Hendrick Motorsports is widely regarded as the gold standard in NASCAR, synonymous with playoff success. However, the 2025 postseason has presented unexpected challenges. At the Southern 500 in Darlington, none of their four drivers cracked the top 10—Chase Elliott finished 17th, Kyle Larson 19th, William Byron 21st, and Alex Bowman a distant 31st.

Frustrations were clear over the radio, with crew chief Rudy Fugle bluntly stating, “We didn’t do sh*t today,” while Byron admitted his car “fell off a cliff” late in the race. This marked one of Hendrick’s poorest playoff openers in many years.

Hopes for redemption at the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway proved short-lived. Gateway has been a tough venue for the team recently, with two of the last three races seeing no Hendrick car finish better than 10th. These disappointing performances prompted a decisive response from Rick Hendrick himself—a pit crew shake-up for Alex Bowman’s No. 48 team, signaling the team’s zero tolerance for errors as Bristol’s elimination race nears.

Pit crew swap to save Bowman’s playoffs

Facing back-to-back playoff disappointments, Hendrick Motorsports took decisive action. Bowman’s No. 48 team, sitting 35 points below the Round of 12 cutoff, is precariously positioned heading into Bristol. To avoid an early exit, Hendrick executed a major pit crew swap. Per NASCAR’s Bristol rosters, most of Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 crew—front changer Daniel Bach, tire carrier Jarius Morehead, rear changer Rod Cox, and jackman Cody French—will now service Bowman’s car, while fueler Jacob Conley remains.

Meanwhile, Bowman’s former crew—jackman Allen Holman, tire carrier Brandon Grier, front changer Donnie Tasser, and rear changer Andrew Bridgeforth—are re-assigned to Carson Hocevar’s No. 77 team, joining fueler Anthony Pasut. The rationale: The No. 77 crew posted the third-fastest average pit stop at Gateway with 10.01 seconds, trailing only the No. 23 (9.89) and No. 22 (9.90), whereas Bowman’s crew ranked a poor 28th at 17.49 seconds. Bowman’s disastrous late Stage 2 stop—where the jackman dropped the car prematurely, costing 20 positions—was a catalyst for the change.

This was not an isolated incident. At Darlington, Bowman’s crew suffered a 40-second pit stop due to a disconnected air hose, leaving him 31st. After Bowman’s 26th-place finish at Gateway sealed a grim weekend, Hendrick Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon’s cryptic “we’ll see” response when questioned about pit changes hinted at the impending shake-up. IMSA writer Bozi Tatarevic highlighted the No. 77 crew’s speed as a clear solution to bolster Bowman’s playoff chances.

With Bristol’s high banks and tight racing demanding flawless stops, Hendrick Motorsports is relying on this crew swap to keep Bowman’s championship hopes alive. The message is unequivocal: there will be no more excuses after two “embarrassments” that have the team scrambling.

Elliott’s rebound offers hope for Hendrick Motorsports

While Bowman’s crew was overhauled, Chase Elliott’s performance at Gateway provided a much-needed boost. After a strong June win at EchoPark Speedway and leading 238 laps at Dover in July, Elliott had been consistent with 23 straight top-20 finishes in 2025. However, recent struggles, including a 26th at Watkins Glen and 38th at Richmond—where he was caught in a wreck not of his own making—derailed his momentum. The Darlington opener was a team-wide disappointment, with Elliott’s 17th-place finish leading the pack.

Heading into Gateway with a slim nine-point buffer above the Round of 12 cutoff, Elliott rose to the occasion with a podium-third finish at the Enjoy Illinois 300. Reflecting on the race, he said, “We just had good pace. At different times, the car did a lot of good stuff throughout the day. Gave me some opportunities to be on offense and just put ourselves in a good position. So, yeah, just a much better effort than I’ve been having.” That strong result moved him up to ninth in the standings, holding a 28-point cushion ahead of Bristol, where he has seen recent success with two runner-up finishes.

Unlike Bowman, who faces a near-must-win situation, Elliott’s Gateway performance shows Hendrick Motorsports can still compete when the car is dialed in. With Larson and Byron also avoiding disaster at Gateway, the team still has a chance to regroup. But with the late-season pressure mounting, Rick Hendrick’s firing spree serves as a stark warning: step up or the playoff dream ends early.