After a rain-hampered race on Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series resumed on Monday in Michigan. With 126 laps remaining, there was a lot of uncertainty about the outcome. With Chase Elliott and William Byron already sidelined on Sunday, Hendrick Motorsports were struck with another blow on Monday. Surely, Rick Hendrick didn’t see this coming.

While Chris Buescher recorded back-to-back wins in the Cup Series, it was a day to forget for HMS. The NASCAR giants were already struggling with two of their four drivers fighting for their playoff spot. Safe to say, it didn’t get any better on Monday.

Rick Hendrick receives a massive blow as Hendrick Motorsports struggle at Michigan International Speedway

It is no secret how fans have been vouching for Chase Elliott to win a race and make it to the playoffs. While the #9 driver has been decent after having missed out on seven races this season, it hasn’t been enough. In fact, it only got worse when a wreck ended his race on Sunday in Michigan. Elliott was running 9th on lap 34. As the #9 Chevy approached turn 2, the right rear tire gave away, and he spun off the track. He was seen driving into the garage shortly afterward.

After getting out of the infield care center, Elliott was seen somewhat masking his disappointment as he talked to the media, saying, “It was really early in the day to have a tire blow like that. It was really weird. It’s a bummer, but not surprised.” His teammate William Byron was even more unfortunate, as he ran into the outside wall on the exit of turn 4; it was the last lap of stage 1. NASCAR’s Damaged Vehicle Policy came into play and he was ruled out of the race.

However, Hendrick Motorsports remained hopeful with both Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman present and lively in the race. Unfortunately, that too dried out in the 127th lap.

In a battle involving multiple cars, Front Row Sports’ #38 driver Todd Gilliland got squeezed into the outside wall by Michael McDowell. Austin Cindric, battling for position from the inside, did not realize that the field was 3 wide. He forced McDowell to go wide, and the #34 squeezed the #38. In the commotion that followed as Gilliland scrapped the wall, Chase Briscoe tagged Alex Bowman. The #48 HMS driver then spun and collided hard with Gilliland’s damaged car.

While Bowman started losing laps there on, he eventually finished in the 33rd position. This is certainly a huge blow to his playoff aspirations with just three races now remaining. Further, Rick Hendrick now has two drivers who need a win in the last three races of the regular season in order to make it to the final 16.

Rick Hendrick in a quagmire: 3 races remain and 3 HMS drivers need a win each

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The only silver lining for Hendrick Motorsports in Michigan was Kyle Larson finishing fifth. Other than that, it was certainly a race to forget. After having struggled with his injury, Alex Bowman did look promising and it was unfortunate how things played out for him.

It certainly is a tricky situation now for Hendrick Motorsports. It is evident now that neither Bowman nor Elliott can enter the playoffs on the basis of points. They are 44 and 55 points below the cutoff line, respectively. Moreover, Byron’s 35th place means that he is now 96 points behind points leader Martin Truex Jr, who was the runner-up in Michigan. This significantly hampers his chances of winning the regular season and getting the all-important 15 playoff-point bonus.

Having said that, it was unlucky what happened with Bowman. And surprisingly, it divided opinion on social media. While some fans sympathized with him on social media, many enjoyed the tough time HMS went through on Sunday and Monday.

“When it rains, it pours. Miserable weekend for Hendrick.”

“Hahaha.  Hendrick is crumbling today”

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“gonna be a “what could’ve been” for that team the past two weeks”

“He has had the worst luck ever”

“Such a frustrating year. Gotta feel for AB.”

“Dang it! Just when things are gong good. It’s been a tough season to watch for Alex. Going to be tough to get a win in the last few races. A miracle needs to happen now.”

It now remains to be seen how the HMS drivers pick themselves up from there. They certainly do not have enough time on hand and it is imperative that they bring their A-game in the remaining three races. Will we see a third HMS driver in the playoffs? Let us know in the comments below.

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