| | DREAM TEAM? | Addition of Junior could make Hendrick impossible to beat | |
| | By Mike Mulhern / JournalNow.com Life on the NASCAR trail looks like a breeze this season for one car owner - Jeff Gordon.
As a business partner with Rick Hendrick and part-owner of Jimmie Johnson’s two-time championship operation - Johnson nipped Gordon for the title last season in a thriller - Gordon is doing just fine.
In fact, if Brian France, NASCAR’s CEO, hadn’t changed the championship system three years ago, Gordon would be celebrating his fifth Cup title.
France has tagged the 2008 season as “Back to basics,” after several years of somewhat fractious changes in the sport, which will turn 60 this season.
Gordon, who was Mr. Consistency in 2007 but lost the title to gambling Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus, probably would like France to get back to basics with the points system, for starters.
“I told them not to change that point system,” Gordon said, laughing.
“I do think we’ve gone through a lot of changes. The sport has been on a great ride and growing so fast and doing so well that I think Brian’s influence can continue to take that on. But I do think along the way we did have a few too many changes - things that probably are all good for the sport … but just not all at once.
“It’s great they’ve got that attitude of ‘Hey, let’s just put some great racing out there on the track and not worry about trying to make everything so perfect.’
“It’s nice and refreshing for the teams to come into the season and not have to think about changes … other than trying to focus on this (new) car and our team and go win the championship.”
Of course, the storyline for 2008 looks suspiciously similar to that of 2007 - Hendrick Motorsports with a big edge, not only in horsepower but also with the new car, with which the Hendrick teams dominated so much last season. Gordon and Johnson are back, along with Casey Mears, and they now have Dale Earnhardt Jr. on their side.
Super Team? Dream Team?
Ouch, says Hendrick, wincing as he recalls the Darrell Waltrip-Waddell Wilson venture of a few years back that seemed a sure fit but floundered.
This time around, Hendrick, and Gordon are working hard to make sure the new guys - Earnhardt and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. - feel welcome and fit in. And with all the resources Hendrick gives his teams, it’s hard to see any of them failing.
“The resources are certainly here,” Gordon said. “But when you look at Rick himself and how he runs a business and what he is as a person, that’s what separates us from the rest.
“Of course, he expects us to do well. He gives us the resources. But the way he puts the pressure on you, the way he motivates you, it’s a soft-sell. It’s very impactful, but you feel ‘Wow! That’s the nicest guy I ever met. That’s the nicest anyone has ever told me I’d better go out there and win.’
“You’d think someone of his stature and success would be overconfident. But his way of motivation is just that he’s a super good guy. This is the kind of guy you want to work with for a long, long time. This is the kind of guy you want to please. You want to give back to him, for the type of person he is.”
France’s “Back to basics” theme is still under analysis, but part of the push is to let the drivers be more emotional, speak their pieces and open up more.
“It’s a tough balance,” the usually cool Gordon says. “I’m very passionate about the sport, and I’m always thinking ‘What can we do to make the sport better, what can we do to make the racing better?’ The personalities, everyone.
“Character is important - and we all shouldn’t be saying the same things. It’s not about being something you’re not.
“Look at Kurt Busch for example, and maybe Tony Stewart. Now they may say things that have gotten them in trouble, but they were very entertaining. Then they said ‘Oh, oh, we need to change.’ But the fans liked that.
“Me, I like to stay under the radar. But for the sport, we need to let our personalities come out. And NASCAR is saying ‘We’re OK with you getting a little further out there. Don’t be afraid. Find the boundaries.’
“We’ve got some amazing personalities in this sport. But I’ll see them on TV, and I know that’s not the way they really are. But I understand that. We’re trying to be professionals, and not say too much. But as I’ve become older and become more comfortable in this sport, I don’t mind pushing the limits at times.
“Now I get criticized at times. And then I get criticized for not saying as much as I could. But you just have to ignore the criticism.”
The most obvious example is Johnson, who is poised, almost to the point of being cold. He might need to increase the voltage and speak out more.
Gordon concedes that is something for Johnson to consider.
“Jimmie is a guy I hang out with, and he’s got a lot of personality, a lot of fun to be around,” Gordon said. “And I don’t think people have seen all sides of him….
“But you are going to see more of Jimmie’s personality coming out this year. He understands it.”
Although many teams took a wait-and-see approach with the car of tomorrow last season, figuring that NASCAR officials would surely have some second thoughts and that there would be generational iterations, Hendrick’s Chevy men had a whirlwind program of testing that set the stage for the Johnson-Gordon romp.
It took Jack Roush, Hendrick’s chief rival, until the summer to get his program really cranked up. And, yes, some of his guys, particularly Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth, did catch fire down the stretch, but by then it was too late really to make a fight of it for the title.
Joe Gibbs’ guys were also right on the mark early. Now in the Toyota camp, Gibbs’ Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin could be some of Hendrick’s toughest competition. Their success could depend on whether engine man Mark Cronquist can tweak the Toyota engine to get some mid-range power for that punch off the corner that has been a Chevrolet hallmark.
Richard Childress’ men also made the Chase for the Championship, with Clint Bowyer surprising everyone by winning the Chase opener at Loudon, N.H., in late September and then making a game of it right down to the final weeks. But Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton faltered, either running out of steam or letting Hendrick’s bunch pull a few extra surprises.
It was the Gordon vs. Johnson stretch charge that was so intriguing. The two, with differing strategies, kicked away from their 10 challengers so quickly it was breathtaking. At one point, after his stunning victory charge at Talladega in October, Gordon appeared to have the title in his grasp. But then Johnson won four straight and left Gordon scratching his head.
“I thought for sure consistency would be the key, and I knew Jimmie was taking some chances, and I figured that would backfire on him, but it didn’t,” Gordon said.
So will Gordon gamble more this year? Probably not. In this sport, consistency is usually the way to go.
Still Johnson, through his career and all with the intense Knaus as his boss, has been consistently successful with his weekly high-risk approach.
Now throw Earnhardt into the mix, and things become even more tilted in Hendrick’s favor. For one, Earnhardt will take a lot of the media heat off Gordon and Johnson, which those two might relish.
| | Posted February 11, 2008 , 7:14 am EST
Last Updated February 11, 2008 , 7:15 am EST | | | | | | |
