Hendrick's Chevys have been ones to beat
How dominating have the Chevrolets in the Hendrick Motorsports stable been this season?
Jimmie Johnson, with a series-leading seven wins, and Jeff Gordon (six W's) have won 40 percent of the Nextel Cup races. Throw in one victory each by Hendrick drivers Kyle Busch and Casey Mears and Hendrick's dominance increases to nearly 47 percent.
That's enough to make the Ford, Dodge and Toyota drivers tell their crew chiefs, "Enough!"
Nine of the 12 Chase racers drive Chevys.
Before anyone suggests that the non-Chevy drivers give up, remember that racing fortunes often go in cycles. Crew chiefs and engineers constantly work to make their cars go faster. It wouldn't be shocking to see another manufacturer surge to the front next season.
Having Johnson and Jeff Gordon in the Hendrick Chevys is one reason for organization's success. Johnson's 30 career wins place him sixth among active Cup drivers. Jeff Gordon leads with 81, followed by Bill Elliott, 44; Mark Martin, 35; Tony Stewart and Dale Jarrett, 32 each.
Another reason for Hendrick's prosperity is the extensive testing its teams did with the Car of Tomorrow.
"We had a good plan in place and tried to develop the [COT] in the early stages," Johnson, the reigning Cup champion, said on a Tuesday conference call. "We've had a very smart testing procedure in place. We've done it well in a short period of time, and it's really paid off for us."
While crediting Hendrick for getting out ahead of the pack on the COT, Ford's take on the situation focuses on NASCAR's original COT schedule.
"At the beginning of this year, [the COT] was scheduled for 16 races this year, some more races next year and then a full rollout in 2009," Kevin Kennedy, Ford Racing's public affairs manager, said from his Dearborn, Mich., office. "I think most of the Chevrolet teams were behind. [Hendrick] took a calculated, intelligent gamble that they were going to test and test the Car of Tomorrow.
"They started building cars early, while more of our teams were waiting to see what the final design was. That probably hurt us at the beginning of the year.
"By late May into early June, we went to Jack [Roush, Ford team owner] and said, 'We've got to get back in this thing.' By then, NASCAR had made the decision that all races would be geared toward the Car of Tomorrow for next year."
When Carl Edwards and his No. 99 Ford won the June race at Michigan, it was a sign that the Roush Fenway Racing program was progressing.
"The second half of the year, our improvement has been dramatic," Kennedy said.
COT testing for all Cup teams will be held at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Monday and Tuesday.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is joining Hendrick Motorsports next year, will drive a Hendrick Chevy for the first time during the testing.
Mad times at Roush
There's some fence-mending to be done at Roush Fenway Racing.
Carl Edwards spent much of his Tuesday conference call apologizing and explaining his flareup with teammate Matt Kenseth after Sunday's race at Martinsville, Va.
During the race, Edwards said he couldn't slow down as much as he wanted and his Ford hit the side of Matt Kenseth's car. Later in the lap, Edwards said Matt Kenseth "pile-drived me so hard in the rear end that I barely saved [the car]. That's what I was mad about."
Edwards' having three wins this season to only one for Matt Kenseth is perhaps a factor in their icy relationship. Edwards also is having a better Chase: He's fifth, while Matt Kenseth is last among the 12 Chasers.
Their personalities also are drastically different: Edwards is more outgoing than the 2003 Cup champion.
Greg Biffle, another Roush Fenway driver, chimed in by saying in a television interview he thought Edwards was at fault for running into Matt Kenseth's car.
"I was definitely shocked at Greg's comments," Edwards said. "I believe he's going to think about that a little bit."
Whatever, we'd pay to sit in on the next Roush Fenway team meeting. Well, maybe paying is going too far ...
Bob Osborne, Edwards' crew chief, said yesterday the Roush Fenway crews aren't affected by the drivers' feuds.
"The worker bees here stay out of that," Osborne said. "As far as team camaraderie and teams sharing information, that's going extremely well for us."
Osborne, a Penn State graduate, said Edwards has shared his frustrations about his teammates.
"We speak of it," Osborne said. "I don't know if it's been a long-term issue or a short-term issue. You have to deal with it and try to make relationships better."
Pep Boys 500
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Hampton, Ga.
When: Sunday, 2 p.m.
TV/Radio: Channel 6/WXTU (92.5-FM), WNPV (1440-AM)
Course/distance: 1.54-mile oval; 325 laps, 500.5 miles
Last year's winner: Kevin Harvick
Last year's pole: none (inclement weather); starting lineup determined by points standings
Track qualifying record: Geoffrey Bodine, 197.478 mph (November 1997)
Track facts: Jimmie Johnson was runner-up to Tony Stewart last year; Dale Earnhardt Jr. was third ... Johnson won the spring race at Atlanta; Tony Stewart second and Matt Kenseth third ... Bobby Labonte's six wins at Atlanta top active drivers. Jeff Gordon has four wins at the track ... Ryan Newman won the pole position in the spring race with a 193.124 mph clocking ... Tony Stewart has top-10 finishes (two wins) in 11 of the last 12 Atlanta races ... Carl Edwards swept the 2005 races at the track ... As grand marshal, Jeff Gordon will give the "Gentlemen, start your engines" command. He made his Cup debut at Atlanta in 1992, finishing 31st ... An appeals committee overturned a $10,000 fine levied against a crew chief for Kyle Busch following a Busch Series race in Kansas last month.
Wins: Jimmie Johnson, 7; Jeff Gordon, 6; ony Stewart and Carl Edwards, 3 each; Kurt Busch, 2; Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Burton, Martin Truex Jr., Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Casey Mears, Jamie McMurray, Juan Pablo Montoya, 1 each.
NEXTEL CUP CHASE
1. Jeff Gordon 6 wins, 26 top-10s, 6,055 points
2. Jimmie Johnson 7-20-6,002 -53
3. Clint Bowyer 1-16-5,940, -115
4. Kevin Harvick 3-22-5,806, -249
5. Carl Edwards 3-13-5,770, -285
6. Kyle Busch 1-18-5,765, -290
7. Kevin Harvick 1-13-5,686, -369
8. Denny Hamlin 1-17-5,681, -374
9. Jeff Burton 1-14-5,646, -409
10. Kurt Busch 2-11-5,635, -420
11. Martin Truex Jr. 1-11-5,608, -447
12. Matt Kenseth 1-18-5,593, -462
REMAINING SCHEDULE
All on 6ABC
Nov. 4: Dickies 500, Fort Worth, Texas, 3
Nov. 11: Checker Auto Parts 500, Avondale, Ariz., 3
Nov. 18: Ford 400, Homestead, Fla., 3
See more at www.philly.com
