{"id":5294,"date":"2018-07-16T15:36:19","date_gmt":"2018-07-16T19:36:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=5294"},"modified":"2018-07-16T15:36:19","modified_gmt":"2018-07-16T19:36:19","slug":"jimmie-johnson-and-hendrick-motorsports-struggles-continue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2018\/07\/16\/jimmie-johnson-and-hendrick-motorsports-struggles-continue\/","title":{"rendered":"Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports Struggles Continue"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve tried to convince myself to be patient. After all it took the Toyota team of Joe Gibbs Racing<\/strong> half a season when they introduced the new Camry to turn their season around.\u00a0 But its the total lack of speed from the Hendrick Motorsports<\/strong> team led by Jimmie Johnson<\/strong> that’s worrisome.<\/p>\n

Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports Struggles Continue<\/h1>\n

The Monster Energy Cup<\/strong> Series moves on to New Hampshire\u00a0Motor Speedway for its 20th race of the season and the Chevy’s continue to lag behind the Toyota’s of Joe Gibbs Racing<\/strong> and Martin Truex Jr<\/strong> plus the Ford in the Stewart Haas Racing<\/strong> camp.\u00a0 I’m officially\u00a0in the “worried” camp.<\/p>\n

There have been times this season,\u00a0albeit\u00a0not many when the Chevy driven by Kyle Larson<\/strong> has\u00a0been in the front of the field. To me, that is an anomaly. Kyle Larson<\/strong> is almost a freak of nature when it comes to racing. We often see the young Larson driving on parts of the track where no other driver dares go. Even given that, perhaps the folks over at Chip Ganassi\u00a0Racing<\/strong> are further ahead in their program than Hendrick.\u00a0 It’s possible but looking at the point standings as they are today,\u00a0and he sits just 8th in points.\u00a0 Not exactly setting the world on fire.<\/p>\n

Look, Jimmie Johnson<\/strong> didn’t all of a sudden forget how to drive and Chad Knaus<\/strong> hasn’t forgotten\u00a0how to prepare and adjust a race car.\u00a0 This is a systemic problem and all eyes point to the new Chevrolet\u00a0Camero ZL1.\u00a0 At Sunday’s race at Kentucky, you have to scroll\u00a0down to ninth position to find the name Kyle Larson, the top Chevrolet\u00a0finisher.\u00a0 Keep scrolling to the 13th position to find the top finisher in the Hendrick Motorsport camp of Chase Elliott who finished one spot ahead of his teammate Jimmie Johnson.\u00a0 In one word for Chevy, Ugly<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What Is Wrong?<\/h2>\n

A few weeks ago I had a chance to chat with Hendrick Driver Alex Bowman<\/strong>.\u00a0 I asked him if Hendrick had an idea what they were missing with the new car.\u00a0 “I think we’re a little bit off on more than just the Camero body.”<\/em><\/p>\n

He went on to explain that he thought it was a lot of small areas including the engine.\u00a0 We all anticipated some early season struggles for the Chevy’s and in particular the Hendrick cars.\u00a0 In the last couple of seasons, they’ve lost veterans Jeff Gordon<\/strong> and the popular Dale Earnhardt Jr<\/strong> and replaced them with the very talented but young Alex Bowman<\/strong>, William Byron<\/strong>, and Chase Elliott<\/strong>.\u00a0 But we are now past the halfway point in the season and any progress they are making is not noticeable\u00a0on the track.<\/p>\n

For cripes sake, Jimmie Johnson<\/strong>, the 7-time Cup Champion was lapped Saturday night before the end of the first stage.\u00a0 That’s Jimmie Johnson we’re talking about here, not Timmy Hill<\/strong>.\u00a0 Johnson didn’t all of a sudden forget how to drive and Chad Knauss<\/strong> hasn’t forgotten how to formulate a winning game plan.\u00a0 This is all on the folks at Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports<\/strong>.\u00a0 The solutions to their struggles rest with the capable men and women at the Hendrick facility in Charlotte<\/strong>, North Carolina.<\/p>\n

The bad news?\u00a0 The struggles continue<\/h2>\n

The good news?\u00a0 Well, Alex Bowman<\/strong> can best tell us.\u00a0 “I think if we all buckle down, me do a better job of driving the car, the chassis shop do a little better, the body shop do better and the engine shop do a little better that will all produce a better product on the track.”<\/em><\/p>\n

We have every reason to believe that Hendrick and the fellow Chevy teams will turn this around.\u00a0 There are some great minds at work figuring out what to do next.\u00a0 I’m just shocked its taken them this long.<\/p>\n

Thanks for reading. Listen to WTBQ Radio on Monday and Friday mornings at 8:<\/em>45 as I join the gang on The Frank Truatt Morning Show discussing the world of NASCAR. Tune in to 1110AM, 93.5FM or streamed worldwide at wtbq.com. You can also follow me on twitter @Jimlaplante.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>