Do You NASCAR? - NASCAR News

Too Early To Push The Panic Button At HMS?

by Tim Zaegel on March 24th, 2008

Last year it seemed as though all we wanted to talk about here in the NASCAR world was the absolutely dominating stranglehold that Hendrick Motorsports had over the rest of the competition. Coming into the 2008 season, we furthered those discussions by adding to them the fact that Dale Earnhardt Jr. was now on board and that the legacy that is HMS would only be that much better. Now, five races into the season, Roush-Fenway Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, and even Penske and Richard Childress Racing have all had their days in the headlines while the dream team over at Hendrick continues to sulk in their underachievements this year, and with each passing week it’s almost as if we’ve already forgotten just how truly dominant this team can be. But, when you get down to the core of the matter, is it really as bad as it sometimes seems on the surface, or did we all just maybe put a little too much stock in their 2007 performance?

When you dissect the teams over at Hendrick, it truly is amazing just what exactly the organization has on-hand. It actually reminds me somewhat of wrestling’s legendary Four Horsemen. For starters, you have the backbone of the organization – or, the franchise, if you will – in Jeff Gordon. Like him or not, Jeff is hands down the most legendary driver still active in the Sprint Cup Series, and by the time it’s all over for him, we may be labeling him as the greatest of all-time. Then, you have Jimmie Johnson, who – with back-to-back championship seasons – has to be considered as the hottest driver in the sport right now, not withstanding the five races run so far in 2008. Add to that the sport’s most popular driver by a landslide with Dale Earnhardt Jr, and then add in the young up and comer in Casey Mears, and suddenly you have a four-driver organization that is second to none … or, at least as this year’s proving, on paper at least.

So far in 2008, the four Hendrick drivers have combined for only six top-five finishes and zero victories, which has resulted in Dale Earnhardt Jr. as the only HMS driver currently in the top-12 Chase Field, with Gordon and Johnson looming in 13th and 14th, and Casey Mears in danger of slipping outside of the top-35. At this point last year, Hendrick had three drivers inside the top-six  (Kyle Busch was with the organization instead of Earnhardt. The four had also combined at that point for three victories and seven top-five’s, which is really only one top-five more than they have this year. But, when you start digging back further than last year, while Hendrick was undoubtedly still the team to beat in NASCAR, they didn’t have the same dominating presence. In 2006 and 2005, the team won 8 races in each of those years – which shallows in comparison to their 18 last year. Additionally, they had only one driver make the Chase in ’05. So, should we have really been expecting Hendrick to win another 18 races this year?

When we look at the five races so far in ’08, Hendrick hasn’t run nearly as bad as some of the results may have indicated. Junior has competed for the win at nearly every track with the exception of Fontana when he wrecked, and he’s solidly in the top-five in points. No problem there. But, what about Gordon and Johnson? Gordon has top-five’s at Fontana and Atlanta, and would’ve had another at Vegas had it not been for an accident with just five laps to go. Additionally, he was running well at Daytona until his suspension broke around the midway point. Really, Bristol was the only track that he didn’t appear to be a factor at some point. Johnson, on the other hand, brought pitiful cars with him to Vegas and Atlanta, but was a huge factor in California, ran decent at Bristol, and was decent at Daytona until an on-track mishap. As for Mears, he’s just had one misfortune after another, but let’s not forget that he was 26th in points after Bristol last year, yet managed to rebound and finish 15th on the season.

Another factor to keep in mind when judging the performance of HMS this year is the parity that seems to have fallen upon NASCAR in ’08. Many people’s first inclination is that the parity in the sport is really just a by-product of Hendrick Motorsports under-performing, but in reality, isn’t this the exact reason that NASCAR built the Car of Tomorrow? When you look at what’s occurred through the first five events, you’ll notice that not only have four separate manufacturers won races, but four different teams have actually won. In many of these races, past results at the track have been of little indication as to how those teams will actually run, because these teams all had to go back to the drawing board for their car setups at each and every track.

In reality, the simple answer to the question as to whether or not Hendrick Motorsports is in a slump – yes – but, only for Hendrick Motorsports. Any other organization would be thrilled to have a driver in the top-five and two more in contention for a spot in the Chase. The difference is that HMS is the second winningest organization in NASCAR history, and their six driver championships are rivaled by few. In essence, Hendrick fans have come to expect championships rather than appreciate them, and by the end of this racing season, they’re likely to have at least a couple of drivers competing for HMS’ seventh. A bit of patience can go a long way.

Share This

Related Stories

• Fuel Milage Racing - For the Birds
• TNT’s Coverage: Average
• Loose in Turn Three: Is Joey Logano Ready for a Jump to the Cup?

POSTED IN: NASCAR