"I feel really good about the future": When Rick Hendrick called Chase Elliott's long-awaited first win a shot in the arm for HMS

Chase Elliott's first Cup Series win at Watkins Glen in 2018 ended a 37-race drought for Hendrick Motorsports and gave them their 250th series victory. For Rick Hendrick, it arrived after a season of internal change and patient rebuilding, making the moment feel like a genuine turning point for the storied organization.

HMS was searching for its first win after 21 races heading into The Glen. The winter overhaul had been extensive: the No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick’s first Cup entry back in 1984, was retired. Chase Elliott’s No. 24 group adopted the famed No. 9, a sentimental nod to his Hall of Fame father Bill Elliott, who captured 38 Cup wins and the 1988 title with that number.

William Byron, fresh off an Xfinity championship, stepped into the renumbered No. 24 as Kasey Kahne departed. Jimmie Johnson remained in the No. 48, now paired with a younger roster, while Alex Bowman took over Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s old No. 88. The reshuffling went deeper than just cars.

(L-R) Rick Hendrick, Alex Bowman, Jimmie Johnson, and Chase Elliott, before 2018 Daytona 500. Source: Getty

Hendrick combined four separate race shops into a single facility, unifying personnel to streamline development on the new-generation Camaro. By August, they had yet to collect a win, an unfamiliar feeling for a group used to title runs. Rick Hendrick admitted that the journey required patience, via Motorsports.com:

"This is the right time to be closing the gap and building that momentum. I’m so proud of all the folks at Hendrick Motorsports for keeping their head down and working hard."

Those words reflected how every small gain mattered. Hendrick Motorsports entered the season with a new driver lineup of Elliott in the No. 9, Byron in the No. 24, Johnson in the No. 48, and Bowman in the No. 88. The Glen win validated months of engineering tweaks, simulator hours, and patient collaboration.

Rick Hendrick stressed that a single victory didn’t erase the uphill climb but finally offered concrete proof of progress:

"We had a lot of change, new drivers, young drivers, but I feel really good about the future. I feel good going into the playoffs. It’s going to be super competitive, but I think we know we still have a lot of work to do. This is going to motivate our people to just step it up again. It’s a great shot in the arm for the whole organization."

That optimism was justified. Chase Elliott followed Watkins Glen with wins at Dover and Kansas during the postseason, turning a winless first half into a season that hinted at HMS’s resurgence. While 2018 still fell short of the organization’s championship standard, morale shifted; the young core finally had momentum heading toward 2019.

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"I hated he had to wait this long": Rick Hendrick says after Chase Elliott broke through after 98 tries

Chase Elliott celebrates at Watkins Glen International in 2018. Source: Imagn

For Chase Elliott, Watkins Glen was relief wrapped in elation. Entering his third full-time season, he had logged eight runner-up finishes without sealing the deal. It also marked the 99th start of his Cup career. The parallels to Bill Elliott’s decorated No. 9 made each near-miss sting more.

Rick Hendrick voiced the frustration shared by the garage, via Motorsports:

"Chase is such a great young man and such a super, unbelievable driver and he should have had this win his first season. He should have about, I don’t know, seven or eight wins.

"I hated he had to wait this long, but boy what a show he put on pressing two of the best in the business and being up there all day and not making mistakes. He has got an awesome amount of talent."

The Glen race underlined that talent. Chase Elliott started in the second row but fell behind initially in Stage 1. He regrouped and controlled the tempo from Stage 2 onward and led a race-high 52 laps on the day. Over the final stretch, he held off Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch to win his first Cup Series race.

Momentum carried forward. Dover and Kansas fell Elliott’s way in the playoffs, making him the top-finishing Hendrick driver at sixth in the standings. For a team still rebuilding, those three wins were a foundation year rather than a struggle.