CONCORD, N.C. – When Hendrick Motorsports president and general manager Jeff Andrews looks back on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, he sees a number of achievements in year one of the Next Gen era.
"2022 for us was a great season," Andrews told HendrickMotorsports.com. "Anytime you accomplish being a part of that Championship 4 in Phoenix and have given yourself an opportunity through the season to get there, that is no small feat. That takes a ton of work and a ton of dedication by everyone here to even get there.
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"Certainly, everybody here was working hard towards a championship. I don’t think we should hang our heads at all about what we accomplished in 2022 with the change that went on with the vehicle and the unprecedented number of things we had to adapt to and overcome during the year.
"... To go out and win 11 races and have a car in the Championship 4 for both the owner’s and the driver’s championship, I think it’s a great year for Hendrick Motorsports."
All four Hendrick Motorsports drivers won within the first 11 races of the season, which was the quickest into a year that any four-car team had seen all of its drivers get to victory lane. Chase Elliott led the series with five victories. Kyle Larson grabbed three wins, while William Byron notched two victories and Alex Bowman picked up one.
Elliott reached the driver’s Championship 4 for the third straight season, while the No. 5 HendrickCars.com team of Larson was able to get to the owner’s Championship 4.
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"When you get a race win with all four of your cars as early as we did that in the 2022 season, it is a result of the people here at Hendrick Motorsports," Andrews said. "The people made the difference for us in 2022. They accepted the challenge. They went into it with a great attitude and a great outlook.
"All four of our cars went out and won races very early in the 2022 season and I think that is a great achievement. Getting all four of our cars into the Round of 12 is a tremendous achievement as well and that should not be understated."
During the summer months, Hendrick Motorsports fielded its first NASCAR Xfinity Series entries since 2009. The car sported the No. 17, which carries special significance to the Hendrick family. Ricky Hendrick drove that number over two seasons in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series from 2000 to 2001 and scored a victory at Kansas Speedway during that time. The HendrickCars.com paint scheme was based on the truck he drove those seasons.
"Being able to bring the No. 17 back out in those colors and being able to represent Mr. and Mrs. Hendrick as a company with that No. 17 on track again was a great honor for everybody here that worked on that car," Andrews said.
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The No. 17 ran four races in 2022 with its first start coming at Road America followed by starts at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, Watkins Glen International and Darlington Raceway. While the entry did not record Hendrick Motorsports’ 27th win in the series, Larson (Road America) and Bowman (Indianapolis RC) did nab runner-up finishes.
"For Hendrick Motorsports to be back in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and be providing race cars for our drivers to go out and compete with in those races was a lot of work. I commend the group that pulled that off. Kevin Meendering did a great job crew chiefing those cars for us. We’re going to do that (run Xfinity races) again in 2023."
Check back in early 2023 for Andrews' thoughts on the upcoming season, the addition of crew chief Blake Harris to the No. 48 team, Garage 56 and more.