Rick Hendrick’s Trouble Doubles as Star Driver Is Barred From Qualifying

Marred by the rainy wrath of most races, NASCAR’s 2023 season has been a passionate roller coaster. While teams like Joe Gibbs Racing and now RFK Racing have emerged as chart toppers, Hendrick Motorsports’ glory days now seem to be a thing of the past.

Fueling HMS’ bad luck was the disappointing show at Michigan that saw three of its drivers bow out of the FireKeepers Casino 400. While Chase Elliott has only competed in two road course events in 2023, his statistics have been impressive. He has finished in the top five in both races and this season, he has completed the sixth-most laps of any driver (79) inside the top five.

With NASCAR rolling into The Brickyard for the upcoming race, Rick Hendrick’s troubles have now been doubled as William Byron has been barred from the qualifying round.

William Byron serves a pass-through penalty for not meeting body scan standards for #24 Chevy

While Chase Elliott’s lackluster performance was the talk of the town, William Byron’s performance propelled HMS into the limelight. Collecting four wins throughout the season, Byron led the points for most of the season but lost the lead to JGR’s Martin Truex Jr. Locked into the playoffs, the #24 driver had his eyes set on the regular-season championship title.

Handed a DNF at Michigan for crashing out of the FireKeepers Casino 400 during Stage 1, William Byron’s regular-season championship run is now in jeopardy. As NASCAR rolled into Indianapolis, setting up camp for the upcoming Cup Series race, Byron’s lousy luck once again returned to ruin Mr.H’s day.

Lined up in Indianapolis’ garage area, William Byron’s #24 Chevy failed to pass the pre-race inspection not once but three times. The problem area was identified as the right front fender, which didn’t meet the body scan standards.

Choosing to pass on a fourth scan, Hendrick Motorsports’ Car Chief Tyler Jones was then ejected for the weekend, while William Byron was barred from the qualifying round. Although allowed to participate in practice, the #24 HMS star will perform a pass-through penalty during Indy’s Cup Series race. With Rick Hendrick’s Cup Series troubles doubling, HMS President Jeff Andrews put out a statement.

As reported by Bob Pockrass, Jeff Andrews said, “We have a lot of respect for the processes and the tolerances. We work hard to make sure our cars that are within that when we get to the track. This was an instance where we were close, we attempted to fix it and it (initially) did not get closer.”

Watch This Story: HMS Legend Exposes “Disrespect” Towards Rick Hendrick’s Most Underrated Driver

Apart from William Byron’s inspection failure drama, a NASCAR insider has predicted Chase Elliott’s absence from the playoff.

Chase Elliott will start P3 at Indianapolis

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At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, Hendrick Motorsports qualified first with Chase Elliott in the driver’s seat. For the 82-lap main event, the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will take the green flag in third place.

However, unable to turn his luck around at Michigan after a flat tire ended his day early, Chase Elliott was once again in the spotlight last week, albeit for the wrong reasons. Throughout the season, Elliott has been battling poor performance, with the majority of the racing community questioning his playoff ability. 

Adding herself to the list of people who have seemingly lost playoff hopes for Chase Elliott, NASCAR insider Kim Coon had a lot to say regarding the #9 HMS team. Speaking on the Motorsports on NBC podcast, Coon said, “I just have not seen that kind of strength and performance from them this season. The Cup field is just too deep, there are too many other players that are so much stronger than the #9 team and so I think this is the year where we do not see Chase (Elliott) in the playoff field.”

In the last round of qualifying in Indianapolis, Elliott was joined by Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman. Larson had the sixth-fastest lap time of the final practice for the No. 5 HendrickCars.com car. After Saturday’s disqualification, William Byron, the No. 24 entry, was penalized with the loss of a crew member, the loss of pit selection, and the inability to record a qualifying lap after failing technical inspection three times on Friday. In addition, Byron will have to serve a pass-through penalty at the start of the race on Sunday and will exit 39th at “The Brickyard.”

Read More: “There Is Nothing Telling Me This Team Is Ready To Go Win a Race” – NASCAR Legend Bashes Chase Elliott As He Declares the Road Course King Has Lost It’s Crown

With Hendrick Motorsports now in a precarious position, can William Byron and Chase Elliott redeem themselves after the constant barrage of setbacks?