CONCORD, N.C. - NHL hockey great Jaromir Jagr was unwavering when he once said, “People judge you by the way you play in the playoffs.”
Having won the Stanley Cup in 1991 and 1992 as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins and being one of the youngest players to ever score a goal in the Stanley Cup Finals at age 20, Jagr knew what it took to perform at the most important times.
In NASCAR, a similar championship mettle lives inside the DNA of Hendrick Motorsports. Kindled by Jeff Gordon’s breakthrough 1995 season and fostered by the people-centered culture that team owner Rick Hendrick has led for more than 40 years, each Hendrick Motorsports team goes into the playoffs with a realistic opportunity to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship.
Inherent within every title chase, no matter the era, there's a growing sense of pressure that escalates after every weekend. Successes or challenges from the race before build upon themselves, creating new levels of expectation as the season marches towards Phoenix Raceway.
That’s especially true in the current playoff format, where all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers – Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, William Byron and Alex Bowman – are trying to survive and advance this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, hoping to ultimately place their name as the 15th NASCAR Cup Series champion in organization history.
Whether it's the season long battles that helped shape the sport or the most-recent playoff format that features 16 drivers and multiple rounds of elimination, the month of September has always felt like go time around the race shops.
“These days, every lap, every race is a qualifying lap,” said NASCAR Hall of Famer and Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman, Jeff Gordon, speaking of the modern NASCAR playoff format. “The intensity of every lap, you’re not saving equipment. There is not one stone unturned. I was down in the shop, and the No. 5 team was prepping, and I was just blown away how much information is being fed to the driver, how much the engineer and the teams, the spotter – how much everybody is taking in.
“It was a lot more simplistic back when this all first started.”
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“These days, every lap, every race is a qualifying lap.”
Jeff Gordon
While Gordon’s title journeys (1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001) were different from today, they were no less stressful. That was especially true in 1997.
Gordon was locked in a tight championship battle heading into the NAPA 500 season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway, holding a 77-point advantage over second-place Dale Jarrett and an 87-point lead over third place, Mark Martin. His mission was clear; he needed to finish 18th or better to earn a second title. But that proved much easier said than done.
After crashing on pit road during the initial practice session, the California native required a backup car just to qualify. More trouble awaited, however. During qualifying, an oil leak spilled onto his tires, forcing Gordon to lift during his only attempt, and the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet wound up starting 37th. The nerve-o-meter was pegged.
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On race day, Gordon battled a ton of traffic early on and had a very loose car to contend with. Halfway through the race, it looked as if his title chances had dimmed. However, through grit, determination and the team's championship mettle, Gordon leaned on crew chief Ray Evernham and the “Rainbow Warriors” to make the right adjustments. It eventually worked, as the brightly hued No. 24 worked its way up to 17th, just enough to clinch the championship.
“I compare (our current) system to ’97,” Gordon recalled. “In 1997, it was me, Mark (Martin) and Dale (Jarrett), coming down to the final race. That was one of the most stressful situations I can ever remember having. It was terrifying. To go through that, week after week for 10 weeks – no thank you.”
It’s situations like these in his driving history that also allows Gordon to relate to what the drivers are currently going through heading into this weekend’s first elimination race at Bristol.
“I think the (emotional toll) is part of the challenge (of winning a championship),” Gordon said. “It’s part of the strengths and weaknesses of our competitors. If mentally, you are stronger than others, then that won’t break you down as much. If you have a bad day, shake it off. You don’t let the stress get to you. That goes for everybody. From crew chief, engineer, pit crew, driver, spotter, everybody on the team, the game is more mentally challenging than it’s ever been.”
After a long regular season that includes the uplifting moment of making the 16-driver field, there tends to be a big surge of anticipation heading into the opening few playoff races. It's a natural reaction to an already grueling schedule. But Gordon warned the pent-up energy can also be detrimental.
“To me, when the playoffs come, everybody wants to rise up, bring their best stuff and go all in on the attitude, show everybody, 'Hey, we’re the team to beat and we’re going to show you in race one and round one,’” he said. “I think that’s not always the best approach. I think in round one, you can easily take yourself out of it by getting overhyped and by getting caught up in the media, attention from the fans, everything happening on social media. There's also excitement going on at the racetrack and the shop, where everybody goes into a different gear.
“I feel sometimes that our approach should be, ‘Let’s take a step back here and make sure we are crossing our 'T's' and dotting our 'I’s'," Gordon continued. "(When you) have a pretty clean path to get through this first round, (don’t) get yourself caught up in trouble.”
Gordon's steady approach to winning championships is why he is considered one of NASCAR's greatest drivers of all time.
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Speaking of clean paths, Larson looks to be in tremendous shape heading into Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend, only needing to finish 35th or higher or score a single stage point to secure his place in the Round of 12. Byron, the regular season champ, is also in a good spot, having a 39-point cushion to advance. Elliott, who grabbed a third place finish the previous weekend in St. Louis, is solidly positioned at 28 points above the cutline.
For Bowman, he’ll need to make up 35 points or win at Bristol to stake his claim in the next round.