"What the hell happened": NASCAR Insider left shocked after Hendrick Motorsports' disappointing playoff opener

Hendrick Motorsports' quadrant of Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Alex Bowman all began their playoffs with an underwhelming result. In the first playoff race at Darlington, Elliott finished 17th, Larson 19th, Byron 21st, and Bowman in 31st position.

Following the race, NASCAR Insiders Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi commented on the disappointing start for Rick Hendrick's organization. Gluck claimed that the one thing that wasn't cool in Darlington was the performance of Hendrick Motorsports, which he deemed 'fairly shocking.'

"What the hell happened? In the spring race, William Byron was as dominant as Briscoe was. Although he didn't win thanks to green flag pit strategy, but led 243 laps. When he was on with media day for us, he was very optimistic. He was going to be able to come out there and perform. And then he was really running outside the top 10 most of the night.

"I think he might have finished 10th in stage two. But other than that he was like running 15th or something and then he ends up finishing 21st. Kyle Larson was the top running Hendrick driver for a lot of the night but even that was like 12th or something for a while. He ends up fading to 19th," Gluck elaborated.

Gluck claimed that the standards for the #5 team are 'much higher' than for others. Following that, he shifted his attention to Hendrick Motorsports' most popular driver, Chase Elliott.

According to Gluck, the #9 team had a good strategy, but then, because of a caution, they had to pit late and ended up with a bad pit stop. As for Bowman, the Teardown co-host said that he had a poor qualifying and got caught up in the first wreck before his disastrous pit stop, which lasted 40 seconds.

"So, really just all through the organization to have zero Hendrick cars in the top 15 at Darlington in the first playoff race," Gluck added.

"Really bad start from Hendrick Motorsports": NASCAR Insiders analyze team's chances

Further sharing his thoughts on Hendrick Motorsports' performance at Darlington, Jeff Gluck mentioned how Alex Bowman finished two laps down in 31st was "a total miss." He then remarked how it was expected of Hendrick Motorsports to be solid at Darlington, but now they're worried about Gateway.

"Darlington was a miss and then they still have to go through Gateway. This is really, really bad start for Hendrick Motorsports," Jeff Gluck claimed.

Adding to Gluck's point, Jordan Bianchi said that in many ways, their Darlington performance was 'a microcosm' representation of their season so far.

Following that, Bianchi mentioned that Elliott's Achilles Heel this year has been his qualifying results because of which he's had to play catch-up in many races. In the case of Bowman, he said the #48 driver has had speed at times, but hasn't put himself in the right positions.

Bianchi gave Larson 'a little bit of a pass,' as the #5 driver finished well in the first two stages at Darlington. Moreover, he remarked that Toyota was clearly the superior manufacturer of the three in the race. In fact, Bianchi said that for a long time, Larson was the best non-Toyota driver and looked like a real challenger until some damage affected his chances.

"We have said that a lot about the #5 team this year, fast race car positions, but they don't always get the finishes because they don't execute or things are happening or that kind of thing. And that's again the thing tonight," Bianchi added.

As for the youngest driver of Hendrick Motorsports, William Byron, the NASCAR insider said that he spoke to his crew chief after the race, and he was 'mystified.' Bianchi claimed that while the #24 team was expected to take 'that big step' and capitalize, they stumble at times with the chances they get, just like Darlington.