Beyond the Flag
Fansided

NASCAR: Are Hendrick Motorsports’ early struggles a reason for concern?

By Sean Anderson

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 18: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's for Pros Chevrolet, drives on the apron after an incident during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 60th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 18, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 18: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's for Pros Chevrolet, drives on the apron after an incident during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 60th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 18, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Over the past few weeks, Hendrick Motorsports has struggled. Is it time to get concerned about one of the elite teams in the NASCAR Cup Series?

Hendrick Motorsports has been among the best teams in the NASCAR Cup Series for over three decades. This year, they are rebuilding, for lack of a better word. William Byron and Alex Bowman are in their first full-time seasons with the team, and they have been inconsistent so far. Chase Elliott is in his third full-time season with the team and has yet to win a race.

Jimmie Johnson is now the only Hendrick Motorsports driver that has over three years of Cup Series experience, but he, too, has struggled. Johnson earned his first top 10 finish of the season last weekend at Auto Club Speedway. So far this season, he has an average finish of 20.0, and he has not led a single lap.

Johnson struggled at the beginning of last season as well. His average finish in the first five races was 18.8, but he led 28 laps during that time. If he can earn a top 10 finish this weekend at Martinsville, he could give his team a much-needed morale boost. Martinsville is one of his better tracks. He has nine wins and only one DNF in 32 races at the track.

More from NASCAR Cup Series

As for Johnson’s teammates, they haven’t done much better than he has so far this season. William Byron led the first laps of his career at ISM Raceway earlier this month. He has shown flashes of potential. His highest finish so far this season is 12th place, and he has also finished in 15th, 18th, 23rd and 27th.

As for Alex Bowman, a lot has been expected of him as the replacement for Dale Earnhardt Jr. He started on pole for the Daytona 500 and led 13 laps in the race. Since then, he hasn’t led a single lap, and hasn’t finished better than 13th place all season.  However, he’s finished in the top 20 in every race this season and has an average finish of 15.8.

Chase Elliott has been the best of the four drivers in the Hendrick Motorsports stable. Even though he has two DNF’s and has only led four laps so far this season, he has the team’s only top 5 finish. He also had another top 10 finish at his home track, Atlanta Motor Speedway. He has a great chance to earn his first career Cup Series victory this weekend at Martinsville as well.

Sponsorship is also a concern for Hendrick Motorsports. It was announced last week that after the 2018 season, Lowe’s will no longer sponsor Jimmie Johnson. Lowe’s has sponsored Johnson since he started racing in the Cup Series in the the 2001 season.

Next: 3 reasons race car drivers are athletes

Could this be the weekend Hendrick Motorsports start to turn their struggles around? The next NASCAR Cup Series race is this Sunday at Martinsville at 2:00 pm ET, and it is set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1.

Home/NASCAR Cup Series