Can Watkins Glen be Hendrick Motorsports’ Redemption?

The 2023 NASCAR Cup season has been a campaign of ups and downs for Hendrick Motorsports. Of the four drivers, two of them have reached the Playoffs, namely Kyle Larson and William Byron. However, the same cannot be said for Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman, especially with two races left in regular season. In other words, the pressure is really on them to snatch their Playoff berths, especially with stiff competition.

With Michael McDowell winning at the Indianapolis road course, yet another chance has been squandered. It is especially gutting for Elliott because he was 2nd, and right on McDowell’s tail. Had the race been a few laps longer, there was a possibility that Chase Elliott could have overtaken McDowell and won. Unfortunately, we can’t all have nice things, so the #9 driver will have to keep his head down and charge.

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Will Watkins Glen be the place where the team gets back on track?

After Indianapolis, the paddock heads to another road course, in the form of Watkins Glen International. This track will provide a ray of hope for Hendrick Motorsports. This is because, it is a road course where the organisation has thrived in the past few years. In all, the team has enjoyed a grand total of 10 victories in the NASCAR Cup Series.

There is also the fact that four of those wins came in the last five years. Chase Elliott set the ball rolling with a race win in 2018, and followed it up a year later. Unfortunately, he could not make it a hat-trick, but it was a Hendrick Motorsports hat-trick. This time, it was Kyle Larson who took the spoils in 2021 and he repeated the feat in 2022. Now the big question is, will Chase Elliott get back to winning ways, or will another Hendrick driver win? Even more importantly, will another team try to spoil the party for them and take away another Playoff opportunity?

What led Hendrick Motorsports to be in this situation?

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Without a doubt, HMS is considered one of the best teams in NASCAR. However, in 2023, their rivals seem to have caught up to them, and they are not as dominant as before. Considering that Elliott and Bowman are still winless, is more evidence of this fact. It also does not help matters that shenanigans robbed them of a chance of victory.

To be precise, Elliott was out injured for several weeks in a snowboarding accident. Later on, Bowman was injured in a non-NASCAR-related accident, which also put him out of action for a while. To make matters worse, not even two races after Elliott’s return, he picked up a one-race suspension. Now, the #9 and #48 drivers are in a desperate situation, but the Watkins Glen race should provide a great shot at getting things back on track.

WATCH THIS STORY: Chase Elliott Calls Out Hendrick Motorsports Revealing What Lost Him the Race