2008 Season Preview- Hendrick Motorsports
For our first in a series of team previews for the 2008 season, I present you the New York Yankees of NASCAR: Hendrick Motorsports. Like the baseball team of re-known, the rich only seem to get richer, possessing a “Murderer’s Row” lineup of talent behind the wheel, in the pit box, and in the shop. Can these guys do any wrong? Meh, forget that question- while some may question the scruples of some within the organization, let’s just say that EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING seems to go their way. They are home to a 2-time defending Cup champion, and he’s not even their “star” driver. Jimmie Johnson may be the man of the moment, but clearly, this is still the team that Jeff Gordon leads. As if not having a 4-time Cup champion is enough, Rick Hendrick now has NASCAR’s most popular driver-he of the legendary pedigree- that is one Dale Earnhardt Jr. And then speaking of pedigrees, let us not forget that Casey Mears (nephew of Indy car stud Rick Mears) is also on the team.
Hendrick Motorsports is without a doubt “King of the Mountain” in NASCAR (with all apologies to Brian France). With all the talent throughout the organization, it’s hard to imagine a bad season for HMS because with the acquisition of Junior, they’ve only gotten better. Think about it- this team won half of the races ran in 2007, and now they’re adding one very motivated superstar eager to prove he’s worthy of his rock star status.
Let’s not forget- it’s not only the drivers who are great here. With Steve Letarte, Chad Knaus and Tony Eury Jr. (to name a few), you have the best pit bosses in the business. All their styles may vary, but they all get great results.
In 2008, it’s hard to imagine much will change. A 3-peat for Johnson may be asking a bit much, but certainly a top 5 finish at season’send is not. My gut tells me that Gordon may lose some of his edge as he gets older and he settles in more with his new found role as a father, but this is more than made up for by Earnhardt and Mears. Besides already having a great relationship with Rick Hendrick- Dale Jr. is here primarily for one reason- a reason big enough to leave the racing team his late father founded: by joining HMS, Junior places himself in the best position to be a winner. There’s a discipline with this organization missing from DEI. These guys start early and finish late with a single minded dedication to achieving great results. With 10 wins for Johnson, 6 wins for Gordon, a victory for the upstart Mears and one for the departed Kyle Busch, I’d say they have a formula that works. This team was clearly ahead of the curve on the “Car of Tomorrow” and just about anything else.
Other teams are catching up. That’s true. But guess what? I think Rick Hendrick and company know that and have taken that into consideration. Knowing this, it’s hard to imagine Hendrick Motorsports being anything less stellar in the upcoming season.
Junior Nation is banking on it.
