Hendrick Motorsports wasn’t exactly riding high on confidence heading into the Chase. They had three drivers locked into it, but with Chevrolet’s balance issues and just two wins during the regular season, few actually counted them among the favorites, despite their championship pedigree. After Round 1 in Darlington last Sunday, Kevin Harvick believes one of the drivers is already out of the picture.
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“I almost think it’s better for the 24 that they have no chance to win the championship,” Harvick said on his Happy Hour podcast, talking about William Byron’s misfortune at the iconic raceway.
Byron was actually putting together a fairly solid evening and was on course for a strong points finish. But on Lap 315, he spun through Turns 3 and 4, bringing out the caution. He slid down to the apron and was initially able to get his car moving again. However, as the cars lined up behind the pace car preparing for the restart, his car suddenly began billowing heavy smoke.
The engine of the No. 24 was completely gone, and Byron was forced to pit. He was eventually classified 37th and left with just six points. He dropped to 16th in the Chase bubble and is now 114 points behind leader Denny Hamlin. Harvick feels that’s a gap that Hendrick Motorsports should not realistically try to close.
“As far as winning the championship, they’re done,” the former Cup Series champion driver added on the podcast.
That said, Harvick doesn’t think Byron has no role to play in the Championship battle ahead. He feels that the No. 24 team should put all its focus on helping fellow HMS stars Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott. The road to glory may be tough for them too, but an organization like Hendrick (the winningest in NASCAR history) will surely not throw in the towel completely.
It’s been a difficult year for all Chevrolet cars, with Toyota dominating outright, winning 17 out of the 27 races so far. And owner Rick Hendrick knows that, which is why he made it clear before the Chase began, that he doesn’t want any in-fighting or camps being formed within the team. He wants all his drivers, including Alex Bowman, who didn’t qualify for the Chase, to play a role in their pursuit of the crown.
At the same time, Hendrick admitted that losing out on the 2026 Cup Series championship won’t be the end of the world. He hinted at prioritizing long-term success for his organization.
“Take a deep breath, exhale, and look around you. And we’re a great team, and we’re going to get it done. And so if it’s not this year, it’ll be next year. But our lives don’t depend on what happens in the next ten races, and we do the best we can. We’ll be successful,” Hendrick said in an episode of SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Byron or Hendrick Motorsports, however, have not said that they would prioritize the No. 24 team any less, at least officially. After the Darlington debacle, Byron admitted to being confused about why it happened but insisted that the team had done a good job finding speed and would continue to do so in the races to come.
Hendrick Motorsports should take some confidence from the Southern 500 heading into Illinois this weekend for the second race. Byron’s engine failure aside, the organization had a great weekend, with even Bowman finishing in the top-15 (12th place).
Larson led a race-high 99 laps and finished fifth. His No. 5 team gambled at the end by staying out on older tires during a caution period, which actually dropped him a little further back. Without that, he could have finished even higher. Elliott, meanwhile, finished 14th, dropping one position in the Chase bubble to 9th and now sitting level on points with Team Penske’s Joey Logano. Larson, however, remains seventh.
Both are former Cup Series champions, making them two of the drivers to watch over the remaining nine races. Byron would have loved to join them in the fight for his first Cup Series title. And if he can string together a run of incredible results, he still might.
A driver can earn as many as 75 points in a single race weekend during the Chase. Harvick, however, doesn’t see that happening.