Jeff Gordon reflects on the good and bad of 2023 for Hendrick Motorsports

As we head into 2024, Jeff Gordon took time to review the performance of Hendrick Motorsports in the 2023 season. It was a season where Kyle Larson and William Byron made the NASCAR Championship 4. However, there were other issues as well with the season.

Obviously, Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman didn’t have the best seasons following their respective injuries. Even they had bright spots though, in winless efforts this year.

Jeff Gordon is happy with the progress he saw with the No. 5 and 24 teams – then there is the work that still needs to be done to get every team ready for next season.

“It’s hard not to be excited to have two (teams) that went to the Championship 4 and had a shot at winning the championship,” Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon said, via HendrickMotorsports.com. “Those two teams performed at a high level all year long. The 24 car started strong and had a little bit of a lull during the summer, but overall they just continued to gain momentum. The 5 car – they won it all before. They’ve had big seasons like they had in ’21. To see them grind it out this year and find their way to Phoenix (Raceway) to compete for a championship was exciting and great for the whole company to see. 

“At the same time, we came up short. That’s also a bit disappointing. I feel like Hendrick Motorsports thrives in those opportunities. I feel like we executed flawlessly in that Phoenix race, but we just didn’t have the speed. We got beat quite simply. We will be highly motivated through that experience for 2024.”

No excuses, no “yeah, but” – Jeff Gordon is a champion and he doesn’t take shortcuts. He won’t let his drivers do it, either.

Jeff Gordon could have four playoff drivers in 2024

It isn’t that Jeff Gordon could have four playoff drivers next season, he should have four. Larson, Elliott, Byron, and Bowman are all capable of winning multiple races. They have done it before and they should all be able to find victory lane at least once each this season.

Talking to Alex Bowman in an exclusive interview, the driver told On3 about all of the good things that happened for the 48 team.

“We were so strong to start the year, obviously led the points for a bit and were really good week in and week out, really up until I got hurt,” Bowman said. However, that didn’t last.

“Then the wheels kind of fell off from there. I think everybody looks at our 2023 season and is like, ‘Man, you guys struggled.’ But the reality is, when we were firing on all cylinders we were the most consistent car and one of the best cars every week.”

Hendrick Motorsports brings fast cars to every track. They are going to be really strong at Daytona when the year begins.

Jeff Gordon is looking back on 2023 with a mixed bag I think. As he should. They had ups and downs and things just didn’t work out for two of the four teams. Elliott broke his leg, Bowman broke his back – that’s not something that usually happens.

In 2024, are we going to see Hendrick domination?