Can Hendrick Motorsports be Considered the Red Bull Racing of NASCAR?

In any sport, there is always a period of dominance from one athlete or a team. Owing to this, records are created and broken, and the athlete or team achieves plenty of glory. In Formula One, the current dominant team for the last two years is Red Bull Racing. Meanwhile, on the NASCAR front, Hendrick Motorsports has been a perennial front-runner and dominant force. So the question is, is it fair to say that Hendrick Motorsports is the NASCAR equivalent of Red Bull Racing?

Between the two teams, HMS has a bit more seniority because it was founded in 1984. Meanwhile, Red Bull Racing was born from the ashes of the erstwhile Jaguar Racing team in 2005. Owing to the 20-year gap between them, HMS would have had more time to build up a legacy. In Red Bull’s relatively short career, they have produced seven Driver’s championships and six Constructors’ Championships.

The history of Red Bull Racing in Formula One

As mentioned before, Red Bull Racing made its debut in 2005, replacing Jaguar Racing. Of course, when they began, the team was not the powerhouse that it is today. In its first season, veteran driver David Coulthard netted some competitive results and often finished in the points. However, teammate Christian Klien only broke into the points on five occasions. Klien was substituted for Vitantonio Liuzzi for a few races before coming back and completing the season. Together, Coulthard, Klien and Liuzzi snatched a respectable 34 points to finish 7th in the standings.

However, the 2006 campaign was not better, as the team was plagued by multiple retirements. With just a solitary podium at Monaco as a consolation, Red Bull slumped to a worst points tally of a paltry 16 points. For the 2007 season, Coulthard welcomed a new teammate, in the form of Mark Webber. Sadly, the team’s performance did not improve, accumulating a mere 24 points all season. On the bright side, they did finish 5th in the championship, as the best of the rest, and they snagged another podium.

2008 brought yet another season of mediocrity, only offset by a 3rd consecutive podium in three years. However, 2009 brought about new regulations and a huge shake-up in the championship order. Red Bull ended up shocking the entire field by finishing 2nd in the championship, 19.5 points behind eventual champions, Brawn GP.

Since then, they went on to win four driver’s and constructor’s championships in a row, courtesy of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. Now, after a period of Mercedes dominance, Red Bull is back in front, with Max Verstappen at the helm. With their new golden goose, they have romped to three driver’s and two constructors’ championships.

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How successful has Hendrick Motorsports been in NASCAR?

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On the other end of the scale, Hendrick Motorsports has enjoyed a lot of success. In terms of driver’s championships, the team boasts of an astounding 14 in the Cup Series. Meanwhile, the organization has one Xfinity Series driver’s championship and three in the Truck Series. Like Red Bull, Hendrick Motorsports also registered two hot streaks in the Cup Series. As a matter of fact, from 1995 until 1998, HMS walked away with four driver titles.

Then from 2006 until 2010, five consecutive Cup Series titles were added to the Hendrick trophy cabinet, thanks to a certain Jimmie Johnson. Now, 2020 and 2021 witnessed Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson win for HMS, respectively. This season, Larson is in contention for his second title, and also joining him is teammate William Byron. The latter seems to be one of the favorites, as he is leading the 2023 championship standings and has six wins already.

How hard is it to dominate in NASCAR compared to Formula One?

Of course, HMS has not had the dominant season that Red Bull and Verstappen are currently enjoying. As it turned out, Red Bull and Max Verstappen have already wrapped up the 2023 Driver’s and Constructor’s titles. In fact, it is really hard for NASCAR drivers to dominate to a degree that they win nearly every race. And that mostly stems from the fact that everyone has more or less the same care during a NASCAR weekend.

The NASCAR driver, with the most consecutive wins, is none other than the legendary Richard Petty in 1967. He won at Bowman Gray Stadium, Columbia, Savannah, Darlington, Hickory, Richmond, Maryland, Hillsboro, Martinsville and North Wilkesboro.

The only active NASCAR driver with this kind of impressive win streak is Kyle Busch, but he did it in the Xfinity Series. Nevertheless, this is definitive proof that it is so difficult to dominate. This is why no one will be able to touch Petty’s 10-race winning streak for a long time. From a team perspective, the statistics definitely say that Hendrick Motorsports is one of the best teams in NASCAR. Currently, Red Bull is ruling the statistical roost in Formula One, but one has to wonder how long it will last.

Can anyone even challenge Hendrick Motorsports for wins and titles?

Currently, HMS’ closest rival is Joe Gibbs Racing, with five drivers championships in the Cup Series. The organization also won four Xfinity Series titles, as well as one in the ARCA Series. Joe Gibbs Racing also boasts 207 wins in the Cup Series, and counting, while Hendrick Motorsports has 300 and counting. HMS are so good that Josh Berry managed to snatch a Top 10 finish in just his second race for the organization in 2023.

At the time, he was substituting for an injured Chase Elliott and later finished in an impressive second place at Richmond. Another substitute, Jordan Taylor even finished in the Top 10 after the opening stage at Circuit of The Americas. What made Taylor’s feat so impressive was the fact that this was his NASCAR Cup Series debut.

As the 2023 Cup Series championship slowly draws to a close though, only Larson and Byron are in with a shot at the title. Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman squandered their chances with injuries and a one-race suspension for the former. At the moment, Byron is sitting pretty at the top of the standings, while Larson is fourth. However, both drivers are aware that they cannot afford to slack off, as one slip-up could spell disaster, such is the unpredictability of the Playoffs.

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