As we head into 2024, Jeff Gordon took time to overview the efficiency of Hendrick Motorsports within the 2023 season. It was a season the place Kyle Larson and William Byron made the NASCAR Championship 4. Nonetheless, there have been different points as effectively with the season.
Clearly, Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman didn’t have the very best seasons following their respective accidents. Even that they had vivid spots although, in winless efforts this 12 months.
Jeff Gordon is proud of the progress he noticed with the No. 5 and 24 groups – then there may be the work that also must be executed to get each staff prepared for subsequent season.
“It’s laborious to not be excited to have two (groups) that went to the Championship 4 and had a shot at profitable the championship,” Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon stated, by way of HendrickMotorsports.com. “These two groups carried out at a excessive degree all 12 months lengthy. The 24 automobile began robust and had a little bit little bit of a lull throughout the summer time, however general they only continued to achieve momentum. The 5 automobile – they received all of it earlier than. They’ve had large seasons like that they had in ’21. To see them grind it out this 12 months and discover their technique to Phoenix (Raceway) to compete for a championship was thrilling and nice for the entire firm to see.
“On the identical time, we got here up quick. That’s additionally a bit disappointing. I really feel like Hendrick Motorsports thrives in these alternatives. I really feel like we executed flawlessly in that Phoenix race, however we simply didn’t have the velocity. We obtained beat fairly merely. We will likely be extremely motivated by way of that have for 2024.”
No excuses, no “yeah, however” – Jeff Gordon is a champion and he doesn’t take shortcuts. He received’t let his drivers do it, both.
Jeff Gordon might have 4 playoff drivers in 2024
It isn’t that Jeff Gordon might have 4 playoff drivers subsequent season, he ought to have 4. Larson, Elliott, Byron, and Bowman are all able to profitable a number of races. They’ve executed it earlier than and they need to all have the ability to discover victory lane no less than as soon as every this season.
Speaking to Alex Bowman in an unique interview, the driving force informed On3 about the entire good issues that occurred for the 48 staff.
“We had been so robust to start out the 12 months, clearly led the factors for a bit and had been actually good week in and week out, actually up till I obtained damage,” Bowman stated. Nonetheless, that didn’t final.
“Then the wheels sort of fell off from there. I believe all people seems to be at our 2023 season and is like, ‘Man, you guys struggled.’ However the actuality is, after we had been firing on all cylinders we had been essentially the most constant automobile and top-of-the-line automobiles each week.”
Hendrick Motorsports brings quick automobiles to each observe. They’re going to be actually robust at Daytona when the 12 months begins.
Jeff Gordon is trying again on 2023 with a blended bag I believe. As he ought to. They’d ups and downs and issues simply didn’t work out for 2 of the 4 groups. Elliott broke his leg, Bowman broke his again – that’s not one thing that often occurs.
In 2024, are we going to see Hendrick domination?
