“It Could’ve Been a Lot Worse”- Rick Hendrick’s Troubles Continue as Star Driver Gets Derailed at Kansas

Hendrick Motorsports did what it does. And it did so better than anybody last weekend at Darlington. It was the first playoff race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series and the 2021 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson emerged victorious after what was a thrilling race. The second playoff race will take place at the Kansas Speedway on Sunday and HMS will be hopeful of getting another win under their belt.

Over the years, Rick Hendrick has made winning his habit. So much so that he is on the cusp of achieving something historic. The next race that an HMS driver wins in the Cup Series will be the team’s 300th win in the Cup. It will be an outstanding feat for one of the most dominant teams in the history of NASCAR. But it won’t be easy for Hendrick Motorsports, who have already suffered a setback in Kansas.

HMS Star Finds Himself in a Tough Spot

The confidence was running high going into Kansas, thanks to Larson’s victory at Darlington. He is the first driver this year to have confirmed his place in the round of 12 of the playoffs. The 2021 champion had to stave off a strong challenge from 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick. But he managed to hold on to the first place.

Larson’s Kansas outing has also gone quite well so far. At the end of qualifying, the #5 was the second fastest car on the track behind Christopher Bell’s #20. The 31-year-old’s confidence is sky-high after winning at Darlington. And he will look to take the lead within the opening few laps of the race.

Chase Elliott also did a fantastic job in qualifying. He will start the race from fourth on the grid. He might not be in the playoffs, but he can certainly assist Larson with a helpful push to get him ahead of Bell.

But one man who did not have a good time in qualifying was William Byron. With one driver already in the next round, Rick Hendrick would have wanted the second one to book his spot on Sunday. But that looks like a steep hill to climb for Byron.

The 25-year-old ran his laps in qualifying but faced a serious mechanical issue which forced him to get his #24 into the pits for the engineers to work on. It was then revealed that the right front suspension piece had broken.

“We couldn’t really find it, so we started messing with the wheel here sitting on pit road. It’s a broken right-front suspension piece; so pretty substantial suspension component. So yeah, we’ve never had that happen. Probably just running really fast around here. But hopefully, we get it fixed and our Raptor Chevrolet had a lot of pace there. So I felt really good about our car. We just gotta run 20-25 laps. Luckily, it didn’t happen on entry, you know. It could have been a lot worse,” Byron said.

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It was initially reported that Byron would start the Kansas race at the back of the grid. But NASCAR later reversed the decision after determining that it was not a team issue, but an issue with the part. Therefore, the Hendrick Motorsports man will start from ninth on the grid, where he qualified.

Fans Unhappy With NASCAR Decision Favoring Hendrick Motorsports

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It was a confusing few hours for Hendrick Motorsports and William Byron fans. NASCAR first said that they would have to drop to the back of the grid. It then reversed the decision a few hours later. While the HMS fans were happy, others felt disappointed with the decision. They expressed their opinions on X (formerly Twitter).

“If it were any other organization they’d be starting from the back. I swear they give Hendrick whatever they want,” wrote one fan wrote.

“Rick spends more bribing NASCAR than on his team,” said another.

“Once again NASCAR playing games. Any other team wouldn’t get that kinda favorable outcome. 🤦‍♂️,” penned another user.

While a lot of the reaction was negative, there were some positive comments as well. Many fans supported HMS and William Byron as they defended their team and NASCAR’s decision.

“Oh boy. Can’t wait to hear more conspiracy theories about how Hendrick cheats. 🤦🏻‍♂️🙄,” said one user.

“Love the HMS cheating theories and NASCAR helping them. Guess the check didn’t clear in time for Chase to make the playoffs?” commented another.

Regardless of what happened with Byron, it will still be tough for the 25-year-old to make his way through the pack and win the race. Will he be able to do it? Let us know your thoughts.

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