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NASCAR: The Good, Bad And Ugly From Texas

By Tanner Whitt

Apr 9, 2017; Fort Worth, TX, USA; A view of the start of stag two of the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 9, 2017; Fort Worth, TX, USA; A view of the start of stag two of the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 9, 2017; Fort Worth, TX, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson (48) celebrates winning the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 9, 2017; Fort Worth, TX, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson (48) celebrates winning the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

The Good (Part II): The Resurgence of Hendrick Motorsports

Prior to Sunday’s race at Texas, Jimmie Johnson had only one top 10 finish, a 9th place run at Phoenix. Dale Jr’s best finish was also at Phoenix, where he posted a 14th place result. Kahne had already posted two top tens, a 4th place run at Atlanta, and a 7th place run at Daytona. Other than that, the 5 team had nothing to show for. Teammate Chase Elliott was the only one who was really finding any success. The 24 team was 2nd in the points and winning stages.

On Sunday, that all changed.

Hendrick Motorsports had 3 of its 4 drivers in the top 10. Chase Elliott ran well all day and came home 9th. Junior ran in the top 5 for the entire second half of the race, and finished 5th. And of course, Jimmie’s car came to life in the final 50 laps. He was able to rocket to the front and capture the checkered flag, his first win of the season.

I can only imagine what these results will do for that organization. To finally bring competitive cars to the track, and to actually win a race, both will be huge moral boosters for the guys back at the shop.

Hendrick Motorsports looks like they are back on track, and that is bad news for everybody else.

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