At certain points in the 2024 season, it looked to be Hendrick Motorsports’ championship to lose. Each of their drivers won a race, earning their respective spots into the playoffs. Once the ROVAL wrapped up, the Round of 8 field looked to be half Hendrick drivers. However, things took a turn during the inspection process. From there, the final few races felt muddled as Hendrick struggled to put one driver in the Championship Four. Will the late season gaffe hurt Hendrick Motorsports overall grade in this year’s Season in Review?
#5 – Kyle Larson
2024 Stat Line:Â 35 Starts –Â 6 Wins, 15 Top-5s, 18 Top-10s, 5 Poles, 1,699 Laps Led, Avg Fin: 12.92
Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
Drivers Points Ranking: 6;Â Owner Points Ranking: 6
Notable Results: Won first 2 elimination races; Won Brickyard 400 after Memorial Day double doom; Dominated Bristol Night Race by leading 462 laps
Returning to the Championship Four last year, Kyle Larson fell victim to the Team Penske onslaught at Phoenix. This season, Larson carried high expectations. However, the most significant weekend for the Hendrick driver would be his attempt to pull the double during Memorial Day weekend. Announced last year, Kyle Larson would attempt the Indy 500 then scurry back to Charlotte to run the Coca-Cola 600. Nothing on the initial calendar would outweigh the pomp and circumstance of that weekend.
Still, there was a Cup season to divulge in before hitting late May. Larson would pick up 2 early wins at Las Vegas and Kansas to start his most dominate season since 2021. Through the first 13 races, Larson would lead 648 laps (17% of his laps ran). It would be an early indication of what his entire season would be. As for his Indy 500 run, things got off to a great start during his qualifying efforts. During NASCAR’s All-Star weekend, Larson managed to make headlines in IndyCar as he advanced to the final round of qualifying. Ultimately, he would start 5th for the Indy 500.
Indy Nightmare to RedemptionÂ
What was supposed to be a historic day turned into a disaster for Kyle Larson. Rain delayed the start of the Indy 500, putting Larson and Hendrick in a tough predicament. If Larson still ran the Indy 500, he would be late for the start of the Coca-Cola 600. With all the time, money, and effort put into the Indy run, Larson remained in Indianapolis to run the Indy 500. He did admirably, with a late race speeding penalty jeopardizing a Top-5 finish. Upon completion of the Indy 500, Larson raced to Concord to finish the 600.
However, weather became an issue at Charlotte Motor Speedway. As Kyle Larson arrived to a huge ovation, rain spoiled the party. Despite his best efforts, Larson was unable to run a single lap of the rain/weather-shortened Coca-Cola 600.
This led to an extraordinary discussion about whether Kyle Larson would be granted a waiver for the season. Despite NASCAR handing them out like candies, their ire with Larson for choosing Indy over them pushed them to consider revoking the waiver. Ultimately, cooler heads prevailed and Larson was granted his playoff waiver.
Fast forward to NASCAR’s return to the Indy oval. Hendrick Motorsports brought back the paint scheme from the double attempt. With that redemptive scheme on, Larson managed to pull out the win in the Brickyard 400. While the double attempt still lingers as a negative, closing the 2024 chapter of Indy with that win had to be satisfying. Now, an eye will look toward NASCAR to see if a new rule change will implemented about drivers pulling the double. Remember, Kyle Larson is attempting it again in 2025.
2024 Grade: A-
For many, Kyle Larson was the driver of 2024. He led the Cup Series in wins (6) and laps led (1,699). His laps led total is more than 500 more laps than the second driver. Once again, Larson demonstrated his ability to dominate races throughout the year. Also, he demonstrated the ability to throw away races via over-aggression, pit road gaffes, and critical mistakes. Every season, it feels that you can point to at least 3-4 more races that Larson could/should have won.
Out of the laps he ran this season, Larson led a staggering 18.8% of them. In the NextGen era, it is difficult to see weekly race-winning speed from these teams. Larson and the 5 team seem to be the exception to the rule. Obviously, he best performance came during the Bristol Night Race, where Larson led 462 of the 500 laps enroute to victory.
With all that said though, Larson’s 2024 ended on a whimper. In the Round of 8, his first two races were plagued with issues. Whether it was pit road, flat tires, or driver error, Larson constantly overcame adversity. At Martinsville, the team put a valiant effort to get Larson through to Phoenix, but he simply did not have the car to compete.
2025 Outlook
Can Kyle Larson replicate his 2021 season in the NextGen car? Honestly, that question could be directed toward anyone in NASCAR. However, it feels that Larson has the best shot at putting up another double-digit win season. Outside of superspeedways, there is no track on the schedule where you would not feel comfortable picking Kyle Larson to win. Similar to last year, the mistakes are the only thing that stands in the way of this team rattling off more wins.
Outside of the NASCAR world, it will be interesting to see how 2025’s attempt at the Indy/NASCAR double will go down. Surely, NASCAR will update their waiver rule to prohibit one of their drivers from choosing the Indy 500 over the Coca-Cola 600 again. For the sake of the motorsports world, the weather better be flawless in Indianapolis that day. The attention that Larson received during his IndyCar run was amazing for NASCAR and IndyCar. That type of publicity does not happen often, so both series will hope to benefit from it more this year compared to last
#9 – Chase Elliott
2024 Stat Line:Â 36 Starts – 1 Win, 11 Top-5s, 19 Top-10s, 1 Pole, Avg Fin: 11.72
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
Driver Points Ranking: 7;Â Owner Points Ranking: 7
Notable Results: Won Texas race; Led the Cup Series in average finish; Top-20 streak to start season (until Chicago)
Off the back of season where Chase Elliott missed 7 races and the playoffs, the goal for 2024 was to return to winning ways. Whether it was injury related or not, Elliott simply lacked winning speed last year. Overshadowed by his two teammates, NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver needed to find victory lane quickly to quash down that narrative. Luckily for him, he did. In the 9th race of the season, Elliott brought the Hooters machine to victory lane in Texas. That win would carry more significance than initially thought, as this will be Hooters last win with Elliott (or NASCAR) as they depart Hendrick Motorsports.
Also, it would mark Elliott’s only win of the season. Although the 9 team was not winning, they were the epitome of consistency. To kick off the year, Elliott rattled off 21 straight races of Top-20 results. Through the entire regular season, only summer Daytona marked a time where Elliott did not finish in the Top-21. While impressive, the concerns over Elliott’s lack of winning speed were still there. Consistency is great, but the goal for the 9 team is racking up wins. It was another season where Elliott failed to do so. To be fair, only Kyle Larson was checking that box for Hendrick throughout the season.
2024 Grade: B
In today’s NASCAR, consistency is not rewarded as kindly as winning. Despite having the best average finish, Chase Elliott had an uphill climb throughout the playoffs due to his limited playoff points. Through the entire season, Elliott only won 2 stages to go with his 1 race win. Elliott usually ran between 6th and 10th, a far cry from what you expect from this team. Consistency is appreciated here, but it is difficult to grade higher than a B when NASCAR does not reward it as well.
To the credit of the 9 team, they found better speed during the Round of 8. Unlike most of the season, Elliott drove one of the best cars on track at Homestead and Martinsville. In both races, Elliott led at least a quarter of the laps ran that day. Both times were due to raw speed rather than offsetting pit strategies by Alan Gustafson. If the 9 team can harness that for next year, perhaps NASCAR can see Elliott have his first multi-win season since 2022.
2025 Outlook
Certainly, there is no hotseat under Chase Elliott next year. However, there will be pressure to bring home wins. Chase Elliott is a driver talented enough to win multiple races every season. 2023 got excused over the injury. Last year, you can point to his average finish and rely on that to cloud the lack of winning. 2025 will not get those luxuries. Winning multiple races will be the expectation and the 9 team is perfectly capable of delivering on that. If not, Elliott might be getting paired with a new crew chief come 2026.
#24 – William Byron
2024 Stat Line:Â 36 Starts – 3 Wins, 13 Top-5s, 21 Top-10s, 1 Pole, Avg Fin: 12.94
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Driver Points Ranking: 3;Â Owner Points Ranking: 3
Notable Results: Won the Daytona 500 and spring Martinsville during Hendrick’s 40th Anniversary; Advanced to second straight Championship Four
Coming off his first Championship Four appearance in 2023, William Byron maintained that momentum early in 2024. In Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th Anniversary season, Byron nabbed the team’s first Daytona 500 win since Dale Earnhardt Jr in 2014. From there, Byron would pick up a win at COTA before grabbing another milestone win for Hendrick. For the spring Martinsville race, all 4 Hendrick cars were adorned with a ruby scheme to honor Hendrick Motorsports’ debut. With those schemes, Hendrick would finish 1-2-3 as Byron picked up his second grandfather clock.
At that point, Byron looked to be a championship favorite. Plus, his 9 wins between the two seasons started conversation about putting him in the top tier of Cup Series drivers. However, Byron slipped back into his usual summertime malaise. From Texas through the end of the regular season, Byron would average a 16.21 finish with 8 Top-10s in 19 races. For comparison, Byron had 5 Top-10s with an average finish of 11.25 through the first 8.
Closing Strong
William Byron still did not find his footing through the first round of the playoffs. After a Top-10 at Atlanta, he followed it with a 34th and 17th in the final two races. His playoff point stack would mean he would be a tough out until the Round of 8, but it was disappointing to see Byron take a huge step back from his early season form.
Once the Round of 12 started, no one drove more consistently than Byron. Over the final 7 races of the season, Byron finished no worse than 6th. Granted, that 6th place finish at Martinsville has a huge asterisks marked next to it. Still, 6 of the final 7 results for the 24 team were Top-5s. Only once did Byron run more than 15% of his laps outside the Top-15 as well, which was at Talladega. Not only was Byron getting solid finishes, his average stage finish during this time was 5.57. Although he did not win a race during this stretch, his final 7 races were arguably the best stretch from any driver during the season.
Martinsville Controversy
Obviously, the black cloud that hangs over William Byron’s playoff run will be Martinsville. For the second straight season, Byron’s Championship Four hopes were threatened by an ill-handling car in the closing laps. With Christopher Bell trapped a lap down, Byron had to ensure he did not lose enough spots to slip below the cutline. However, the problem was that Bryon was on older tires and losing time quickly. After Denny Hamlin passed him for 5th, he only remained 1 point ahead of Bell, who held the tiebreaker over him. In stepped his Chevy teammates to save the day.
Once Hamlin got around Byron, the next two in line were Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain. Clearly, the message was sent to form a blockade around Byron to prevent him from losing a spot. With Bell having no one to pass, this would ensure Byron’s spot in the Championship Four. NASCAR did not take kindly to this, but only penalized Trackhouse and Richard Childress Racing (from the Chevy camp). Despite being the benefactors of clear manufacturer-based manipulation, Hendrick Motorsports and the 24 team were able to keep their Championship Four spot after Christopher Bell was penalized for a wall-ride.
Grade:Â B+
It is difficult to follow a career season with something that matches it. However, the start of 2024 looked to be a continuation of 2023’s success. 3 wins at 3 different styled tracks bode well for Byron’s championship aspirations. Yet, he could not avoid his most glaring issue in his Cup career: the middle months. Lackluster would be an accurate way to describe it, especially without the occasional win thrown in to boost the numbers.
With that said, the overall season was another successful one. Byron won multiple races, advanced to the Championship Four, and flashed elite talent that both entices and frustrates his fans. If he could maintain his best paces throughout an entire 36 race season, he could put together a double-digit win season. That is the next step in his progression as a driver.
2025 Expectations
At this point, William Byron falls into the “championship or bust” category of expectations. For 3 straight seasons, Byron has picked up multiple wins. In the NextGen era, Byron has made the Round of 8 each year. The next forward step he can make is to hoist the Bill France Cup. Outside of that, the other goal for 2025 would be to avoid that mid-season slumber.
#48 – Alex Bowman
2024 Stat Line:Â 36 Starts – 1 Win, 7 Top-5s, 17 Top-10s, 1 Pole, Avg Fin: 14.78
Crew Chief: Blake Harris
Driver Points Ranking: 9;Â Owner Points Ranking: 9
Notable Results: Won Chicago Street Course; Disqualification at ROVAL leads to elimination from playoffs
Last year, it was noted that Alex Bowman’s 2023 was a tale of two season: pre and post injury. Before getting injured, Bowman was on-pace to have Chase Elliott’s 2024 season. Bowman consistently ran inside the Top-10 but seldomly felt as if he was going to win a race based on pure speed. Once returning from injury, Bowman was a shell of his himself and struggled through the end of the season. For the 2024, the goal was to establish that his poor end to the previous season was due to the recovering back. How well did he manage to push that narrative? Well…
A Tale of the Sporadic Season
The year almost started off perfectly with a Daytona 500 win. However, a quick-triggered caution and a scoring loop read prevented Bowman from going to Daytona’s victory lane. From there, Bowman seemed to match every good race with a mediocre/bad one. Almost win the Daytona 500? Back it up with 2 lousy finishes. Score back-to-back Top-5s? Be the forgotten Hendrick driver at Martinsville and wreck out at Texas. Have a streak of 4 Top-10s heading into the All-Star weekend? Finish 6th in the Open and fail to make the main event.
This continued throughout the regular season. Even after winning Chicago, Bowman would follow it up (after finishing 3rd at Pocono) by closing out the final 5 regular season races without a Top-15. Picked as an early playoff exit, there were little expectations for Bowman heading into the final 10 races.
With those low expectations, Alex Bowman turned into a machine. While still lacking race winning speed, Bowman rattled off 4 straight races of scoring 31 or more points. He easily pointed his way through the Round of 16. That continued in the Round of 12, where Bowman looked set to join his Hendrick comrades in the Round of 8. However, his playoff run was upended by a disqualification at the ROVAL. Due to being underweight, Bowman’s results were thrown out and he slipped below the cutline. Joey Logano needs to send the 48 team a Christmas card this year.
2024 Grade:Â C-
Although Alex Bowman won a race and made the playoffs, he still sits as the black sheep of the Hendrick Motorsports team. Entering the season as a potential hotseat candidate, Bowman definitely received attention from NASCAR media about his silly season status. For a few weeks toward the end of the regular season, Bowman regularly received questions about his standing with Hendrick. No matter how confidently he or Hendrick Motorsports answered, people doubted his ride safety.
His 2024 season will have done little quell those silly season rumblings. Yes, Bowman put up career bests in Top-5s, Top-10s, and DNFs. On paper, it is difficult to think this could be considered a mediocre year. However, expectations are raised when you drive for Hendrick Motorsports. Bowman either has fallen short or barely met those expectations, which has led to silly season questions over the past few seasons. Bowman clearly ranks 4th out of 4 in the Hendrick camp. Unless his performance drastically improves, he might not be long for that ride.
2025 Outlook
In last year’s Season in Review, Alex Bowman’s hotseat status was called into question. Ultimately, it turned out to be nothing but smoke for the 2025 season. However, smoke eventually leads to fire. That fire is directly under Bowman’s seat. Early season success will be crucial for Bowman to keep his ride with Hendrick Motorsports. It seems clear that the team has their eye on one of the young Spire Motorsports Cup drivers. Carson Hocevar seems to be the next in line, supported by Hocevar posting to X images of him racing near Hendrick cars.
— Carson Hocevar (@CarsonHocevar) November 16, 2024
Hendrick Motorsports Grade: B
New year, same grade for Hendrick Motorsports. As mentioned in the introduction, this season looked to be a sure-fire Hendrick championship. All four drivers were in the Round of 8 for a moment. If they were able to keep half the field, it would have been likely they could have assumed at least 2 Championship Four spots. However, Alex Bowman’s DQ turned the tide of the final four races.
Hendrick Motorsports racked up 11 wins on the season, easily topping the sport. Consistently, at least one of their drivers finds a way to be running for the win. Heading into next season, there is no question that Hendrick will again be favorites to put multiple drivers into the Championship Four. The only question will be whether they can keep the Team Penske duo out in order to break their streak. Also, silly season eyes will be fixated on the 48 team, as those rumors will likely not die down until a move is made or Alex Bowman gets off to a quick start.
For other 2024 Season in Review articles, click the link(s) below:
Robert Cwick: Team Penske
Griffin Fuller: 23XI Racing
Daniel Smith (statistical reviews): Team Penske/Wood Brothers
