The opening race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs proved to be an eventful affair for Hendrick Motorsports. Three of its drivers, Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, and William Byron, found finishing spots in the top 10 and furthered their chances of advancing to the Round of 12.
Advertisement
However, the team’s star driver Kyle Larson crashed out of the race in the very first stage and cast a dark shadow over his 2024 title bid. Larson was racing for the lead on Lap 56 against Team Penske drivers Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric. Driving through Turn 1 and Turn 2 at Atlanta, his #5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 snapped without warning, resulting in him overcorrecting the car.
Subsequently, the car was seen shooting into the SAFER barrier on the outside wall nose first before bouncing back into the way of Chase Briscoe’s #14 Ford Mustang that’d been running 14th.
HUGE WRECK FOR KYLE LARSON AND CHASE BRISCOE!
Both #NASCARPlayoffs contenders are out before the end of Stage 1. pic.twitter.com/UJsGpF097O
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 8, 2024
Both the Camaro and the Mustang suffered extensive damage that ended their respective drivers’ races. Larson elaborated on the incident after being released from the infield care center.
“There was no warning at all. If anything, I was getting tighter and tighter. Yeah, it just caught me way off guard. I was never once, even in that same corner, like loose. It just started stepping out and I overcorrected and yeah, just overcorrected.”
The 2021 Cup Series champion went into the track with an advantage of 35 points. After being awarded a 37th-place finish for his efforts he now sits a mere 15 points above the elimination line.
This mounts the pressure on the 2021 Cup champion to perform well at the upcoming Watkins Glen and Bristol tracks courtesy of his untimely crash. Briscoe, on the other hand, sits 16th and last on the playoff grid as a result of the same.
Larson’s teammates help Rick Hendrick save face at the Peach State
The opening race of the 2024 NASCAR postseason at Atlanta was one of Alex Bowman’s best performances this year. He started the event in 11th place and scored stage points with impressive finishes of third place in both stages. He also made an ambitious three-wide move during the final restart and moved up spots to finally finish in fifth place.
The driver of the #9 Chevy fielded by Rick Hendrick, Chase Elliott was also able to score crucial stage points with top-10 finishes in both stages. However, his progress after the final restart was halted by Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain. Fortunately, he was able to get around him in time and secure a result in the top 10.
On the edge of our seats until the finish. pic.twitter.com/31AUwkSmyZ
— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) September 8, 2024
William Byron appeared set for another victory in Atlanta for a brief period during the final stage. But the choice to ride the bottom lane cost him heavily as he lost the required momentum as the 400-mile-long race ended. He was able to keep his car intact and finished ninth, a spot behind Elliott. Byron also scored points in both stages as well.
With Larson’s unfortunate impact right at the start of the 2024 Playoffs, the #5 team has been put on the back foot heading into the next two races of the Round of 16. It remains to be seen if Larson can bounce back from this early setback and continue his title challenge this year.
