It’s been a season of measured dominance and strategic recalibration for Rick Hendrick’s Hendrick Motorsports in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series. The team entered into the current season with a clear mantra: “Thrive in ’25.” This mission resonated loudly after Kyle Larson’s dominant early wins and William Byron’s Daytona 500 triumph, evidence of the seamless continuity within the organization.

In the first half of the season, the #5, #9, #24, and #48 cars have combined for four victories, including three triumphs from Kyle Larson and one from William Byron, complemented by nineteen Top-5 finishes, 5 poles, and 13 stage wins as the Series reached the midpoint. From early-season dominance at Homestead to mid-season strength at Bristol and Kansas, the organization has demonstrated its depth and adaptability across a variety of tracks. While the first three drivers, namely Larson, Byron, and Chase Elliott, have punched their tickets in the 2025 Cup Series playoffs, Alex Bowman is yet to secure qualification, despite recording 17 starts, securing 2 pole positions. But HMS has vowed to add his name to the list of the Top-16 before the playoff bid ends this season.

Hendrick Motorsports is confident about getting Alex Bowman in the playoffs.

Talking to NBC Sports’ Dustin Long in a post-race interview at the EchoPark Speedway, HMS President Jeff Andrews and Crew Chief Alan Gustafon of HMS detailed the strong performances of the three HMS drivers already locked into the playoffs, but also focused on #48 Alex Bowman’s 2025 season and what it will take to secure a playoff spot. When asked about the strategies and plans to be adopted, Andrews had a candid answer for the crowd: “Obviously, that’s our focus, as you said, is to get all four of our cars locked into playoffs.”

“No secret that those guys had a couple of weeks of some bad luck and some things didn’t go their way, and they slipped down the standing,” Andrews conceded. “So it’s nice to see them getting their momentum back and getting their feet under them, but I can promise you they have and will continue to have the full force of Hendrick Motorsports’ resources to make their car and all our cars as good as they can.” 

In the wake of a string of bad luck, routine Top-10s were thwarted by factors like untimely cautions and mechanical problems. Before heading to Mexico, Bowman finished 27th or worse in the last seven of his nine starts. That also includes a series of wild crashes and wrecks, like the one at Michigan. But, with race-winning speeds and two top fives in the last three races, the #48 team is headed in the right direction.

“On top of that, they’ve got three great teammates for drivers and I said this earlier today to somebody that personally, myself, I have never seen the culture better than it is right now at Hendrick Motorsports,” said Andrews. A key moment of this unity was the team-wide “One Team, One Dream” luncheon in April, where Rick Hendrick, Jeff Gordon, Jeff Andrews, and drivers like Kyle Larson, William Byron, Chase Elliott, and Alex Bowman shared center stage before hundreds of teammates. Celebrating longevity and reinforcing a culture where respect and togetherness are paramount.

It’s not just the companionship, but also the hard work that the entire team has put into the Series and will continue to do the same for Alex Bowman. “The camaraderie between Alan and all of our crew chiefs and the way those guys are working together, we couldn’t be more proud of that,” said Andrews. “And those are the kind of things that when you have a teammate like the 48 team and Blake and Alex that need to get that win and need to have some good finishes here to get themselves in position.” Talk about team chemistry, Bowman could’ve opted for a three-way battle on the final lap at Atlanta, but he chose to help his teammate, Chase Elliott.

With three of the four drivers now locked into the playoffs, HMS is likely to rally behind the #48 team. And the good news for Bowman is that the Cup Series is heading to Chicago next weekend, and he is the defending winner. So, we might see similar scenes of the #48 Chevy parked in the victory lane in the streets of Chicago.

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HMS needs to clean up their garage

Despite strong affirmations, it’s been a rocky week for Hendrick Motorsports. Just a few days ago, Chase Elliott appeared poised to assert himself at Pocono Raceway, leading 38 laps and securing a 4th-place finish in the Xfinity Series race before finishing Top-5 again in the Cup race. But what seemed like a statement weekend quickly unraveled after Elliott’s team was hit with a hefty penalty for illegal modifications, costing them $40,000, a crew chief suspension, and valuable owner points.

Kyle Larson, on the other hand, currently 2nd in the Cup Series standings and riding a strong season with three wins, is now leading with his own unexpected disruptions. Though he scored a runner-up finish at Talladega earlier this year, it came under unusual circumstances after disqualifications of Ryan Preece and Joey Logano. His car passed NASCAR’s R&D scrutiny in April, but the luck didn’t carry over to Atlanta, as Larson hit a roadblock during pre-qualifying tech inspections at Atlanta.

“No. 5 Chevrolet of Kyle Larson failed pre-race inspection twice. Car chief Jesse Saunders has been ejected and team has lost out selection,” wrote journalist Peter Stratta on X. The team narrowly avoided a more severe penalty but had to start 36th and lose pit selection, and therefore, ended up finishing 17th in the race. Jesse Suanders, a longtime asset at HMS and a key part of Jimmie Johnson‘s championship teams, was also absent from Atlanta. Despite their playoff qualifications, the momentum seems to be dropping for HMS, and the only way to revive it is to be extremely careful till the playoff season begins. The regular season championship title is for the taking, and they wouldn’t want to miss out on the extra playoff points.