Young guns now firing on all cylinders at Hendrick Motorsports
Posted September 27, 2019 4:52 p.m. EDT
Walking into work and being immediately greeted by 12 Cup Championship trophies can be a tad intimidating. Almost as daunting as sitting behind the wheel inside two iconic cars.
"We talked a lot about that last year when we first started racing here, just the difference in him taking over for Dale Junior and me taking over the 24," said William Byron, driver for Hendrick Motorsports in the No. 24 car.
"I wouldn't be here without all of Dale's help and support," recalls Alex Bowman, driver for Hendrick Motorsports in the No. 88 car. "I drove for Junior Motorsports and have been around Dale a lot. William, obviously, stepping into the 24, that's like the Hendrick car. That's kind of the car that built this place."
That's reality for William Byron and Alex Bowman. The former drives the ol' two-four of Jeff Gordon, the latter inherited the 88 after Dale Earnhardt Junior's retirement.
"Those are big numbers to take over, but we've kind of made it our own at this point," said Byron. "I feel like our race teams accept who we are, and we really don't pay attention to the number being the deciding factor."
With Chase Elliott in control of the No. 9, it's part of Hendrick Motorsports youth movement; the changing identity of a once-all veteran, all-star squad. But much like the ones painted on the side of their rides, 21, 23, and 26, their respective ages, are just numbers to these young guns.
"I'm like the old guys of the young guys here, so it's been pretty cool just to be part of a young group here and be able to lean on Jimmie (Johnson) and get advice from him, but it's definitely a youthful couple guys down here," said Bowman.
"We just approach it like we're racecar drivers, I think," said Byron. "We don't think about our age being a limiting factor."
It has not. Three-quarters of Team Hendricks made the playoffs and are in prime position to make the cut to 12. The outlier? Seven-time champ Jimmie Johnson.
