“We Have Phoenix in Mind”: Hendrick Motorsports GM Keeps Championship Focus After William Byron’s Iowa Victory

William Byron (24), crew members and sponsors pose for pictures after the NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350 on Aug. 3, 2025, at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. Byron (24) finished the race first.

Hendrick Motorsports finally managed to put a car in Victory Lane after having had just one win in the previous ten Cup Series races. The result came courtesy of William Byron, who managed speed and fuel brilliantly at Iowa Speedway on Sunday to secure his second victory of the year. Hendrick Motorsports President Jeff Andrews had some interesting thoughts post-race.

He told the press that the lack of wins in the recent past wasn’t because of a loss of work and effort. He reiterated the high standards that Rick Hendrick sets for them every weekend and pointed out how they approached the race at Iowa with the season finale at Phoenix in mind, due to the similarities between the tracks.

Andrews said, “Obviously, you know, we have Phoenix in mind and some similarities here, right? And so, a lot of work went into Iowa to just try to understand if there was something there that would help us turn the corner a little bit towards Phoenix.”

He went on to applaud the team’s employees for all the good work they’ve been doing. The way the sport is today, it doesn’t take a lot for a car to go from the midfield pack to the front or vice-versa.

Andrews spoke about the same and stressed that they were focused on finishing first, second, and third in the regular season championship. “That’s another big one for us,” he quipped. “We want to win that and get that regular season championship, but that second and third also pays too.”

The goal is to take those bonus points away from competitors, if possible. Currently, William Byron, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Larson occupy the first three spots on the points table. Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Tyler Reddick trail them with not that big of a difference in points. Exemplary work will be required for Andrews’ dream to become a reality.
Hendrick Motorsports is a team built on championships and victories. The team’s drivers have six wins between them so far. By comparison, the Joe Gibbs Racing trio of Hamlin, Bell, and Chase Briscoe have eight wins between them.
Meanwhile, the one HMS driver without a win so far this season is Alex Bowman. But he currently sits ninth on the points table and is in a comfortable spot to secure a playoff berth.
All four Hendrick Motorsports bannermen have pressing tasks to accomplish over the next three races. The first challenge will come at Watkins Glen next Sunday.
Post Edited By: Abhishek Ramesh
Alex Bowman Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Iowa Speedway jeff andrews Kyle Larson William Byron

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Gowtham Ramalingam

Gowtham is a NASCAR journalist at The SportsRush. Though his affinity for racing stems from Formula 1, he found himself drawn to NASCAR's unparalleled excitement over the years. As a result he has shared his insights and observations by authoring over 3000 articles on the sport. An avid fiction writer, you can find him lost in imaginary worlds when he is not immersed in racing. He hopes to continue savoring the thrill of every lap and race together with his readers for as long as he can.

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