Over the years, Rick Hendrick has achieved plenty in his stellar career as a NASCAR Cup Series team owner. While his team has a reputation to maintain every single year, this season hasn’t quite been up to the mark. Hendrick Motorsports has somehow lacked that dominance in the competition. In fact, with their playoff struggles, Hendrick would be left with a sad truth to bear.

While William Byron and Kyle Larson have done an amazing job this season, Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman have lacked their sharpness. With the playoffs almost there, the HMS camp would be gearing up for an unusual situation at Daytona.

Rick Hendrick set to deal with a heartbreaking fact before the playoffs at Daytona

With only one race remaining in the Cup Series, the playoffs are pretty much around the corner. The situation at Hendrick Motorsports is clear for Kyle Larson and William Byron. However, for Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman, it’s a must-win situation at Daytona on Sunday.

After missing six races due to a snowboarding injury and one through suspension, Elliott finds himself 101 points below the playoff cut line. As far as Bowman is concerned, he sits 96 points behind 16th-placed Bubba Wallace. With a maximum of 60 points possible to be scored in an individual race, a victory is the only feasible option for both HMS drivers to qualify.

Having said that, the bitter truth for Rick Hendrick in this case is that only one of Elliott or Bowman could qualify for the playoffs now. What could be more hurtful is should both of them fail to win, two HMS drivers would be missing from the postseason.

Unsurprisingly, neither Elliott nor Bowman has missed a playoff as a HMS driver. In fact, both of these drivers have never even missed the round of 12. While that is assured to change, there is a more painful fact to handle for Rick Hendrick.

The last time a Hendrick Motorsports driver missed a playoff was Jimmie Johnson in 2020, that too because of an apparent false positive Covid-19 test. With at least one team driver bound to miss the playoffs first time in the last three years, it is a difficult time to be a HMS fan.

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While the Daytona International Speedway awaits the fate of these HMS drivers, the playoff scenario looks quite interesting.

The Daytona race promises to be a blockbuster amid an intense playoff battle

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It is not just the Hendrick Motorsports drivers who are battling for the playoffs but there are some interesting names in the list. As of now, Bubba Wallace possesses the best chance to qualify given. Wallace, Ty Gibbs, and Daniel Suarez are the only three drivers who could qualify on the basis of points or by virtue of a victory at Daytona.

The 23XI Racing driver has a 32-point advantage over Gibbs as he would be hoping to not see a new winner on Sunday. Having said that, there are 14 other drivers who could get a direct entry into the playoffs with a win at Daytona. Among them are the likes of Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, Corey LaJoie, AJ Allmendinger, and others.

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While it is set up nicely, it is predicted that the Daytona race will be an intense affair. Who do you think would manage to capture the last available playoff spot in the Cup Series on Sunday? Let us know in the comments below.