Hendrick playoff drivers in peril of not advancing

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Chase Elliott insisted the weekly routine hasn’t changed a bit within the Hendrick Motorsports garages, the four teams swapping information and ideas as if they were preparing for any other race.

Only their race Sunday, the Hollywood Casino 40 at Kansas Speedway, isn’t just any other race.

Especially for three of the team’s four drivers.

Elliott is joined by Alex Bowman and William Byron outside of the cutline for the round of eight in NASCAR’s version of the playoffs. Each still could mathematically advance based on points, but realistically they all face must-win situations to avoid elimination.

“Obviously one of us could make it and the rest of us couldn’t, so there’s definitely more at stake,” said Elliott, who was the only Hendrick driver to advance to the semifinals last season.

“I can’t bow out of our competition meeting and I don’t think any of the other guys would,” he added. “We’ll continue to do our parts and however we use that to our advantage is up to us.”

Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney already won to lock up their places in the next round, which begins at Martinsville. Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Las Vegas native Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick are reasonably safe based on points, leaving Penske Racing teammates Brad Keselowski and defending Cup Series champ Joey Logano as the most vulnerable to falling below the cut line.

Bowman is 20 points behind Keselowski and 18 back of Logano, while Elliott is another four points adrift. Byron is five more back, behind Stewart-Haas Racing’s Clint Bowyer in the standings.

“I think this is the toughest round of 12 that I’ve been part of in my four years for sure,” Elliott said. “All 12 teams and drivers are good that are left right now. We knew coming into this round it wasn’t going to be easy, and it was going to be tough to move on, and here we are.”

Elliott qualified 14th on Saturday, two spots ahead of Bowman, while Byron will start 25th. But it’s hard to put too much stock into qualifying efforts because there is no practice before the race, and many teams eschewed raw speed for a car that will handle better when it matters.

This isn’t the first time Hendrick Motorsports could lose three drivers in what amounts to the quarterfinal round of the playoffs. Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahn and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were knocked out in the round of 12 in 2015, though Jeff Gordon eased some of that pain by advancing.

Elliott was knocked out in the same round in 2016, when Johnson went on to win his seventh title at Homestead. Kahne was cut the next year when Johnson and Elliott advanced.

Bowman failed to advance last season, leaving Elliott the only Hendrick car in the final eight.

Butch Dill The Associated Press Hendrick driver Chase Elliott is outside the cutline for the round of eight in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.