Hendrick Motorsports Hinders Michael Jordan’s Protege’s Playoff Chances

A technical road course isn’t Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing driver’s forte and that was evident at Watkins Glen. But what stunned the NASCAR nation was Rick Hendrick‘s youngest driver’s clinical performance as he squashed his teammate’s playoff hopes along with the MJ’s driver’s.

Leading over 60 laps on a complex and technical track at The Glen is no joke and in doing so, the #24 driver once again proved his versatility as a driver. However, the #24 driver’s stellar win simply added more fuel to the 23XI Racing camp’s tension as the race result felt more like a bomb equally for Chase Elliott and Bubba Wallace.

With the anticipated race in the rearview mirror, let us look at some interesting statistics as we head to Dayton for one last time before the playoffs.

William Byron’s outright domination has Michael Jordan’s driver hanging by the thread

First of all, nobody anticipated the action to go the way it did at Watkins Glen. While everyone gave NASCAR’s golden boy Chase Elliott a winning chance, given his exceptional road racing track record, William Byron defied all odds as he picked up his 5th win of the season.

The proud HMS camp now has 7 wins in total, with Kyle Larson’s 2 and William Byron‘s whopping 5 wins as they extend their dominant streak. However, while the 25-year-old sensation racked up his first-ever road course win, Bubba Wallace is now in a precarious position as his chances to make it to the playoffs got slimmer.

Though the driver is in the playoff bubble at the 16th spot with 590 points and 4 top-5 performances, as we reach Daytona for one last time before the playoffs, things could go either way. Given the unpredictability of races, especially on superspeedways, it’s anybody’s guess as the Cup Series paddock moves to Daytona.

While Byron’s win essentially took the veteran duo of Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick higher up the ladder, it made things trickier for Wallace, especially with the action heading to Daytona next week. Wallace who managed to sneak in the bubble using a smart strategy, picking off valuable points now seems like he has met his match. And if the HMS camps continue down the road, things will certainly become dire for the #23 driver who is eyeing his first-ever playoff berth.

READ MORE: “McDammit”: NASCAR World Heartbroken as Chase Elliott’s Playoff Threat Suffers Massive Setback

Byron’s impressive performance amidst his teammate’s tragic fate

Much like Elliott’s Indy run, things did not pan out well for the 2020 Cup Series champion. Elliott who is yet the party, still chasing his first win of the season yet again fell short at Glen, making his playoff hopes essentially go down the drain.

With the points game now out of the question, Elliott desperately needed a win to secure his playoff berth but to add to his misery not only did his teammate, Byron get the win but Elliott finished the race at an agonizing 32nd spot despite giving his fans a sigh of hope early in the race.

A poor team strategy could take the fall as the #9 Chevy ran out of fuel amidst the battle and had to be pushed to the pit lane, giving away invaluable track position and losing precious lap time. Now with the action heading to Dayton even the driver is not sure of his chances as he himself stated that winning at NASCAR’s crown jewel track and blasting it into the playoffs seems like betting it on a lottery.

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On the other hand, Byron claimed his 5th win of the season and his first-ever road course win, dishing out an outright dominant performance. While it was Indy conqueror Michael McDowell who aced Stage 1 of the race, Byron brilliantly capitalized on the #34 driver’s pit lane slip, acing the 2nd stage, and later went on to win the race.