So much for all that parity.
Young Gen, Middle Gen, Old Gen or Next Gen … it doesn’t matter to the fellas over at Hendrick Motorsports.
Through three races this season (two, really), it appears it’s gonna take a little more than some pesky new car to slow down the HMS train.
“The depth of people and how good each and every person is there pays off,” said Alex Bowman, whose two-tire gamble (surprisingly) paid off Sunday at Las Vegas.
“We’re here with a new race car that has completely changed everything in our industry, from how they work on it, how they build it. Everything I touch is different, the pedals, shifter, the steering. Obviously it’s paying off, how good everybody is at HMS. I think we’re in a pretty good spot.”
Gee, Alex, ya think?!
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Alex Bowman outruns Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson in NASCAR overtime
Yes, the HMS guys have been fast. But Bowman probably wasn’t the best of the bunch at Vegas (shockingly, that was Kyle Larson). Frankly, Bowman wasn’t even the best car on the final overtime restart.
Don’t take my word for it, either.
“Yeah, I mean, I think the 18 (Kyle Busch) and the 19 (Martin Truex Jr.) were better than us at the end,” said Bowman, who restarted on the front row thanks to the two-tire stop. “Like, if the caution doesn’t come out, I think I was going to get the 1 (Ross Chastain), so probably finish third.”
Kyle Busch unleashes expletive-filled tirade over Bowman win
The caution did come out, though, and Bowman and Larson, among others, took two tires.
Those two restarted out front, and held off the always-cheery Kyle Busch to keep Hendrick’s West Coast train chugging.
OK Rowdy. Tell us how you feel!
“The same (expletive) guy that backs into every (expletive) win that he ever (expletive) gets, backs into another (expletive) win. (Expletive)! (Expletive)!” Busch radioed to his crew after the race.
Okeedokee! Moving on.
Ross Chastain impressive at Las Vegas
While the usual suspects were battling it out at the end, there were once again some new faces up front for the second week in a row.
NASCAR’s Most Popular Watermelon Farmer (sorry Chase!), Ross Chastain, led a race-high 83 laps as Trackhouse Racing was impressive once again on Sunday. Aric Almirola and Tyler Reddick finished sixth and seventh, Michael McDowell led four laps and Corey LaJoie finished 15th.
All that coming a week after Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez were both impressive at Fontana.
The same guys may be winning, but it’s pretty clear that this new car, at least for now, has some new players up front.
“I think there have definitely been people that have surprised people,” Bowman said. “My opinion is that you’ll have that a lot through the first half of the season. Once the bigger teams get time developing things, you’re never going to shut down the giant race teams, right?”
Danica Patrick returns to NASCAR
You’re probably right, Alex.
A quick glance at the points standings through three weeks pretty much backs that up, with Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr. leading the way, most of the usual names tucked somewhere in the top-16, and a sprinkling of some eyebrow-raisers (Aric Almirola has finished in the top-10 in all three races this year!).
Before moving on to Phoenix, let’s all welcome back Danica Patrick!
Patrick was Sunday’s guest analyst alongside Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer, filling Matt Kenseth’s seat from Fontana. Danica last raced in the Cup Series in 2018, running the Daytona 500 in a one-off race and finishing 35th.
In five full-time Cup seasons, Patrick racked up seven top-10s, the one Daytona 500 pole in 2013, and a career-best finish of sixth at Atlanta in 2014.
As we head to Phoenix, I’d like to leave everyone with my all-time favorite Danica quote, which came last summer during her time as an analyst in the SRX booth alongside Allen Bestwick.
During one of the early heat races, Bestwick referred to Bill Elliott by his longtime nickname, “Awesome Bill.”
“Awesome Bill? Is that what they call him,” Patrick responded.
You learn something new every day.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Kyle Busch goes on tirade over Bowman’s NASCAR win and Danica Patrick returns