They’re Baaack: Powerhouse Hendrick Reminds Foes Of Strength

They’re Baaack: Powerhouse Hendrick Reminds Foes Of Strength


Mum has been the word for much of Hendrick Motorsports’ 2011 season thus far.

Until Talladega. Until the mega-team dropped all four of its drivers in the top 10, including race-winner Jimmie Johnson. Until the team started the Talladega race 1-2-3-4, becoming only the third team in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history to sweep the first four starting spots.

Prior to Talladega, Hendrick has lurked in the background, almost playing a rope-a-dope of sorts.

Only one Hendrick Motorsports driver had won a race – Jeff Gordon at Phoenix – and 16 of its 28 finishes had been outside the top 10. Three of its drivers – Gordon, Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. – finished outside the top 20 in the Daytona 500.

But seemingly one race cures all ills. At Talladega, Johnson won; Gordon was third; Earnhardt fourth and Mark Martin eighth. All were within .145 seconds of Johnson at the stripe.

All four drivers have an interesting subplot within their team:

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: With his fourth-place finish, Earnhardt vaulted to third in the points standings, his highest standing this late in the season since 2008. He now has two top fives and five top 10s, which match the total he had all of 2009.

Jimmie Johnson: His season is on a similar course as past years. He sits second in the points, and has now been the points leader or second after eight races in three consecutive seasons.

Jeff Gordon: The Phoenix win aside, the four-time champion has mostly struggled. Only once has he had a worse points position after eight races than his current rank of 13th – in 1994 when he was 14th (He was also 13th after eight races in 2008.).

Mark Martin: An accident at Texas derailed Martin’s season a bit, but otherwise the veteran has been holding steady. Though his 14th-place points position is his lowest after eight races since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2008, five of his eight finishes have been in the top 15.