“What the hell happened to Hendrick Motorsports?” This was the flabbergasted reaction of The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck after the Darlington race. None of the four drivers in the stellar team could finish better than 17th, which was Chase Elliott’s finishing place. Kyle Larson followed in 19th place, William Byron finished in 21st place, and Alex Bowman lagged way behind in 31st place. This paints quite a grim picture for the team ahead of the playoffs – but Dale Earnhardt Jr. knows somebody will make it brighter.

Since 1984, HMS has picked up 14 Cup Series championships and 319 race trophies. This sustained excellence across four decades has mainly been due to the boss man, Rick Hendrick. Even as woes engulf HMS at the start of the playoffs, Dale Jr. knows that the 76-year-old racing magnate

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