 team isn't hitting the panic button.

That last win came on May 11, 2025, at Kansas Speedway—a day that now feels like a lifetime ago for the Hendrick Motorsports driver. Since then, 36 races have passed without a trip to Victory Lane, a drought that's hard to ignore for a driver of Larson's caliber. Currently sitting eighth in the championship standings, he knows the math: to be a true title threat, he needs to crack the top five by the end of the regular season. And while the team did claim the championship under the old format last November, the standard they've set for themselves is higher.

When asked about the winless streak during a press conference at Watkins Glen, Larson was characteristically blunt. "I think you guys pay attention to it way more than I do," he said with a shrug. "Obviously, I would have loved to have won by now, but we just haven't been good enough. Some weeks, we're really close. Other weeks, we feel far off. It just shows how tough this series is."

His crew chief, Cliff Daniels, echoed that steady, no-panic approach. Speaking last month at Bristol Motor Speedway, Daniels acknowledged the elephant in the room without letting it rattle the team. "We're very aware that we haven't won on a Sunday," he said. "With our evolution as a team and being a bit more seasoned, we know we can't get emotional or sad about it. We just have to stay locked in."

The challenge is compounded by Hendrick Motorsports as a whole adjusting to the new Chevrolet body. But there's a silver lining: teammates in the No. 9 car are off to their best start together, proving the speed is there. For Larson and the No. 5 team, it's now about execution—finding that extra gear and turning close calls into checkered flags. As Larson put it, "We're working really hard. It's not like we're not trying to win. We're just searching for how to be better."