NASCAR Insider Jeff Burton Issues a Wake Up Call for Rick Hendrick as All Drivers Struggle

The Hendrick Motorsports team is regarded as one of the best teams in NASCAR. For the average motorsports fan, you would equate them to Mercedes F1 in their glory days. However, in the 2023 Cup Series season, the organization has not enjoyed such a strong campaign.

Sure, Kyle Larson and William Byron have qualified for the Playoffs, but Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott have not. In light of this, former NASCAR driver Jeff Burton issues a wake-up call to Rick Hendrick and his team.

What could the Rick Hendrick-owned team improve on?

Burton told NBC Sports, “Chase Elliott, not like he had a great weekend. He finished 13th, he did finish 4th in the first stage. If they’re going to give it to him and have those kinds of events, I guess theoretically he could make it. But he’s going to have to have all of them in front of him. Give him those kinds of weekends the news few weeks, and I just don’t see that happening. I think he got as much as he could have gotten this weekend if they ran better, which they didn’t.”

The Richmond weekend was tough for many drivers. This was largely due to the weather being blisteringly hot, making it uncomfortable. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr can attest to that, though he had other problems, but that’s another story. At Richmond, the best that the organization could do was Elliott’s 13th-place finish. Meanwhile, Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, and William Byron were 18th, 19th, and 21st, respectively.

Burton continued, “They could have taken much more advantage of it and put themselves in better shape. The problem is, right now I don’t see them having the ability to take advantage. They just – the speed’s not there! I don’t know why, it confuses me. Every team goes through this, where you’re not as good as you want to be.”

“William Byron is not exactly running the way he was running earlier. Kyle Larson, he did not run well this weekend either. I’ve got several concerns, number one – the injury and the suspension. That broke their rhythm, hurt their process of being able to build on something. They just don’t have the pace, and the only reason they made up ground this week, wasn’t cause of their performances. More of the poor performances of their competitors.”

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The Hendrick Motorsports team has endured many obstacles this season

So far, the organization has been suffering from several nightmares. First and foremost, there were injuries to Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman, fortunately not at the same time. Later on, Elliott made things worse for himself by earning a one-race suspension. This was because he had deliberately collided with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin.

Now, Elliott is in a dicey position, having missed many races through injury and a suspension. Time is running out for him to snatch a race win and qualify for the Playoffs. Meanwhile, Alex Bowman is in the same boat, as he also missed a few races through injury. This would undoubtedly be a big worry for team owner Rick Hendrick, who will want all of his drivers in the Playoffs.

READ MORE: NASCAR Veteran Skeptical, but Not Pessimistic About Hendrick Motorsports Playoff Struggles