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The fall and rise of the Hendrick dynasty

Sporting News, The, Dec 2, 2005 by Lee Spencer

From the outside, everything looked fine nine years ago at Hendrick Motorsports. The organization had just clinched the second of four consecutive titles--Terry Labonte was preparing to be feted in New York, and Jeff Gordon was the runner-up. The organization was on track to becoming a dynasty.

But Rick Hendrick had a secret--one that he would keep until after the banquet. Hendrick had cancer. Only Hendrick, his family and his doctors knew the struggle that lay ahead.

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Fast-forward to 2005, the year after Hendrick lost a son, a brother, two nieces and several close friends in a plane crash. A dynasty? Jeff Gordon, the longtime face of Hendrick Motorsports, didn't qualify for the Chase. The No. 48 car made it, but the relationship between driver Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus was strained at times, and a crash at Homestead cost Johnson any chance at the championship. Rookie Kyle Busch, Labonte's replacement, won two races but stalked out of the postrace interview after his second victory. Second-year driver Brian Vickers improved dramatically, but he's still not where the organization expected. And the Busch series program that won the title two years ago failed miserably.

Racing runs in cycles. The fall race at Martinsville in 2004--the day of the plane crash--was the lowest low for Hendrick, and now both he and his organization are on the upswing. Hendrick credits the depth and continuity of his organization with helping his teams rally after the crash.

"You kind of have a template in place over the years," he said. "You might change the names and people, but having guys who have worked together for 10 or 15 years sure helps. You can go out and get stars, but can they work together? That's the key to being a successful organization."

Hendrick has an incredible knack for identifying talent and potential among his personnel. He's known for cultivating young mechanics and offering opportunities for advancement throughout the organization.

Steve Letarte, who started with Hendrick while in high school, was promoted to crew chief for Gordon in September. The pair won their first race together and scored four top 10s, including three top fives, in the final five races as Gordon climbed to an 11th-place points finish--and a $1 million bonus.

The Nos. 5 and 25 teams didn't rise to the level of the 24 and the 48, but both made significant strides under engineer Brian Whitesell and brilliant, young crew chiefs Alan Gustafson and Lance McGrew. It's no surprise that Hendrick is convinced all four teams will qualify for the Chase in 2006.

And despite not winning a title and having but one team in the Chase this year, Hendrick hardly can complain. His cars won the Daytona 500 and nine other races.

"We've got our momentum back," he says.

INSIDE DISH

Look for some organizational changes at Robert Yates Racing. Slugger Labbe will take over as crew chief of the No. 88, which is driven by Dale Jarrett, and Tommy Baldwin will lead the No. 38 crew and Elliott Sadler. Yates ended rumors that he will start a third team; he says he first wants to make the 88 and 38 teams stronger. But there still are plans for additional buildings on Yates' property in Mooresville, N.C.

Nextel Cup team owners are furious with NASCAR for getting rid of the impound procedure, especially because it was put into place as a cost-saving measure. The recently rescinded list of impound races for 2006 was released to teams in September, and the teams had planned to cut back on hotel rooms and personnel needed to haul equipment. Impound races reduced wear on cars and made qualifying packages-engines, gears, transmissions and special fuels-unnecessary. But the tracks that held impound races lost out on concessions sales and the networks lost programming inventory--and those are the prevailing interests. * Dodge has been at a disadvantage, especially on the intermediate tracks, since teams began to race the new Charger in February, so Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne drove Intrepids at Homestead. NASCAR president Mike Helton said it had no problem with the change because the Intrepid is an approved Cup car. Newman qualified second and finished seventh; Kahne qualified third and finished 16th. Specifications for the Charger were developed before NASCAR made rules changes affecting spoilers and tires. * Kahne was able to work with new crew chief Kenny Francis last weekend as Evernham Motorsports got a head start on its 2006 organizational setup. Jeremy Mayfield will work with crew chief-engineer Chris Andrews. * Dave Blaney will drive the No. 22 for Bill Davis Racing next season, replacing Scott Wimmer. Blaney says a decision has not been made on a crew chief, but he's content to have Derrick Finley remain in that position. * Sterling Marlin, who enjoys driving heavy equipment in his spare time, drove a garbage truck into the garage for the news conference introducing his new sponsor, Waste Management. Marlin, who will race for MB2 in 2006, ended his eight-year Ganassi Racing tenure with a 26th-place finish at Homestead. * Teams looking to get around NASCAR's new tire lease program might want to rethink that idea. Goodyear's Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology--a computer chip embedded in tires' sidewalls--made its debut at Homestead. NASCAR is limiting the number of tires teams can have at tracks for racing and testing. The chip allows Goodyear to know which tires are going where so teams can't use current tires for tests beyond the five that are approved by NASCAR.

The fall and rise of the Hendrick dynasty

Sporting News, The, Dec 2, 2005 by Lee Spencer

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