Rick Hendrick wants his Championship 4 drivers to avoid a Sheldon Creed, Austin Hill situation

This weekend, Rick Hendrick is lucky enough to have two drivers in the NASCAR Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway. He just doesn’t want to see a result like Richard Childress’ Xfinity Series drivers the other night. In fact, Hendrick Motorsports trains for situations like Sheldon Creed and Austin Hill’s showdown at Martinsville.

Rick Hendrick has Kyle Larson and William Byron going at it for the championship on Sunday. Both drivers have raced each other on late restarts this year, and it’s never gone horribly wrong. However, with a championship on the line, does that change anything?

While on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Mr. H talked about having two drivers battling in a championship scenario and how he avoids incidents like RCR’s last week.

“That had to be the worst scenario that any owner could ever have,” Hendrick said of the RCR situation.
“Is having two guys that were, if they had just finished where they were they would end up being in the Championship 4 and then to take each other out…

“But that is something that we work hard on all year long is not just for the last race. It’s like, how many times is it going to come down to the two of ya? Not very often,” Rick Hendrick continued. “But if it does, race each other clean because what got you here is the strength of the organization working together. And don’t dump everything that we’ve built here with four crew chiefs working hard together, open book, the drivers, all working with the crew chiefs all in a huddle trying to get the whole organization better.

“Don’t blow that up, you know, if you can beat the guy clean go ahead and do it. But don’t wreck each other because it just destroys the chemistry inside the company. So, that’s our philosophy and hopefully, that won’t happen, but if it comes down to the two Sunday, I just hope they do it clean and you can do it without wrecking the guy. Moving him, that’s okay but wrecking him, that’s not good.”

❌ "Don't wreck each other because it just destroys the chemistry inside the company."

🏁 Rick Hendrick wants his @TeamHendrick drivers to race each other clean for a championship if it comes down to it Sunday at @phoenixraceway. pic.twitter.com/kmaeqEmJpL

— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) November 2, 2023

So, does Rick Hendrick need to worry? Or will Kyle Larson and William Byron keep it clean? These are two very respectful drivers. At least, when they get respect. Larson and Chase Elliott have had incidents in the past. But Byron and Larson? They’ve always kept a clean slate, I don’t expect anything different on Sunday.