“You better have your chin up,” said Cliff Daniels to Kyle Larson as the latter suffered a flat tire with two laps to go at Darlington in 2022, and criticized himself: “I suck. Me. As a driver. I suck. Not anybody, but me.” Under the capable leadership of Rick Hendrick for over four decades, the team has transformed, both inside and outside the garage. And at the root of it all? They’ve stuck to the one thing that propelled Gordon to break down the championship wall in 1995: Team unity.

“This has been a season about reflection and reminiscing about what this organization has done over 40 years,” Jeff Gordon said on September 5, as the Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman cheered for his four drivers looking to bring home the team’s 15th Cup title. Indeed, Rick Hendrick’s drivers have lived up to HMS’ name on the team’s 40th anniversary. And at that forefront is Kyle Larson—who just clinched his sixth victory of the season at the Roval—and Daniels.

And as per what we’re hearing, it’s more than one-to-one camaraderie. It’s a culture HMS’ main man Rick Hendrick expects everyone to accept. And he won’t take no for an answer, which has been evident in his team’s star-studded drivers’ performances…Apart from Larson’s blistering form this season, his teammate William Byron holds three wins, while Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman own one victory each. But they thrive in each other’s presence, constantly communicating with each other regarding race strategy. Well, 312 Cup Series wins (the most in NASCAR Cup Series history) doesn’t materialize out of thin air, does it?

That is what Rick Hendrick emphasized in a post-race press conference for the winning team at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 13. The conversation kick-started when Associated Press’ Jenna Fryer asked, “I wanted both cliff and Rick to discuss why the communication has been so successful from the very beginning with Kyle and for the five team?” But before we give you some interesting insight through Daniels’ honest admission, let’s hear what Hendrick had to say…

He said how all four teams in Hendrick Motorsports are in constant rapport to share racing strategies and resources. “I had our general managers in and these guys talk to them. But we want to call audibles immediately, constant communication, constantly getting better. I want to get them on the plane together coming home after a race…So the drivers and crew chiefs can debrief when it’s on that mind. And then the very next morning.”

A NASCAR team’s resilience is proven when it sticks together in tough situations. So Rick Hendrick emphasized that the lack of rifts is the signature of the 14-time Cup Series championship-winning team. “We don’t have any disagreement in our camp…we don’t have any infighting with crew chiefs or drivers in our camp. I’m not going to tolerate that. I see that out there sometimes. But we’re stronger together. We’ve proven it over 40 years and that’s what’s made us strong. And I don’t have to worry about that with these guys…Sometimes we have a little scuff up at the racetrack, but we get over it pretty quick,” he said, giving a overview, corroborating his team’s crew chief’s statements…

And as per Cliff Daniels, it all started when Rick Hendrick asked all his four teams to work together””something that has immensely helped Kyle Larson reach where he is today. “It started six or eight years ago when Mr Hendrick demanded that we move from two different shops of two teams in each shop to putting all four teams together.

“So I will say that the the five is always the beneficiary of that system of the four teams working together. So would like to thank the other three as well and and that starts with Mr Hendrick encouraging us and pushing us to go that direction. There’s so many core values that we hold true to our team of taking care of each other, having the relationship, having the communication across the team…And of course, it has to be with me and Kyle on race day as well, and and trusting each other to do our jobs…and to make calls and to know that we’re going to have to ride some ups and downs together,” he said.

The championship-winning crew chief also pointed out their strength in numbers and how it’s not mere luck.

“And being honest, you know, having four teams in the round of eight doesn’t happen by accident. That’s a lot of hard work, a lot of grit, a lot of communication, a lot of chemistry led by Mr Hendrick for all four teams to have. So very very thankful to be part of it.”

For a team that has so closely helped its drivers, Hendrick sure does set an extraordinary example. Case in point: When Rick Hendrick supported Alex Bowman despite his ‘back-breaking’ (and season ending) accident last season. The team owner had reportedly warned the #48 driver against being

“dumb enough”. However, Bowman’s worst fears came true when he fell prey to a vicious Sprint car wreck that made him feel like he was at the chiropractor. “Unfortunately, I killed my Cup season, that was really a bummer, and calling Jeff and Mr. H I was terrified because when I first asked Mr. H about it, he was like, ‘Hey, you can do whatever you want but don’t be dumb enough to go and get hurt, and look what I did so,” the driver revealed last year, before mentioning Hendrick’s amazing reaction.

“

They couldn’t have been more supportive like, they were incredibly supportive through the whole thing, you know, just helped me however they could. It was my 30th birthday, so the team had a surprise party for me the next day at the shop and they pushed me around in the office chair the whole time. It was pretty entertaining,” he added.

Yet again, Alex Bowman heartbreakingly stands at the other end of the spectrum, after facing shock ejection from the playoffs for failing a post-race inspection last weekend. But the team’s flawless ideals of unity may propel it forward””plans are afoot to appeal against Bowman’s penalty. It may be achieved by the rising tide that lifts all the HMS boats – mechanics, engineers, marketing executives, public relations representatives, and others.

And this solid integrity might land Rick Hendrick his 15th championship this season. This is something even Jeff Gordon agrees with.

Versatility rules the game

Other than rock-solid unity holding the team together, HMS boasts versatility. Rick Hendrick’s drivers own victories at road courses, short tracks, and intermediate tracks. While superspeedway wins still elude Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman, this trend may flip any time soon. All of them have experience in championship runs as well. Larson (2021) and Elliott (2020) own Cup titles. Byron reached the Championship 4 last year and Bowman made a run to the Round of 8 in 2020. The four totally own 24 prior postseason berths, with none of them coming in with less than five.

So four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon is keen on another HMS championship. “Champions have always had to be diverse and win at any type of track. I think the playoff system has only heightened that more, especially with more road courses being added. But I think that NASCAR, when they look at it, they’re looking at it that way too. We want to have the most complete champion, driver and team and we want to throw as many challenges at them as possible because the best team and driver are going to win this thing. Even though it comes down to one event, you’ve still got to get there.”

If Alex Bowman recovers from his post-race penalty, then all four of Rick Hendrick’s drivers would be solid threats for the 2024 Cup Series title.