When both Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman lost their winning momentum last year owing to injuries and ended up 17th and 20th on final points, Hendrick Motorsports fans had perhaps thought that Mr. Hendrick would never allow his drivers to do anything but race in NASCAR. However, when Kyle Larson announced his double duty this year, they were surprised. Recently, even HMS Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon revealed that he was all for the Chevy drivers taking part in races outside of NASCAR.
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But why so? Isn’t the Cup Series more important than competing in late models or IndyCar races?
On that note, Jeff Gordon stated that he had always been laser-focused on the Cup series as a driver. But that’s just what worked for him. “I am all about what works for any of our guys,” said the four-time Cup Series champion. “We’ve had some setbacks, but our policy has still not changed. We want these guys to live their life, to go out and do things that make them better on Sundays.”
Team president Jeff Andrews said that whenever the drivers come forward with schedules for non-NASCAR racing, those schedules are reviewed so that the Cup Series is at the top of their priority list.
And whatever the final verdict might be, the only message that Rick Hendrick has for his drivers is that “I don’t want to stop those things, but be careful.”
How does racing outside of NASCAR actually help the drivers?
Drivers like Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch who race frequently in other racing federations, say that it helps them gain experience, which they can channel into their races on Sundays. For Busch, it’s all about the competitive spirit that the drivers inculcate out of racing in different events.
“I’ve raced super late models before and micros now probably more recently with the dirt game with (son) Brexton doing what he does,” said the two-time Cup Series champion. “It’s the enjoyable nature of being a race car driver and running various series and race cars. … Does a micro give you anything for a Cup car? No, not really. It gives you a sense of competition. And getting out there and stacking yourself up against other top talent.”
Racing outside of NASCAR has its pros and cons. So, how does Hendrick Motorsports determine the right balance? “We certainly don’t want to tell them no to something that might help them here on Sunday. As a company, we’ll just continue to look at it, continue to talk to our guys, and make sure we’re making the right decisions together,” said HMS’ Jeff Andrews.
Some might argue that it’s perhaps safer if the NASCAR drivers don’t compete in other forms of racing at all. Chase Elliott, however, would differ. According to him, had the incidents involving him and Bowman happened in two different seasons, perhaps the situation wouldn’t have been that grave. For him, it was just poor timing for both the mishaps to happen in the same year.
