NASCAR mailbag: How will Hendrick Motorsports’ youth movement impact Jimmie Johnson?

Plus reader questions on whether the new Charlotte road course is worthy addition to the Cup Series schedule, and Matt Kenseth’s trying 2017 season.

Each week, SB Nation's NASCAR reporter Jordan Bianchi answers your questions about the latest news and happenings within the sport. If you have a future mailbag question, email jordanmbianchi@gmail.com.

I’m not sure how I feel about the Charlotte roval being on the schedule. I was always skeptical, then I saw the comments from Martin [Truex Jr.] and Kurt [Busch] and it feels like this race is going to be a crash-fest and not anything close to good racing like at Watkins Glen and Sonoma. So if NASCAR wants another road course so bad, why not just move the race somewhere else?

--Danny

Being skeptical is more than acceptable considering the lukewarm response emanating out of the four-driver tire test conducted last week at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The 2.42-mile, 18-turn layout is narrow and it appears passing opportunities will be limited to the point where drivers may need to use the bumper to get around someone. Thus why Truex compared it to, of all places, Talladega Superspeedway, as he fully expects the road course to generate chaos and mayhem normally associated with a restrictor-plate track.

That said, although this experiment may prove unsuccessful, NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports Inc., Charlotte’s parent company, deserve credit for their willingness to try something different. The clamoring for an additional road course on the schedule — particularly in the 10-race playoffs — has been resoundingly loud. A change was needed.

But due to contracts with its tracks, NASCAR was prevented from shifting Charlotte’s fall date to a more traditional road course venue, while adding another race to an already overly long schedule was not realistic. Converting Charlotte into a roval was the best option, even if the racing fails to come anywhere close to the excellence Sonoma and Watkins Glen produce annually. Another bonus: There is now one less monotonous 1.5-mile track on the playoff schedule.

It’s also worth noting, that this was just one test. We’ll get a better feel for what to expect when Charlotte holds an open test sometime next summer. There stands a reasonable chance the layout changes some based on the feedback Truex and Busch offered, rectifying their concerns.

Hendrick Motorsports going with a bunch of young drivers when Matt Kenseth is available is something I don’t get. This would seem to hurt the team overall because of the lack of experience these young drivers have and maybe even hurt Jimmie Johnson from winning an eighth championship. Do you think they should’ve signed Kenseth or do you think Hendrick will be just fine?

--T.J.

The youth movement is a different approach than what Hendrick normally does where it would go out and sign the biggest free agent available. Still, the pieces are there for the results to match what the team is accustomed to performance-wise even if William Byron, Alex Bowman, and Chase Elliott give the impression Johnson should be driving an old person scooter and not the No. 48 Chevrolet.

One thing easy to forget about Elliott is that while he may be 21, he is already winding up his second full season, and based on what he’s accomplished thus far — consecutive playoff appearances including a semifinals berth this year — he’s mature beyond his years. He is not the typical young driver who crashes too much and needs to harness his talent. He is rightfully regarded as a future superstar. It’s a matter of when that first Cup Series win happens, not if.

Byron is a prodigy. The 19-year-old has won at every level and done so almost instantaneously. Going from the Xfinity Series to Cup will be an adjustment and may take time, but every indication is that he will acclimate just fine.

Opinions vary among industry insiders on Bowman, 24, but it is undeniable when he’s been in good equipment that he has produced. Last year, he filled in admirably for the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr., nearly winning the fall race at Phoenix International Raceway. And despite racing infrequently this season, he showed no rust when he jumped into Chip Ganassi Racing’s Xfinity Series car and won in his first start Oct. 7 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

In the short term, there may be a few minor hiccups. But Johnson and Elliott give Hendrick two cornerstones next season who should make the playoffs and be in championship contention. And with Byron proving to be a quick learner, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him join his teammates in the postseason. Bowman, as noted above, is the wild card, but if what he did last year as Earnhardt’s fill in is any indication, there is no reason to think he won’t be competitive.

The biggest hurdle facing Hendrick is finding a way to get all four teams operating at a high level. Unlike Joe Gibbs Racing, which had four bona-fide title contenders a year ago, this has long been an issue for the organization that’s won a NASCAR-record 12 championships.

Taking steps to address the inconsistency, Hendrick is contemplating placing all its teams under one roof this offseason as opposed to dividing them into essentially two different shops where the cars of Johnson and Earnhardt were housed in one building and the cars of Elliott and Kasey Kahne in another. There have also been varying personnel changes behind the scenes, including Jeff Gordon becoming more involved in the day-to-day operations.

What do you make of Matt Kenseth’s season? It seems like it keeps going from bad to worse. At this point I fully expect all four wheels to randomly fall off his car just because.

--Craig

Frustrating would be the best way to describe how Kenseth’s 2017 season has unfolded. Frustrating with a capital “F” followed by an exclamation point.

Consider Kenseth’s year began by crashing three times in the first five races — including the Daytona 500 where he had one of the fastest cars. Then because of the changing economics within the sport, he found himself being pushed out at one of the two best organizations in the garage to be replaced by a driver younger and cheaper. And due to the same economic climate that cost him his plum ride, other teams:

A) Cannot afford his salary

B) Don’t have the necessary sponsorship to put a deal together

C) All of the above

The capper to Kenseth’s woebegone season occurred Sunday. In a race he needed to finish well to avoid playoff elimination, he first was caught in an accident started by Erik Jones — the guy who’s taking his roster spot next season. And even though the damage was repairable where Kenseth could’ve still advanced to the next round, miscommunication by his crew members triggered a penalty where NASCAR had little recourse but to park him for the remainder of the race.

Add everything together and it is certainly not how you would like to see an eventual NASCAR Hall of Famer end his career. Kenseth deserved better.