{"id":275114,"date":"2025-04-28T16:40:58","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T16:40:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/28\/rick-hendrick-stars-alex-bowman-kyle-larson-william-byron-explain-what-went-wrong-at-talladega\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T17:08:43","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:08:43","slug":"rick-hendrick-stars-alex-bowman-kyle-larson-william-byron-explain-what-went-wrong-at-talladega","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/28\/rick-hendrick-stars-alex-bowman-kyle-larson-william-byron-explain-what-went-wrong-at-talladega\/","title":{"rendered":"Rick Hendrick stars Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, William Byron explain what went wrong at Talladega"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-content\" data-postid=\"4895481\" data-slug-id=\"2495481\">\n<div class=\"vidazoo-player-container\">\n<span class=\"vidazoo-close-btn  hidden \"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/cmc-predictor\/v2\/cross-icon.png?w=40\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" alt=\"close\"\/><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The recently concluded NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway has been great for the Rick Hendrick-owned <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/team\/hendrick-motorsports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Hendrick Motorsports<\/a> team. Their all four drivers finished inside the top 10 for the third time this season. Following the race, they explained what didn\u2019t work in their favor and the strategic decisions that impacted their race outcomes.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/player\/alex-bowman\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Alex Bowman<\/a>, who initially finished at P9, got a two-spot advantage, jumping to seventh in the official results after Ryan Preece and Joey Logano were disqualified in the post-race inspection.<\/p>\n<p><template id=\"also-read-articles-template\"><\/p>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<p>In a post-race interview, the #48 Rick Hendrick driver reflected on how his Talladega outing unraveled in the final laps. He expressed frustration with his teammate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/player\/william-byron\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">William Byron<\/a>\u2019s move down the backstretch, which disrupted their momentum and allowed Preece to get ahead and take control of the race.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cIt\u2019s one of those days where none of the moves worked out. There at the end [Byron] zigged left down the backstretch as I got to him and that broke up apart and let [Preece] get up and control the race from there. Hate that for everyone at HMS.\u201d Bowman said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI thought we were sitting in a good spot and unfortunately it just didn\u2019t work out. I thought we had a shot at it, we had good strategy, good execution in the final stage. One of those that just didn\u2019t work out\u201d he continued.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/player\/kyle-larson\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Kyle Larson<\/a> won Stage 1 and finished runner-up after Preece\u2019s disqualification gained him a spot in the final results.<\/p>\n<p>The #5 Rick Hendrick driver described his approach during the final laps at Talladega, explaining how he spent the final 10 laps trying to push race winner Austin Cindric far enough ahead so that he could move out and make a winning move for himself.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI think we were both doing a really good job of pushing the guys in front of us. Their cars were stable, so it made it easy to push them. I was trying for the final 10 laps to shove [Cindric] out clear to where I could get clear, but I only had one chance at that,\u201d Larson said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI was trying to do everything I could to win and get clear. I wasn\u2019t thinking about any of that in the moment, I was just doing what I could to advance my lane\u201d he continued.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<hr\/>\n<h2><strong>Rick Hendrick&#8217;s driver didn\u2019t feel strong about his positioning to win at Talladega<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Rick Hendrick star driver William Byron, who finished P3, never thought he was in a strong enough position to make a winning move in the closing laps. In the post-race interview, the #24 HMS driver explained that his best option was to push Preece forward to try to even him up with Austin Cindric, but he could never get Preece far enough ahead to set up a winning pass.<\/p>\n<p>Explaining his mindset during the closing moments at Talladega, here\u2019s what Byron said (via NASCAR.com):<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI just didn\u2019t feel like I was going to win from where I was at. I felt like I needed to push [Preece] clear and I never got him clear enough to make a move. He was already behind Cindric coming through the tri-oval, so my job is to push him back even and hope that I can finish third.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cAt that point, I don\u2019t think I ever thought win because if I go top of three like I did last year, it looks good but you\u2019re just behind.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Meanwhile, the fourth Rick Hendrick driver Chase Elliott moved to a fifth-place finish after the disqualification.<\/p>\n<p>The HMS duo William Byron and Kyle Larson stand first and second in the NASCAR Cup Series points table, respectively, with Byron having a 31-point lead over Larson.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-post-rating-widget\">\n<p><template id=\"post-rating-feedback-modal-template\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-feedback-box\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-content\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-data\">\n<p>Why did you not like this content?<\/p>\n<p><textarea id=\"dislike-feedback-text\" rows=\"4\" placeholder=\"Please type your feedback...\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<button class=\"close\">Cancel<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"submit\">Submit<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-widget-parent hidden\">\n<div class=\"rating-parent-container\">\n<div class=\"rating-content-holder\">\n<p>Was this article helpful?<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-action-container\">\n<div class=\"like-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-like-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"like\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"post-like-image post-rating-image\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" alt=\"like selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dislike-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-dislike-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"dislike\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"post-dis-like-image post-rating-image\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" alt=\"avatar selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\nThank You for feedback\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-author-info-parent\">\n<span class=\"about-the-author\">About the author<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"author-info-holder\">\n<div class=\"author-pic-holder\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"author-pic\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,&lt;svg width=\" height=\"100\"\/><rect width=\"100\" height=\"100\" style=\"fill:rgb(128, 128, 128);\"\/>&#8221; data-lazy=&#8221;https:\/\/keedag.sportskeeda.com\/user-pic\/643212-1644502075-200.jpg?w=200&#8243;<br \/>\nalt=&#8221;Yash Soni&#8221; height=&#8221;72&#8243; width=&#8221;72&#8243;&gt;\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-bio-detail-holder\">\n<div class=\"author-bio\">\n<p class=\"author-bio\" id=\"author-bio-text\">\nYash Soni is a journalist who covers NASCAR at Sportskeeda, drawn to racing action and the rich history of the sport. He is inspired by Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, and Hendrick Motorsports, and strives to craft engaging narratives. With expertise in writing long and short-form content and a passion for tracking and publishing trends, Yash brings his best to reporting and analysis of the dynamic world of NASCAR.\n<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"author-know-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/author\/syash7257-1\" aria-label=\"Author know more\">Know More<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tag-cloud\">\n<div class=\"tags-text\">\n<div class=\"scrollable-content-holder  article-padding\">\n<p class=\"article-p  \">Quick Links<\/p>\n<p><button id=\"pnAdvancerLeft\" class=\"pn-Advancer pn-Advancer_Left \" type=\"button\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/article\/article-scroll-left.svg\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button><\/p>\n<nav id=\"pnProductNav\" class=\"pn-ProductNav\">\n<\/nav>\n<p><button id=\"pnAdvancerRight\" class=\"pn-Advancer pn-Advancer_Right \" type=\"button\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/article\/article-scroll-right.svg\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<p>More from Sportskeeda<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<span class=\"publisher-name\">Edited by Yash Soni<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/nascar\/news-rick-hendrick-stars-alex-bowman-kyle-larson-william-byron-explain-went-wrong-talladega\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] The recently concluded NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway has been great for the Rick Hendrick-owned Hendrick Motorsports team. 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