It feels like ahead of the championship 4 race in Phoenix, Rick Hendrick, who has two drivers in the mix for the title, wanted to make a clear point, especially after the recent Sheldon Creed-Austin Hill incident at Martinsville. Hendrick recently sent a message across to Kyle Larson and William Byron to not end up in the same situation as the RCR duo and to not wreck each other out.
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During a recent appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Hendrick opened up on “the worst-case scenario,” for any owner in NASCAR. “Having two guys that were, if they had just finished where they were, they would end up being in the Championship 4 and then to take each other out,” he said.
“That is something that we work hard on all year long is not just for the last race. It’s like, how many times is it going to come down to the two of ya? Not very often,” Hendrick described. “But if it does, race each other clean because what got you here is the strength of the organization working together.”
❌ “Don’t wreck each other because it just destroys the chemistry inside the company.”
🏁 Rick Hendrick wants his @TeamHendrick drivers to race each other clean for a championship if it comes down to it Sunday at @phoenixraceway. pic.twitter.com/kmaeqEmJpL
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) November 2, 2023
Mr. H draws a clear line for Kyle Larson and William Byron in Phoenix
Speaking further on this subject, Hendrick emphasized the need to avoid dumping everything they’ve built throughout the organization at Hendrick Motorsports in order to get the whole organization better. “Don’t blow that up. If you can beat the guy clean, go ahead and do it,” he said.
“Don’t wreck each other because it just destroys the chemistry in the company. That’s our philosophy and hopefully, that won’t happen.”
Having said that, if it does come down to that on Sunday if the final 4 becomes the final 2 and those 2 are Kyle Larson and William Byron, Rick Hendrick just hopes that they “do it clean” and do it without wrecking the other guy, their own teammate. After all, moving a driver out of the way was something Mr. H said he’d be okay with.
But wrecking? That’s not allowed.
