Hendrick Motorsports Weighs In on ‘Extracurricular’ Racing

With Alex Bowman set to miss three to four weeks due to a fractured vertebra, there are questions about whether “extracurricular” racing will be allowed in the future. Hendrick Motorsports has now weighed in and indicated that there will not be any changes.

Hendrick Motorsports President and GM Jeff Andrews provided the insight during a press conference at Dover Motor Speedway. He explained that the team’s Cup Series drivers have meetings where they list the races in which they want to compete. The team reviews these schedules and makes a decision about which ones are allowed.

Andrews does not expect this policy to change following Bowman’s injury, but that could always change in the future if another Hendrick Motorsports driver misses time due to an accident outside of the Cup Series.

“The message from Mr. Hendrick is that — I don’t want to stop those things but be careful,” Andrews explained. “Understand what the most important thing is and the most important thing for Hendrick Motorsports is the results here on Sunday. So we’ll always keep that at the top of the list.

“Again, we may take a look at this. If this happens again, we’ll have to. But for right now, there’s not going to be any changes to our policy, other than just be aware. The most important thing is the results on Sunday in the Cup Series.”

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Andrews Sees Differences Between the 2 Situations

Hendrick Motorsports has seen two of its four drivers miss several weeks of racing due to an injury sustained outside of the Cup Series. However, the team sees differences between the two situations.

As Andrews explained, Chase Elliott’s fractured tibia was a “recreational accident.” This is understandable considering that the driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet injured himself while snowboarding in Colorado. Bowman’s injury was due to an extracurricular racing accident.

This second injury puts Hendrick Motorsports in a difficult situation. On one hand, the organization does not want to see one of its drivers miss time when they could be pursuing wins and a championship. On the other hand, Hendrick Motorsports sees the benefits of extracurricular racing considering that drivers only get 20 minutes of practice before the majority of Cup Series races.

“It’s difficult because that’s something Alex has a passion for,” Andrews continued. “Something that he’s worked very hard to be better at, and we feel like it helped him over here in the Cup Series this year. He’s obviously having the best year of his career in the Cup Series. This is a temporary setback and we look for him to come back strong.

“We’re always evaluating. We’re always knowledgeable in the conversations with our drivers about what they’re doing and where they’re racing outside of the Cup Series. Obviously, it’s a topic of conversation for us. We’ve had discussions with our guys about it since Alex’s accident. We’ll continue to have those talks and as a group, we’ll make the best decisions.”

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Hendrick Motorsports Will Focus on the Immediate Future

The conversation about extracurricular activities will continue throughout the 2023 Cup Series season, especially once Bowman completes his recovery and returns to the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro.

For now, Hendrick Motorsports will focus on another topic. The company will move forward with Josh Berry as the replacement driver. The Xfinity Series championship contender will reunite with HMS after previously replacing Elliott, and he will try to deliver some consistent performances. This will start with Dover, a track where he has an Xfinity Series win.

“Statistically, [Berry is] probably the best guy here,” Andrews said. “He’s only had a handful of races, but I don’t know that he’s finished worse than second here. Certainly, the easiest fit to plug in. He’s got a handful of Cup races and we’re going to take the approach this week to let him get comfortable and get up to speed.

“Fortunately, we’re going to get practice and qualifying in today, so less nervous from the standpoint of having to throw him straight in the race. Yeah, I think with his success and the history of the No. 48 and HMS all together, I think all of those things are the best situation we could be in with what we’ve got.”