HMS slump has been greatly exaggerated
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Hendrick Motorsports has yet to win a points race in 2008, but that doesn't mean the supposed "Superteam" has fallen on hard times.
After winning 18 of 36 races in 2007 and adding Dale Earnhardt Jr. to its roster, HMS was expected to continue its domination of the Sprint Cup Series. That hasn't happened over the first six events, as HMS has made zero trips to Victory Lane, but don't cry for them just yet.
Although they didn't win Sunday's race (Denny Hamlin did), all four Hendrick drivers - Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Casey Mears and "Junior" - finished in yesterday's top seven at the Martinsville Speedway. The team led a total of 371 of the 500 laps in the race.
Gordon has two DNFs (did not finish) in 2008, which is one more than he had in all of 2007, yet the four-time series champion is still ninth in the standings and currently in the "Chase for the Sprint Cup." Gordon had the dominant car in the Auto Club 500 before the race was postponed and run on Monday under completely different conditions. He was in second place at Las Vegas when he and Matt Kenseth collided, sending the No.24 hard into the inside retaining wall. In Atlanta he won the pole, but could only come home with a top-five. And yesterday, he was charging at Hamlin as the checkered flag came out. If the race had been five laps longer he might have had his first win of 2008.
Johnson, the two-time defending Sprint Cup Series champion, is also currently in the "Chase." Despite being 10th in the standings, it is his worst start since 2003. Johnson has won at least one of the first six races from 2003 through last season. He won twice in 2006 and three times in 2007 - both championship seasons. This year marks the first time since 2003 that he has had fewer than four top-10s in the first six events. Yet if the "Chase for the Sprint Cup" started today, the No.48 HMS Chevrolet would be part of the mix. A big part.
Also remember that Earnhardt Jr. won both the preseason Budweiser Shootout and the first Gatorade Duel qualifying race in February. He has finished in the top-10 in five of six races, the exception being at the Auto Club 500 where he traditionally has problems. "Junior" has led a team-high 237 laps thus far.
Of the team's four drivers, only Mears is outside of the "Chase" looking in. He is 27th overall with just one top-10. But that's not unusual for Mears, who has failed to make the "Chase" in each season at Hendrick Motorsports.
So, although HMS has yet to win a race, they have been a contender in almost all of them.
Has the "Superteam" become just another Sprint Cup contender? Hardly.
I still expect them to win at least 10 races this season and, come "Chase" time, they will once again be on top.