Chase Elliott’s early season success is just one of the bright spots for the Hendrick Motorsports organization in 2020. Three of its drivers are ranked among the top 10 in the standings – Elliott is third, 20 points behind leader Kevin Harvick. Alex Bowman – the Auto Club Speedway winner – is fourth, 26 points out. Jimmie Johnson is fifth, 33 points back and after a hard-knocks start to the season William Byron has broken into the top-20 and is part of a two-way tie with Bubba Wallace at 18th in the standings
It’s the first time the team has had three drivers ranked in the top 10 after four races since 2015 (Kasey Kahne, fourth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., sixth and Johnson, seventh).
Bowman has the early season victory and the one top five in four races. Elliott and Johnson each have a pair of top 10s and one top five. And Elliott leads the whole series in stage wins (three) and laps led (186). Bowman also has topped the 100-lap mark in laps led with 113.
And the best news for the organization is the success has been spread out. Elliott’s 17th-place finish in the season-opening Daytona 500 was the best for the team. Johnson’s fifth place at Las Vegas was tops. Bowman won at California. And Elliott (seventh) and Byron (10th) both had top-10 runs at Phoenix – the first top-10 finish of the year for Byron.
Heading to Darlington Raceway, the Hendrick Motorsports drivers are all looking to keep the 2020 momentum going this weekend. Byron was the 2019 Darlington pole winner and leads all active drivers in average starting position. Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in wins (three) and top fives (nine) at the South Carolina track. And Chase Elliott has posted one top five and two top 10s in five Cup Series starts at Darlington. Plus, he has a victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the track.
