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NASCAR: Breaking Down Hendrick Motorsports’ Struggles

By Cole Mentzel

Feb 21, 2016; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Chase Elliott (24) leads Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 21, 2016; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Chase Elliott (24) leads Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jul 8, 2016; Sparta, KY, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson (48) drives during practice for the Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 8, 2016; Sparta, KY, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson (48) drives during practice for the Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /

The No. 48 Team

Jimmie Johnson has easily been the best Hendrick Motorsports driver again this season, but he’s in danger of having one of his worst seasons ever.

Johnson charged out of the gates with wins at Atlanta and Fontana earlier in the season and looked like he was on his way to another year as one of the top drivers in the Cup Series, but since the June race at Pocono, he’s struggled to maintain pace with the weekly contenders.

That Pocono race marked Johnson’s first finish of the season below 30th as he was involved in a late wreck that led to a 35th-place finish. He rebounded with two finishes in the top-20 at both Michigan and Sonoma, but the bad luck came back again as Johnson suffered from two more accidents, leading to a 35th-place finish at Daytona and a 32nd-place finish at Kentucky.

At Indy, he finished third, which was the best finish for an HMS driver since Chase Elliott finished second at Michigan back in June.

Two weeks later at Watkins Glen, Johnson was involved in a wreck coming out of the carousel, which resulted in a 40th-place finish and his fourth DNF in nine weeks.

With 14 races left in the season, Johnson has two wins and just eight top-10 finishes. In all of his full-time Cup Series seasons, two wins is his lowest total with his top-10 total hitting at least 20 every season.

If Johnson can’t pull himself out of the funk he’s in, he’ll be heading for arguably his worst Cup Series season of all-time. Luckily, the Chase seems to bring out some of his best racing, despite early exits in the past two years.

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