NASCAR: Who is the ‘best of the rest’ behind Hendrick?

The last time Hendrick Motorsports didn’t win a NASCAR Cup Series race was six weeks ago now. But who has been the “best of the rest”?

Usually when the subject of the “best of the rest” is discussed in motorsport, it has to do with who finished behind the Mercedes and the Red Bulls in Formula 1. But over the past month and a half or so, it has do with the NASCAR Cup Series.

Sunday, May 9 is the most recent date on which a race was contested and won by a driver other than a Hendrick Motorsports driver. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. won at Darlington Raceway that afternoon.

Alex Bowman won at Dover International Speedway on Sunday, May 16, Chase Elliott won at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, May 23, and Kyle Larson won at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 30 and at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday, June 6.

Oh, and Larson also won the All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, June 13.

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It’s not out of the question that the entire Championship 4 could be made up of Hendrick Motorsports drivers when the season finale at Phoenix Raceway rolls around in November.

While that is still technically a longshot, Hendrick Motorsports making up anything less than half of the Championship 4 grid would definitely be a surprise. So that raises the question: who has been the best of the rest?

In all four of their points-paying wins during this hot streak, another Hendrick Motorsports driver has finished in second place. So that’s not exactly an easy question to answer.

Larson finished in second place at Dover International Speedway and Circuit of the Americas, and Elliott finished in second at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Sonoma Raceway.

Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski finished just ahead of Elliott for second place at Texas Motor Speedway, but he was really only in that position due to a well-timed final pit stop.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch believes that he has been the “best of the rest”.

Busch sits in seventh place in the point standings, notably behind only two non-Hendrick Motorsports winners, with a win at Kansas Speedway in early May.

He is set to enter this afternoon’s inaugural race at Nashville Superspeedway on a two-race top five finish streak, an impressive streak, given what he has been up against.

At Charlotte Motor Speedway, he finished in third place. If not for that third place effort, Hendrick Motorsports would have had two 1-2-3-4 sweeps in three races, having also pulled it off at Dover International Speedway with Bowman ahead of Larson, Elliott and William Byron. Busch then finished in fifth at Sonoma Raceway.

Before Hendrick Motorsports’ dominant effort at Dover International Speedway, that 1-2-3-4 sweep feat had never been pulled off by the team, and it had only been pulled off three times in Cup Series history. If not for Busch, it would have happened twice in 15 days with the same four drivers.

Busch knows that Hendrick Motorsports, which have now racked up seven wins in 16 points races so far this season (they won at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Richmond Raceway earlier in the year as well), are the team to beat, but his focus is more on his team as opposed to comparisons with Rick Hendrick’s organization.

“Yes and no,” Busch told Beyond the Flag when asked whether or not he is concerning himself with his performance compared to the performance of other drivers and teams. “I think we certainly focus on our stuff and what we need to do as a team. But certainly Hendrick has the best stuff right now.

“But everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota, and TRD are working really hard to keep improving each and every week. Feel like we are the best of the rest right now and have had some really solid runs here over the last four to six weeks. We’ll keep working hard and improving our stuff as the season goes on.”

Busch is in his first season with Ben Beshore as his crew chief, and he is encouraged by what he has seen so far.

“I feel like we are growing and getting better,” he said. “Each and every week, we continue to work on the evolution of our car and our setups. We’ve had some good runs and then some races where we didn’t quite get the finish we deserved either. You learn anything you can no matter the circumstance.”

Last year was Busch’s final season with Adam Stevens atop the pit box, and he struggled. It took him until the season’s 34th race to win, and he failed to advance to the Championship 4 for the first time since 2014. In fact, he didn’t even make it to the round of 8.

Things are by no means perfect yet, but he is optimistic.

“Last year was a bit of a struggle and we just haven’t been able to show that dominating speed I’ve been accustomed to over the years of my career,” he explained. “We’ve found some things that we hope are going to get us back to that point and run up front in the top three every single week and try to shoot for those wins.”

But what has been the best part of the 2021 season so far for Busch?

“It’s certainly great to have the fans back at the track,” he said. “Whether they are cheering for you or booing you, it’s great to have that excitement back for sure. We are an entertainment sport and an entertainment business, so having fans in the stands is what it’s all about, having people enjoy pulling for their favorite driver, whoever that may be.

“It’s important to have that camaraderie between the athletes and the fans. I’m partial to my fans and Rowdy Nation, but it’s great to have that excitement back at the track. We should have a good crowd again this weekend at Nashville, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Today’s race, the Ally 400, is set to be broadcast live from Nashville Superspeedway beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network. Busch is set to debut a new Pedigree paint scheme on his #18 Toyota in this race in an effort to promote dog adoption.