Dale Jr. backs Hendrick Motorsports to bounce back after Darlington: "Rick Hendrick has a unique ability"

Hendrick Motorsports experienced a disappointing start to their playoff campaign as all four drivers finished outside of the top 15 at Darlington. Chase Elliott finished 17th, Kyle Larson 19th, William Byron in 21st, and Alex Bowman in 31st place.

However, heading into the second race of the Round of 16, Hendrick Motorsports are all set for a turnaround, as per Dale Earnhardt Jr. During the latest episode of the Dale Jr. Download, Earnhardt touched on HMS' disappointing Darlington result and its implications on Gateway.

"I don't expect to see that to happen next week. You know why? Rick Hendrick has an unique ability to call everybody in on the carpet and ask for things to get better and they always get better... He just has a way of making everybody go grab a little bit more gear, go dig a little bit harder. When you think that there's nothing else to find, there's not another 2% or 5% to learn, they go and get it," he described. [48:20]

Earnhardt admitted that no team stays on top forever, as even the best teams are bound to have "really rough days." However, he claimed he has been in that room after a race like Darlington, where the Hendrick Motorsports boss says what he has to say.

And that ends up influencing the teams to go out there and make sure they're not the weak link and the reason why the organization doesn't succeed in the next race.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. paints the picture at Hendrick Motorsports after a disappointing race

Further sharing his thoughts on what the aftermath of a bad weekend is like at Hendrick Motorsports, Dale Earnhardt Jr. painted the picture on the Monday morning.

"The whole place getting together and you're just all like, 'What the f, right? What are we doing?' On top of that, you put the big boss man in the room and ain't nobody talking. It's quiet. And he's probably going to say the first words in the meeting and he's probably going to say the last words in the meeting. And in some point, he's going to tell everybody to figure it out," Earnhardt described. [49:20]

He revealed that Rick Hendrick would challenge everyone in his shop to make a gain while having the information and data to back it all up.

When asked whether Rick Hendrick gets loud or remains very stern, Dale Jr. said he remains "super calm." But at the same time, his tone remains very serious as he expresses his disappointment in not wanting to be a loser and a failure.

Earnhardt Jr. claimed his address turns out to be "pretty impactful."