Since 1994, Hendrick Motorsports has fielded a lineup that includes at least one former champion in its stable. As a whole, the company has 13 Cup titles — the latest of which came from Chase Elliott in 2020. (That’s seven for Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon with four and Elliott joining Terry Labonte with one apiece).

Championships are simply a part of the Hendrick DNA.

In recent years, the four-car team has had an infusion of youth into its garage with the retirements of Hall of Famers or soon-to-be Hall of Famers in Gordon, Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr., while seeing Elliott, Alex Bowman, William Byron and Kyle Larson join its ranks. The team now boasts a lineup with four drivers who are 28 or younger.

Elliott has risen to the top of that crop with 11 wins over the past three years, his 2020 championship run only further cementing that. Bowman has nabbed wins in each of the last two years and is fresh off a run to the Round of 8 in the 2020 NASCAR Playoffs. Byron scored his first Cup win in his third season and seems primed for a breakout year armed with a new but familiar crew chief. And then there’s Larson, a driver with unquestioned talent but some off-track baggage after being fired from Chip Ganassi Racing and suspended from NASCAR (since reinstated) for using a racial slur during an iRacing event last April.

With such a talented trio of teammates, who is the biggest challenger to knock Elliott off the top of the Hendrick perch? NASCAR.com’s RJ Kraft and Pat DeCola debate if it’s possible and who that driver might be.

RELATED: William Byron as a dark horse to watch in 2021?

KRAFT: Admittedly, it is going to be hard to drop Elliott from the top of the Hendrick mountain. He was the best driver in the organization over the last three seasons, and that was when they had a seven-time champion in the fold. With that said, I think Larson is Elliott’s biggest challenger at Hendrick. There is no question about his talent behind the wheel as he dominated dirt tracks all summer long and nabbed his second straight Golden Driller at the Chili Bowl in January. His exile last year was self-inflicted, and he has taken steps to make amends, acknowledging hard lessons learned as he rejoins the NASCAR ranks.

The California native compiled six wins over the last five years with Chip Ganassi Racing, and the No. 5 Chevrolet in the Hendrick garage is a step up from that ride. I am bullish on how he will gel with crew chief Cliff Daniels and the speed that duo can produce on intermediates. Before a summer swoon, Daniels and Johnson had some strong results on intermediates.

While it could be expected there will be an adjustment period for Larson as he gets back in a stock car with a new team, I have my eye on the Miami-Las Vegas-Phoenix-Atlanta-Bristol dirt stretch of races that are the third through seventh Cup races on the calendar. I expect him to grab a win at one of those tracks and serve notice that he will be Elliott’s biggest in-house challenger.

RELATED: Kyle Larson acknowledges gaining perspective in heartfelt essay

DECOLA: No doubt, we’ll see Larson shine in spots this year — you’re right on with that Bristol dirt projection; he has to be the favorite right now — but there’s a different driver I expect to put on a show in 2021, and it’s Bowman.

After entering the fold as a full-time driver for Hendrick in 2018, replacing literally the most popular driver of all time (as a rookie*, no less!), “The Showman” has continued to improve year after year, race after race. A rather dominant win at Auto Club in the third race of the season foreshadowed a strong campaign and, while he did have ups and downs post-restart, he closed out the season extremely strong with an average finish of 8.33 over the final third of the season. For comparison, Elliott’s average finish during the same stretch — i.e. his championship run — was 10.75.

Now team owner Rick Hendrick is entrusting Bowman to replace yet another legend when he steps into Johnson’s vaunted No. 48 Chevrolet. Do you think Mr. H would ask just anybody to follow in the footsteps of the pair of surefire Hall of Famers without a tremendous amount of thought and consideration? Not a chance.

Bowman has earned the Hendrick’s trust over years of patient dedication to the organization, putting in the hours in the sim for the good of the team, being sponsor-friendly and, most importantly, continuing to hone his craft and get better and better on the real race track.

Despite all this, it feels like Bowman continues to get slept on.

Everything seems like it’s rounding into place for Bowman to have a career-making year and perhaps spark a new No. 48 dynasty. It’s too early to tell if he’ll unseat his teammate, but to me, he’s Hendrick’s clear second fiddle at the moment. I honestly lean toward thinking the 27-year-old wouldn’t be meeting expectations if he falls short of the Championship 4 in 2021.

* Yes, we know Bowman was not a rookie in 2018.