Hendrick Motorsports facing uncertainty with key driver and sponsorship decisions looming

Long one of NASCAR’s preeminent organizations, Hendrick Motorsports is the kind that team drivers aspire their whole careers to join. Flush in capital and resources allow it to perennially field some of the fastest cars that makes winning races obtainable weekly and championships yearly.

Although still firmly entrenched atop the hierarchy of teams, there is increasing uncertainty whether the Rick Hendrick-owned operation is well-positioned to continue that success into the next decade. Unlike any time in recent memory, the organization that’s won a NASCAR-record 12 Cup Series championship is facing significant issues concerning its driver lineup, sizable sponsorship gaps on two of its four cars, and a lack of on-track productivity — even in spite of a 2016 where Jimmie Johnson won the title and Chase Elliott earned Rookie of the Year honors on the strength of a stellar freshman season.

When Dale Earnhardt Jr. informed Rick Hendrick on March 29 that he would retire at the end of the current season, it wasn’t completely unforeseen. NASCAR’s 14-time most popular driver was coming off a serious injury, a third concussion in four years that had him acknowledging he didn’t know if he’d be able to come back.

But while Hendrick wasn’t entirely caught off guard, Earnhardt’s decision came during a period when Hendrick Motorsports was already dealing with negotiating contract extensions for Nationwide (Earnhardt’s anchor sponsor), Lowes (Johnson’s anchor sponsor), and Johnson himself. And last week, Great Clips exercised an option to end its contract with Hendrick a year early calling for it to sponsor Kasey Kahne in 10 races annually.

In the wake of Earnhardt’s announcement, Nationwide has since said it is evaluating its relationship with Hendrick, and though the possibility exists it will continue to be the primary backer of the No. 88 car, it’s just as conceivable the team will need to find a replacement in an economic climate where landing high-dollar sponsorship at the level its budget calls for has proved difficult. (Johnson and Lowe’s are both expected to re-up in coinciding multiyear deals.)

Suddenly, the gold standard of NASCAR is facing the reality it may not be as attractive to Fortune 500 companies as it once was when new sponsorship deals for Earnhardt, Johnson, and the since retired Jeff Gordon were commonplace.

The issues facing Hendrick aren’t limited to just the boardroom and wooing potential sponsors. On the track has been a struggle as well — even when taking into account the team’s lofty standards.

A year ago, Hendrick endured a 24-race winless streak. Stretches where victories don’t occur is something every organization goes through — witness Joe Gibbs Racing winless in 13 races this season — but the period of futility Hendrick experienced saw its four drivers collectively go three consecutive races without a top-10 finish and fail to lead a single lap for the first time since 2001. Among its cars, only Johnson’s No. 48 would record a victory, a series-best five.

Thus far this season, Johnson is again the lone Hendrick driver to visit the winner’s circle with a Monster Energy Cup Series-best three wins. Elliott is provisionally playoff-eligible on points and should qualify barring a complete collapse in the second half of the season, which begins Sunday at Pocono Raceway.

Meanwhile, Kahne and Earnhardt rank 20th and 23rd in the points standings, respectively, and in all likelihood will need a victory to secure a postseason berth.

So frustrated with his car heading into the Memorial Day weekend race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Earnhardt and crew chief Greg Ives began incorporating the setup Johnson and his crew chief, Chad Knaus, were using as a baseline. And Earnhardt last week spent considerable time in the simulator testing heading into the race at Dover International Speedway (won by Johnson). Perhaps not coincidently, Earnhardt finished 10th and 11th the past two races, his best consecutive finishes of the season.

Kahne’s underperformance is most pronounced, however. Upon joining Hendrick in 2012, he was expected to be the team’s next great driver, a bedrock to build around, someone who would help offset the void created whenever Gordon retired. Except Kahne has largely floundered; his last win occurred Labor Day weekend 2014 and he’s failed to make the postseason the past two years.

Industry speculation has Hendrick contemplating buying out the final year of Kahne’s contract and contracting to three full-time teams. Such a move would allow Hendrick to accommodate for the sponsorship shortfall it’s experiencing and better concentrate its resources, allowing Johnson, Elliott, and whomever replaces Earnhardt to have results without wide-ranging disparity.

Inability to have all of its cars competitive at a high level at the same time is an issue Hendrick has encountered in recent years. Stark contrast to JGR, Hendrick’s chief rival, where Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, and Matt Kenseth combined for 12 wins in 2016, with Busch and Edwards advancing to the four-driver championship playoff round.

Hendrick was dealt another blow when general manager Doug Duchardt announced Tuesday he is leaving after 12 years with the team. The former General Motors executive will work through the end of June.

With Duchardt in a leadership role, Johnson won all seven of his championships and Hendrick supplied chassis and engines to Stewart-Haas Racing, which captured titles in 2011 and 2014. Hendrick will not fill Duchardt’s position, instead having his responsibilities dispersed among three team executives.

The exact reason why Duchardt is leaving remains unclear; a curious move coming at a crucial juncture with Earnhardt’s replacement needing determination, a driver to possible release, and additional sponsors to woo.

Less ambiguous is the mounting evidence signifying that these are interesting times at Hendrick and that the organization accustomed to dominating on and off the track is finding it difficult to do either.