Is Hendrick's blueprint for success cracking at the worst possible time?

Hendrick Motorsports has a record of strong results and recent titles. The team holds 318 Cup Series race wins and 14 championships for owners and drivers. Kyle Larson's 2021 Cup championship marked their 14th in 27 seasons.

This season, William Byron added his name with back-to-back Daytona 500 wins. However, as they prepare to head to Gateway, the team appears to be faltering at an inopportune moment.

The Southern 500 proved a disaster for many of the NASCAR Cup playoff drivers, but particularly for Hendrick Motorsports. With two races left in the Round of 16, the team saw its worst-ever average finish (22) at Darlington.

HMS has the most wins (16) at the track. However, none of the four Hendrick cars finished better than 17th last weekend at the 1.366-mile "Too Tough to Tame" track. Chase Elliott finished best of the bunch but is only nine points clear of the cutoff line (six points above Shane van Gisbergen) in 11th place.

Alex Bowman, who started 29th, took the major blow. He suffered a pit stop delay due to a pit gun malfunction, which cost 40 seconds and dropped the No. 48 Chevy to the back of the field. The 31st-place finish left him 19 points below the playoff cutline and placed him 15th in the standings.

Meanwhile, Larson scored 12 stage points but came in 19th after suffering splitter damage during a late restart. Byron ended 21st. The No. 24 team's crew chief used the radio to say the team felt embarrassed. He also said they had to race harder or face a long off-season.

Vice President of Competition Chad Knaus later commented on the team's performance and told Motorsport.com:

"Our drivers were not able to turn into the corner as well as what they needed to carry the amount of speed they needed to. So, we have to get to work and see if we can try to figure out that balance issue and kind of move forward."

Bowman will have to win or collect 19 points in the following two races to move on to the Round of 12.

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How has Hendrick Motorsports fared at Gateway recently?

The second playoff race is set for World Wide Technology Raceway at 3 pm this Sunday (September 8). However, Hendrick Motorsports has struggled at the 1.25-mile oval. The team has just three total top-10s through 12 starts there, the fewest at any track with at least 12 runs.

Kyle Larson earned the team's best finish of 4th place in 2023 at Gateway after working up from 22nd and using a smart two-tire call late in the race. Last season, Larson again led Hendrick's cars by finishing 10th. Chase Elliott finished behind him in 11th, and Byron followed in 15th.