NASCAR: Hendrick Motorsports teammate rivalry was brewing

The talent on Hendrick Motorsports’ roster and the fact that they still seem to be the top team in the NASCAR Cup Series was always a recipe for a rivalry.

After finishing off a lineup overhaul that started in 2015 with four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon’s retirement, Hendrick Motorsports appeared set with four young drivers who could lead the team to a new era of dominance.

Kyle Larson was the final piece of the puzzle, joining Rick Hendrick’s team in 2021 after Jimmie Johnson’s retirement. He joined Chase Elliott, who replaced Gordon in 2016, Alex Bowman, who replaced Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2018, and William Byron, who replaced Kasey Kahne in 2018.

After several “down years”, Hendrick Motorsports took a step in the right direction in 2020, with Elliott winning five races and the championship. They won seven races overall, but they took an even bigger step forward in 2021.

Led by Larson, who, in just his first season with the team, turned in the first 10-win season by any driver since Johnson in his championship-winning 2007 campaign, Hendrick Motorsports solidified themselves as the top team in the Cup Series garage once again. They won 17 races, capped off by Larson’s championship-sealing season finale victory at Phoenix Raceway.

But with a lineup this talented, things weren’t always going to be smooth and straightforward for Hendrick’s team.

There was bound to be some kind of rivalry at some point, considering the fact that all four drivers are seen as long-term options; Larson is the oldest at 29 years old.

And just two races into the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, that rivalry is the one that many thought it might be. The two most recent champions, Elliott and Larson, found themselves at odds over an on-track move.

Late in last Sunday’s race at Auto Club Speedway, Elliott, who had overcome an early crash and gotten back on the lead lap after falling two laps down, somehow found himself battling for the lead.

He attempted to make a move to the outside of Larson, who was attempting to side draft Team Penske’s Joey Logano heading into turn one of the four-turn, 2.0-mile (3.219-kilometer) oval in Fontana, California.

Larson, who was focused on Logano and didn’t see Elliott make the move, drove right into the side of Elliott’s #9 Chevrolet, sending him into the wall.

It ultimately knocked Elliott out of contention for the win. Elliott, who was furious with Larson over the radio, ended up being lapped by Larson a few laps later, but he didn’t make it easy on him, similar to the Kevin Harvick situation at Bristol Motor Speedway last September.

A few laps after that, he spun out, leading to accusations of race manipulation, considering the fact that a caution flag was likely the only thing that could have stopped Larson from winning at that point.

But all in all, the fact that such an incident unfolded the way it did isn’t much of a surprise.

Hendrick Motorsports are clearly still the top team in the sport, even amid speculation that the Next Gen car could result in them taking a step back compared to the rest of the field.

Elliott was on pace for the pole position before a qualifying spin, he led the race early, and he battled back to the lead from two laps down after wall contact. Larson won the race after starting in the rear due to unapproved adjustments.

Sure, there were literally dozens of drivers who ran up front could have won the chaotic race, but who was there in the end, like usual?

It’s looking more and more like this could be another situation that Hendrick Motorsports had with Gordon and Johnson. Sure, all the wins and championships look nice on paper — and there’s no denying the fact that they most certainly are — but there is that underlying desire to be the top Hendrick driver that will ultimately result in incidents that might not otherwise happen. In that respect, this isn’t a team sport like football or baseball; it’s every man for himself.

While what happened on Sunday was undoubtedly an accident, it unequivocally solidified the tone moving forward.

It wasn’t the first time the two have been together racing hard on the track, and it’s likely not going to be the last. But it was the first incident of this magnitude, and it’s also likely not going to be the last time that one or both of them see potential wins slip away due to contact, either. And that will inevitably leave at least one party upset every time.

We’re not saying that it’s going to end up in an all-out brawl, or even come close to that; Hendrick wouldn’t let that happen, and Elliott and Larson do seem to have a good relationship away from the track, with the former having recently joined the latter in a number of dirt track events.

But the top dog status is on the line at NASCAR’s premier team entering a new era of stock car racing, one that has already shown a ton of promise.

Of course, some wouldn’t call it a rivalry; some would point to the fact that Larson won 10 races last year in his first year with Hendrick Motorsports while Elliott won just two, has a career-high of five, and has 10 wins over the last three seasons, not just one season. It also took him until his third year with the team to win once; Larson won in his fourth race.

But while the stats don’t necessarily show it, most notably his two wins in 2021 compared to his five during his championship-winning 2020 season, Elliott’s 2021 season was arguably better than his championship season.

He recorded a career-high average finish of 11.4 in 2021 (11.7 in 2020), and he racked up another 15 top five finishes, just as he did in 2020. Despite winning only twice, he ranked third in laps led, which is exactly where he ranked in 2020.

When you consider how many laps he ran second to Larson and how many second place finishes he had behind the driver of the #5 Chevrolet, the difference between the two is far, far less than a simple “10 to 2” comparison. Anyone can read off a stat sheet.

There’s a reason that he clinched a spot in the 2021 Championship 4 not only without winning a round of 8 race but without needing the round to officially end in order to lock in on points. He had never locked into the Championship 4 on points before, much less before the round of 8 ended.

In 2020, he was in a “must win” situation when he won the round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway to advance to the Championship 4 before ultimately winning the title at Phoenix Raceway.

Bottom line, the grounds for an intra-team rivalry at Hendrick Motorsports were laid long ago, and the fact that this rivalry is finally coming to fruition, with a little bit of early frustration, should not be at all shocking to anybody.