Has Hendrick Purchased a Restrictor-Plate Monopoly?
What’s been the most widely talked about topic in NASCAR since last Spring? Dale Earnhardt Jr. moving to Hendrick Motorsports, no doubt. But, most of the talk has surrounded what that would do to save or repair Junior’s career … what does that actually mean for the racing world in general, though?
Over the years, Rick Hendrick has put together an organization – no, an empire – that is not just the best in NASCAR, but it’s absolutely head and shoulders above anyone else in the sport. They proved that last year by walking away with 19 victories in the Nextel Cup’s 36-race season and the first year in running the Car of Tomorrow. A large part of their success has come from their dominance in restrictor plate racing, and adding Junior to the mix certainly isn’t going to hurt their numbers in that department.
Since 2004, there have been 16 restrictor plate races, in which the Hendrick team has won 9 of them … and, 2 more were won by Dale Jr. Even those numbers might not give the team’s domination true justice. Below is a breakdown of how each of the Hendrick drivers have done at Daytona and Talladega during that 16 race period:
Jeff Gordon – 6 wins, 7 Top Five’s, 10 Top Ten’s
Jimmie Johnson – 2 wins, 8 Top Five’s, 10 Top Ten’s
Casey Mears – 1 Top Ten (only 4 restrictor plate races with Hendrick)
Brian Vickers / Kyle Busch / Terry LaBonte – (no longer with Hendrick) – 1 win, 4 Top Five’s, 8 Top Ten’s
As for Dale Earnhardt Jr, in those 16 races he also has 2 wins, 6 Top Five’s, 8 Top Ten’s.
Ladies and gentlemen, I know for most of you Earnhardt making the move to Hendrick is the sound of bitter sweet music … because most of you probably hate the Hendrick organization every bit as much as you love Junior. With the Gibbs program being a huge question mark this season because of the uncertainty of what the Toyota teams will be able to deliver, that could pretty much leave it up to the Harvick / Burton combination at Childress or any combination from Roush to bog down Hendrick’s restrictor plate superiority. So, if your hatred for Hendrick outweighs your love for Junior, buckle up because this could be another long NASCAR season.
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