As NASCAR moves toward the end of the regular season, the main question that revolves around the Hendrick Motorsports garage is what will happen to Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman. Both drivers currently sit below the playoff cut-off line and have not been able to win a single race this season. To be fair, the main reason for that has been the fact that both drivers were out of their cars following injuries.
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Recently, Jeff Gordon spoke about HMS’ strategy involving the two drivers. Considering that both drivers have the chance to get themselves into the playoffs just on the basis of points, the Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports was asked if they wanted to concentrate on getting in with the points strategy or just push forward to win at least one race before the end of the regular season.
Jeff Gordon elaborates on Chase Elliott’s urge to win races
Gordon stated, “I mean, I think Alex is closer than Chase is. I don’t know where that… I haven’t looked at the points after today, I know that we want to get wins. It’s sort of one of those situations where if you don’t feel like you’re capable of winning, how far are you really going to go in the playoffs?”
“I know those guys want to win, but they also had some situations that got them behind. You get in any way you can, but it goes back to what I was talking about with the #24 team, about building momentum at the right time, and if you get it early, how do you maintain it?”
“For those guys, if they can get some momentum going here quickly or find a way to get to Victory Lane, then it’s all about picking up their game when the playoffs come around.”
How far are Elliott and Bowman in terms of their playoff eligibility chances?
Bowman and Elliott currently occupy the 22nd and 23rd spots in the standings, with a 44 and 60-point deficit to get into the cutoff, respectively. Logically if both drivers can finish in the front of the pack for the remaining races, they would be in the playoffs. If there are 16 different winners this season, then it would be a different story.
Elliot has been known to perform well in the latter half of the season, and now with the season entering its business end, he might pull off a much-needed win. The same has to be the case for Bowman. As Gordon mentioned, both of them need to step up their game and push for the best finishes possible.
