Hendrick team makes playoff push
Winless Elliott (14), Johnson (15), Bowman (16) at rear of automatics; Byron 21st
As the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads into the homestretch of the regular season, a salient fact has crystalized — points matter, perhaps more than they have in the past few seasons.
Sixteen drivers will earn playoff berths. But with five races remaining in the regular season, only seven drivers are locked into the field with wins. That leaves more than half of the remaining spots up for grabs and places a huge emphasis on accruing points and limiting disastrous runs. A victory at any of the next five races — Watkins Glen, Michigan, Bristol, Darlington and Indianapolis — by a driver currently outside the top 16 in the points standings also could dramatically transform the landscape.
As drivers and teams, inside and outside the playoff bubble, crunch numbers and devise strategies to maximize opportunities for wins and points, eyes will be trained on an unlikely place: Hendrick Motorsports.
The powerhouse team that has 12 Cup series championships in the past two decades has gone more than a year without a victory (Kasey Kahne, Brickyard 400, July 23, 2017). That puts the organization in an unusual position, scratching and clawing for every point to keep its drivers in playoff contention.
Three of the team’s four drivers are clustered just above the playoff bubble, with Chase Elliott sitting 14th, seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson 15th and Alex Bowman 16th. Hendrick’s fourth driver, rookie William Byron, ranks 21st.
Bowman’s position is the most tenuous — he holds a 56-point cushion over 17th-ranked Ricky Stenhouse Jr. — so his performance Sunday at Pocono Raceway provided some much-needed breathing room. Bowman, 25, drove to a third-place finish on the 2.5-mile “Tricky Triangle” to score the best finish of his Cup career when he needed it most.
“It was a great points day for us,” Bowman said Sunday, “but on top of that, it’s proof that we’re improving each and every week. Obviously, we’re not doing it as quickly as we want to, but days like today make all the hard work for the guys back at the shop, the engine shop, the chassis shop, body shop, the whole road crew, days like today make it worth it.”
Hendrick drivers have struggled to find speed in the Camaro manufacturer Chevrolet introduced to the series this season. The four drivers have combined for nine top-five finishes in 21 races.
Overall, one Chevy driver has won: Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon in the season-opening Daytona 500.
For Bowman and his teammates, a performance such as Sunday’s is an encouraging sign.
“We really struggled all weekend until (Sunday),” Bowman said. “Then the boss showed up, so maybe (team owner) Mr. (Rick) Hendrick just needs to come to every single race and we will all run better. It’s kind of some light at the end of the tunnel. We didn’t have the raw speed it looked like the No. 9 (Elliott) did. We were a little off, but anytime all four of us are running better is a good week for us.”
While Bowman recorded the day’s best finish among Hendrick drivers, there were other positives. Elliott led 14 laps, won the opening stage to collect a playoff point and finished seventh. Byron led 10 laps and finished sixth to score the best result of his Cup career. Johnson came home 17th, but he made a strong charge through the field early in the race after starting from the rear.
Still, the next five races ultimately will tell the tale for a team that is used to celebrating wins.
“We think we’re better as a whole,” Elliott said, “but I think we still have some work to do.”