BRISTOL, Tenn — Just under two months ago, it looked like another predictable NASCAR season for Hendrick Motorsports.
Jimmie Johnson won his third race, the FedEx 400 at Dover, for the third Hendrick win in four races after Dale Earnhardt Jr. won again at Talladega. Jeff Gordon was off to a great start with eight top-10s and teammate Kasey Kahne was right behind with seven. But since Dover, there has been a changing of the guard among the most powerful teams — one that could continue.
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Iconic for being the racing team with the best engines, parts and horsepower, Hendrick has this summer been anything but superior — its drivers leading just five laps since Junior’s July win at Daytona. Even on long straightaway tracks where the high-horsepower teams are at their best — Pocono, Michigan and Indianapolis — NASCAR’s most loved and loathed team was just plain average, with six top-10s in those five races.
Hendrick’s loss is Joe Gibbs Racing’s gains. Even as NASCAR implemented rules packages to even the competition and create passing opportunities, JGR Toyotas have been at the forefront of the research and design, winning at Kentucky, Indy and Michigan.
Unlike Hendrick drivers, JGR teammates Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards have all but secured places in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, having won seven of the past 13 races.
Hendrick Motorsports has taken notice of the Toyota foursome’s success.
“It’s very competitive out there. Some other organizations have gotten ahead of us,” Gordon said Friday at Bristol. “I think that we are behind as an organization.”
NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs (Getty Images)And guess what: JGR will be the favorite for years to come.
Gordon’s final season has become a distraction, with tracks, cities and sponsors trying to one-up each other with unique gifts, parades and media conferences that focus on his career past instead of his recent struggles and winless season. Gordon is 17 points ahead of Clint Bowyer and the cutoff line for the Chase.
Kahne, who is 18th in the Chase standings, is a disappointment given Hendrick’s high standards. With his 16th-place finish at Bristol, Kahne has an average finish of 27.25 the past eight races. While Kahne is signed through the 2018 season, his success (or lack thereof) this season doesn’t help his cause for an extension.
While Chase Elliott is preparing to replace Gordon next season, there is uncertainty with Earnhardt, who said in June that retirement from NASCAR is on the horizon. Johnson is no spring chicken, either. At 39 and with two children (like Gordon), it won’t be long before retirement rumors engulf the 48 team.
Even if Kenseth, 43, calls it quits soon, 19-year-old phenom Erik Jones, who held off Brad Keselowski and Earnhardt for a win at Texas earlier this season, is there to take over at JGR. It might be a slight step down at first, but Jones replacing Kenseth could be a better situation than what is going on at Hendrick.
It’s been seven seasons since JGR transitioned from Chevrolet to Toyota and signed Busch away from Hendrick Motorsports. After 857 races and zero championships, JGR from top to bottom has a legitimate shot at a title this season. Kenseth, Cup champion in 2003, has the highest average finish (7.63) at 1.5-mile tracks since 2013 — his first season with JGR.
With each round of the Chase involving at least one 1.5-mile track, Kenseth, along with Busch (104.0 driver rating since 2013) are among the favorites to win the Cup.
JGR drivers are racing for more than just a championship. They’ve all said they’ve been inspired by the courage shown by team president J.D. Gibbs, who is getting treatment for a condition affecting his speech and brain function. Although unable to attend races, J.D. Gibbs has galvanized the organization. If a JGR driver wins the championship, expect an emotional scene.
