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NASCAR: Hendrick Motorsports Season Recap

By Cole Mentzel

May 21, 2016; Concord, NC, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson (48) and driver Chase Elliott (24) race down the front stretch during the Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
May 21, 2016; Concord, NC, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson (48) and driver Chase Elliott (24) race down the front stretch during the Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 20, 2016; Homestead, FL, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson (48) talks with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Chase Elliott (24) before the Ford Ecoboost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 20, 2016; Homestead, FL, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson (48) talks with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Chase Elliott (24) before the Ford Ecoboost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

The 2016 NASCAR season saw Jimmie Johnson claim Hendrick Motorsports’ 12th championship, but how did the rest of the team perform?

The 2016 NASCAR season brought about many changes for Hendrick Motorsports.

The first–and most obvious–was the fact that Chase Elliott replaced Jeff Gordon on the team. For the first time ever, there was a new driver behind the wheel of the No. 24 car as Gordon had raced full-time since 1993.

The next came in the form of Dale Earnhardt Jr., as the fan favorite suffered from concussion-like symptoms, keeping him out for the second half of the season. In response, both Gordon and Alex Bowman shared races in the No. 88 car.

The third and final change came in the form of the overall competitiveness from the team. For the first time in quite a while, HMS wasn’t the best team in NASCAR. Though they ended up gaining another trophy, Joe Gibbs Racing out-performed them on a lot of weekends and especially throughout the summer.

However, while change can sometimes be hard to overcome, the team kept going and eventually helped Jimmie Johnson win a dramatic race at Homestead to earn his seventh Cup Series championship and the 12th overall for the team.

Let’s take a deeper look into how the 2016 season went for HMS.

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