Hendrick Trio Leading Fierce Regular Season Points Battle

CONCORD, N.C. – Chase Elliott is the current “King of the Hill” in the NASCAR Cup Series, as Hendrick Motorsports remains at the top of the heap in the waning stages of the regular season.

Setting the standard for excellence, the winningest organization in the sport’s history finds itself exactly where it should be with four races until the playoffs – owning the top three spots in the standings.

But even for a team with a rich lineage and a successful reputation spanning over a quarter-century, it’s a feat that feels highly improbable, given the state of the competition at the Cup Series level and the difficulty that comes with the increased parity provided by the seventh-generation car.

What makes Hendrick Motorsports’ sweep atop the current points even more impressive is the fact they’ve only found victory lane once over the last 10 races, not to mention just one of their four drivers is a multi-race winner through 22 starts.

It’s a testament to the team’s season-long consistency, which point-leader Elliott has been a model for over his last two campaigns at NASCAR’s top level.

Elliott ended 2024 seventh in the standings with just one win, following his first full season back from injury due to a snowboarding accident the year prior. However, he maintained the best average-finishing position through 36 starts at 11.7 – a trend that’s now carried over into his 10th Cup campaign.

After 22 starts, Elliott’s 10.1 average not only leads the series, it’s more than two spots better than next-best Christopher Bell at Joe Gibbs Racing. In fact, his lowest-finishing position of 20th came five months ago in the second race of the season.

Having recently scored his first win of 2025 in thrilling fashion at his home track of EchoPark Speedway, the former champion appears to finally be back at full strength. Elliott found himself atop the standings following a dominant performance at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway and hasn’t relinquished it yet, despite a 13th-place day in the Brickyard 400.

As a result, Elliott finds himself in position to win the regular-season title – and the crucial bonus points that come with it – for the first time since 2022.

“ I'm really proud of everybody at HMS,” Elliott said. “I think, as a company, I feel like we've been doing a good job and working on the right things with our cars and just putting a lot of emphasis on all the details, like we always have. It's a pleasure to go to work for the boss and have the opportunities that I've had throughout my career.

“It's a testament to the people there that show up to work every day and want to put the effort in during the week to allow us to have success on the weekends. At the end of the day, it really is all about the people and the boss; he gives all of us the resources and the opportunity that we need to go out and be successful. That's really all you can ask for, truthfully.”

Sitting just four points behind Elliott in the standings is the driver who held the top spot for 17 weeks, two-time reigning Daytona 500 winner William Byron.

The only thing more surprising than Byron’s sole win this year coming in the season opener is the fact that he’s managed to cling onto the second spot as of late – the deepest the No. 24 team has been in the standings through 22 races.

For a bulk of his eighth full-time bid, Byron looked like he may be the driver to beat for the championship. Despite just one win thus far, the 2018 rookie of the year has had enough speed to account for at least three more victories.

The driver of the No. 24 dominated the Goodyear 400 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, but left with only a pair of runner ups to show for them. That’s also excluding Michigan Int’ Speedway, where he ran out of fuel from the lead on the final lap.

Now, over his last five starts, Byron has racked up three DNFs after none in his first 17 races, with a best finish of eighth in that span, a renewal of the summer slump that has plagued the 27-year-old throughout his young Cup career.

Even with his recent misfortune and ugly results, Byron has still had the speed to contend, with the second-most laps led in the series to go along with his runner-up points ranking.

“I feel like our speed and execution was really good in the spring, just collectively as a group – probably more so our team,” Byron said. “We had a lot of speed, really from the start. Once we got through Daytona (Int’l Speedway), that [momentum] carried through early June, and I think we've still had pace the last few weeks.

“It’s just been a little bit more difficult to hit the balance lately. We maybe haven’t had as good a pace as the elite cars on the racetrack, but we're still right there. Just a couple little mistakes and things here and there have hurt us.

“But I feel like we’re in a good spot and all the teams are executing really well.”

Shockingly, the driver at Hendrick Motorsports with the most wins – often regarded as the “best modern-day racer” in the world – is third-ranked Kyle Larson, 15 points behind Elliott.

With series-best marks in laps led with 873, top 10s with 14 and the second-most wins with three, it’s not a stretch to say Larson has been the most successful of the Hendrick stable this season. However, there’s a certain volatility associated with the speed and former champion’s highly competitive nature.

There have been numerous occasions where, instead of settling for a top five, Larson pushed the boundaries and played himself out of a quality finish and a good points day. It’s led to seven results outside the top 15, including a pair of DNFs.

Regardless, Larson has once again asserted himself as one of the top title contenders in the field.

Riding back-to-back top five finishes, most recently a runner-up at Indianapolis (Ind.) Motor Speedway, he’s found a way to stay five points ahead of four-time season winner Denny Hamlin.

Over any other driver in the field, there’s arguably no one more aware of the importance of winning the regular-season title than Larson. Last year, he lost by one point to Tyler Reddick, who then went onto make the Championship 4, while Larson was met with a Round of 8 exit.

“ I think we’re definitely one of the top few (teams), as we’ve been for a long time,” Larson said. “It’s been great to see the consistency throughout Hendrick Motorsports here this year. To be this deep into the season and have three of the four cars in the top three [in points], I think is awesome.

“Currently all four are in the playoffs, so we’re all proud of that, but you want to strive to be better and you're always searching to be better, as is every team. This is a critical point of the season, and we can continue to – for us anyways with the No. 5 team –get back to the speed that we had a couple months ago.”

As for the fourth driver at HMS, Alex Bowman is currently a respectable ninth in the standings, but just 63 points above the playoff cut line in the second of three spots available after Bubba Wallace’s victory last weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

With four races until the postseason begins, from Elliott in first to Hamlin in fourth is just 20 points, meaning the regular-season title battle is wide open.

While Hendrick Motorsports has the upper hand, Joe Gibbs Racing is not to be slept on.

Not only does Hamlin lead the series in wins with four, the Toyota stable also has the most combined with eight when adding in Bell’s three and Chase Briscoe’s at Pocono (Penn.) Raceway, who’s been one of the hottest drivers as of late.

That’s also excluding the recent resurgence of In-Season Challenge winner Ty Gibbs, who is still seeking the first win of his Cup Series career.

Over the next four races, the only track Hendrick Motorsports or Joe Gibbs Racing hasn’t won at is Iowa Speedway, where Byron and Elliott placed second and third last year, respectively.

The top four drivers in points have all won at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Int’l, while Hamlin, Larson or Byron have also won between Richmond (Va.) Raceway and Daytona.

But next up is the Iowa Corn 350 on Sunday, Aug. 3 at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA, the Motor Racing Network, and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

And, at least right now, which of the top quartet will leave ‘corn country’ with control of the regular season  is anyone’s guess.