Rick Hendricks’ wife Linda demands an almost impossible “40th anniversary gift” from Chase Elliott & Co

As the playoffs get closer, we know that Hendrick Motorsports is in a great position. Kyle Larson is currently second in the playoff standings and all other drivers have won a race. This means that HMS will be heading into the playoffs strong with all 4 Cup Series charters in the top 16. It’s not like the other teams are just sitting back and relaxing, as the playoffs this year seem more competitive than ever.

Although HMS has a really good chance of winning, a win out of 4 drivers is enough for them to dominate. However, the situation became challenging for the team. Although winning the championship is not impossible, Rick Hendricks’ wife recently made a statement that puts the drivers in a difficult position.

Rick Hendrick’s wife has high expectations of Hendrick Motorsport drivers

When we talk about the super team of Chase Elliott, William Byron, Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson, we often forget that there can only be one champion. Now that they have managed to get into the top 16, Rick’s wife Linda Hendrick has proposed a challenge where they all compete against each other.

At a recent Hendrick Motorsport press conference, Linda Hendrick spoke about her desire to win the championship, publicly stating: “So I’ll tell you one thing: Rick and I really want to win this championship in our 40th anniversary year.” Now the pressure is on because the drivers not only have to fight for the trophy, but also do so in honor of their boss’s wedding anniversary.

To get a better picture of the situation, Mrs Hendrick was asked to “And you want all four to rise like a phoenix from the ashes and hope to win the championship.” This is where it got interesting, because her answer was: “1 2 3 4, you choose which one.”

Here’s the thing: Linda Hendrick hopes that all 4 drivers on the team make it to Phoenix. That means she wants all drivers to finish in the top 4 and win the championship. As if winning the championship wasn’t already an easy task, now all drivers will have their sights set on making it to Phoenix.

Seeing how well other teams are doing so far, this seems like an impossible task. It’s not possible that other teams can make this an easy race for HMS, but it’s not completely impossible either. Despite the high pressure, the HMS drivers know how to keep the sportsmanship in their veins. This was evident recently when Harrison Burton won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona and Chase Elliott came to his aid to make it to the playoffs.

Chase Elliott defends Harrison Burton for participating in the playoffs

Chase Elliott has always been a man of strong morals. Rules are rules and he understands that. Although he often bends or even breaks the rules, that is an inherent part of racing. However, his respect for the rules helped him get Harrison Burton into the playoffs.

Now we know that Harrison Burton is 34th in the regular season standings, as is Elliott. The playoff format guarantees everyone a fair win and a spot, and after Daytona, Burton secured his top 16. Many fans and critics had a problem with that, as Burton is not a consistent leader.

Ultimately, it is the rules that say he gets to the playoffs, and when asked about this situation, Elliott calmed the noise by saying: “I’m just happy for them. Look, they don’t make the rules, NASCAR makes the rules, and that’s the situation; that’s the format they’ve created.”

Elliott’s words carry a powerful impact as he accepts the playoff format as it is. He isn’t shy about celebrating Burton’s first Cup Series win, and if the rules say he should be in the playoffs, then Elliott believes that’s how it should be.