It’s not entirely fair to suggest that Hendrick Motorsports stole one on Sunday at Kansas Speedway with Chase Elliott but all the evidence suggests that this was not the most likely outcome.
For one, Toyota drivers occupied the first five spots ahead of the final restart, and Elliott lined up fifth on the outside row. There were several gaps that materialized and the 2020 Cup Series champion simply chose right.
This was not a dominating performance kind of victory but they all count the same. As a result, Elliott has now advanced to the Round of 8 with five more additional points come the start of the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Hendrick’s playoff troubles
Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Ford; Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Photo by: David Allio
Hendrick Motorsports has not enjoyed the most competitive playoff stretch this season. Sunday was the company’s first win of the championship chase and its first in eight races. Since William Byron won at Iowa, Hendrick has experienced a performance and execution rollercoaster.
There was a much-ballyhooed implosion in the Southern 500 but the company also performed really well at Gateway and New Hampshire. Alex Bowman was eliminated after Bristol. The other races have been more of a mixed-bag. That includes Sunday at Kansas where Byron ran outside of the top-20 for most of the day but joined Elliott and Kyle Larson in the top-10 by the finish.
All of this is to say that Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon believes this sort of tenacity is what it takes to win in the spec car era of the NASCAR Cup Series.
“I mean, our guys are just grinding it out week in and week out,” Gordon said. “There’s so much pressure on them in the playoffs. I think obviously the Fords have some real strengths, especially the Penskes at certain tracks, and the Toyotas have — we saw that today, they were very, very strong on the long runs.
“I love just the fight that our guys have and the way they work together to try to learn from one another and just keep pushing the envelope and putting themselves in position. I think we realize we’re on our heels a little bit. Days like today make it even sweeter because it’s a team victory. It’s just never give up and you put yourself in position all day long. Then you’ve got to have some things go your way.”
Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Photo by: Chris Graythen – Getty Images
And that is exactly how Elliott and crew chief Alan Gustafson emerged victorious in Kansas but also how Byron took a car that struggled to stay on the lead lap and finished ninth.
“They were pretty far off,” Gordon said. “They come out of here with a top 10 because they didn’t give up either. That one’s got our heads — scratching our heads, and we’ll go back and diagnose kind of what they went through and why they were in that position. Just glad they pulled a good finish together there to get the points they needed.
“I just think in general this car … you’re talking thousandths of an inch that make the difference sometimes between qualifying in the top 5 and qualifying 15th to 20th. It just doesn’t take much to miss it. I think that’s what we’re dealing with is just the inconsistencies there because you’re just playing with hairs, and when you miss it, it can really make you look like you’re having a bad day.
“The 24 is a good example of that. They tried a couple things, and all of a sudden they look like the car just came to life all of a sudden out of nowhere.”
Gordon said he will take wins however they can get them because they have also dominated races the same way Denny Hamlin did on Sunday and still came up short. The four-time champion said there will be days they have the best cars and days where they are just a little short.
But the key, once again, is competing with whatever they have.
“I feel like the (24) has kind of been in championship form several times this season, winning the regular season points,” Gordon said. “Today was uncharacteristic of them. But to see them fight back, that keeps the momentum on their side as well.
“This late in the season, this stage and round in the playoffs, it’s so important to get some things to go your way to give you that extra incentive or just extra motivation to go win a championship and believe that you can do it.”
