Hendrick banking on 3 youngsters
“Grandpa” Jimmie Johnson and his three teammates will attempt to return Hendrick Motorsports to the top rung of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series racing this year.
Johnson, 42, is the anomaly at Hendrick, one of motor sports’ leading organizations. With the recent departures of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon, Johnson will team with Alex Bowman (24), William Byron (20) and Chase Elliott (22) as Hendrick shoots for what would be a record 13th Cup championship.
That quest will begin with Sunday’s pole qualifying for the 60th Daytona 500 (noon ET, Fox), where current and
former Hendrick drivers have combined to win six of the past 10 poles.
The new Hendrick lineup will be one of the youngest in NASCAR history, and with Byron, Bowman and Elliott locked into the Daytona 500 starting lineup, their presence will mark the first time one team has started three drivers under 25 in NASCAR’s biggest race.
Johnson is not a grandfather, but he picked up the “Grandpa” nickname on the Hendrick campus because he obviously is the group’s elder statesman. If his age doesn’t warrant respect, his accomplishments certainly do: seven Cup championships, including a record five in a row, and 83 Cup wins.
But Johnson won three races last season, a number some drivers would gladly accept but was his lowest total since 2011. And he (and the other three Hendrick drivers) were absent from the Final Four in the championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, a circumstance that stirred the waters within Hendrick Motorsports during the offseason.
Kahne had the only other win by a Hendrick driver last year. Elliott and Earnhardt finished with goose eggs, although Elliott came dramatically close to winning and finished fifth in points.
Now, with a new year and a new car (Chevrolet brings in the Camaro), Johnson says it’s time for Hendrick to return to past glories after a tough season. That begins with Sunday’s qualifying.
“We kept hoping every stone we turned over would help us find our problem,” Johnson said. “What was so frustrating is I’ve never worked so hard in my life to get such little return. I know Chad (crew chief Chad Knaus) can say the same, and the team can.
“After a few weeks of the offseason, letting that kind of fall off your shoulders, get recharged and ready to go. It’s been easy to find motivation for 2018. With all the change that’s going on, it’s a race to figure out this mousetrap first. That’s what we like to do.”
Johnson’s Hendrick understudies are young but talented. Elliott lost races in virtually every conceivable way last year and is expected to score multiple wins this season. Bowman, who filled in for injured Earnhardt in the 88 Chevrolet in 2016, has 81 Cup starts and earned respect as a substitute in a front-line car. Byron, who looks like he might be ready to shave soon, enters his first Cup season with great expectations and an Xfinity Series championship.
The three “kids” will be in a race of sorts among themselves to see who can reach victory lane first.
Team owner Rick Hendrick said his three youngsters are advanced far beyond the level those of a similar age might have reached 20 years ago.
“It’s kind of gotten me energized to see what they can do,” Hendrick told USA TODAY. “It’s really fun to be around them and watch them and see how energized they are.
“I’m trying not to put pressure on them. I tell them it’s a learning deal, to just go out there and get laps and experience. Then William goes to Las Vegas for the test and has the fastest lap right off the bat. The computer simulators and the advanced technical stuff really have helped these guys advance faster than what I’m used to.”
In a very competitive environment and one in which sponsors expect results, younger drivers are expected to excel quicker than in previous seasons.
“They hired me to go win races and contend for championships, and that is what I plan on doing,” said Bowman, an Arizona native who clearly does not lack confidence.
Byron started NASCAR life in the Toyota camp but was lured to Hendrick, where he hears whispers that he could follow in the tire tracks of Gordon and Johnson, who own 11 of Hendrick’s championships. He also will be carrying part of the load for the group of young drivers who are expected to become the sport’s stars over the next decade.
“The best thing I can do is be myself and try to show what I can do on the track,” Byron said. “As a younger guy in the sport, I just want to make it exciting on the track and have fun races.”
As a Cup rookie, Byron will be depending on his experience in the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series and days spent “driving” the Chevrolet race simulator.
“You have to trust your instincts when you’re in the race car,” Byron said. “You just have to ... not think about it.”
Not thinking about it is the hard part for Elliott, who came frustratingly close to winning last year only to be turned back by all manner of issues. He was second five times, third three times, fourth once and fifth three times.
“I’m fortunate to be in a situation where Mr. Hendrick put a lot of trust in me to do well,” said Elliott, the son of Hall of Fame driver Bill Elliott. “He’s had a reputation — his company — of winning; winning championships, winning races. I haven’t really done that for him.
“I’d love to do my part. I don’t feel I have to this point, earn my place, earn my keep at Hendrick Motorsports.”
The boss is convinced good things are ahead. “These guys have no fear,” Hendrick said. “Chase is like steel. They never seem to back away.”