Jeff Gordon has a lifetime contract and Du Pont is signed through 2008. He is not going anywhere and I don't think Du Pont is either. Du Pont and Gordon go together just like Richard Petty and STP.
Jimmie Johnson and Lowes are signed through 2010. There will be no movement here either. I know, I know, nobody expects Gordon or Johnson to move. Bur bear with me. I am just sitting the table here.
Kyle Busch is signed through 2008 as are Car Quest and Kellogg's. Again, no movement here.
Casey Mears is signed through 2008 as well. However, the National Guard is not signed beyond this season. So Hendrick needs a sponsor here. Is Budweiser and Dale Jr. the answer? I honestly hope not. I would hate to see Casey Mears get done this way. Hendrick has a pretty good reputation. I don't think he wants to sully it.
Of course, I never thought Jr. would leave Dale Earnhardt Incorporated (DEI) this season either. Shows how much I know.
RICHMOND, Va. -- Jimmie Johnson's celebration seemed a bit subdued. Maybe all these trips to Victory Lane are becoming routine for the Hendrick Motorsports crew. Johnson gave Hendrick its seventh win in the past eight Nextel Cup races by leading teammate Kyle Busch to a 1-2 finish Sunday at Richmond International Raceway. (watch video) It was the third consecutive victory for Hendrick, which remained undefeated in the four races NASCAR has used its new Car of Tomorrow. But there was no gloating for a team all too aware how quickly the competition can catch up.
"Our team is in full stride, but this is a very circular sport," said Chad Knaus, the winning crew chief. "You get your time at the top and you fall to some degree. What you've got to do is make sure when you are taking your time at the top, you don't get too full of yourself that when it's your turn to fall, it doesn't break you apart."
Johnson, who was second to teammate Jeff Gordon last week at Talladega, finally broke through on one of the worst tracks on his resume. The .75-mile oval had given Johnson fits through his career, and he came in with just one top-10 finish in 15 previous visits. In this year of Hendrick Motorsports, everything has gone right and Johnson finally conquered the track for his series-leading fourth victory of the season.
"It's cyclical," the defending Nextel Cup champion said. "You enjoy it while you've got it, but we know that somebody is going to figure something out. We'll just hope that the valley's aren't that low and the valley isn't in the final 10."
Johnson used the victory to pull into second place in the standings, where he now trails Gordon by 211 points. But based on NASCAR's new seeding system for the Chase, Johnson would start the final 10 races with a 40-point bonus on the competition. And, five of the 10 Chase races will use the COT.
Jeff Gordon was named the first quarter winner of the 2007 Driver of the Year award. Gordon led the Nextel Cup Series points after the first eight races with only two finishes lower than fourth. Gordon had four poles, one win and three second-place finishes in the voting period.
RICHMOND, Va. – Jeff Gordon is on a roll and the only thing that may prevent it from continuing this weekend is his recent struggles at Richmond International Raceway. Gordon has won the past two Nextel Cup races and Hendrick Motorsports has won the first three races utilizing the “car of tomorrow” this season. The four-time champion has also opened up a 203-point lead in the points standings over second-place Jeff Burton. But entering tonight’s Jim Stewart 400 (7:30 p.m., Fox), Gordon has not finished better than 30th in his past four races at the track.
“I’ve liked this track and I’ve run well here in the past, but we’ve had such major brake issues the past four races. We’ve improved the aerodynamic, horsepower, grip over the last couple years that we’re going so much faster,” Gordon said. “For some reason, trying to maintain that speed throughout the race has caused used us, more so than some other guys, some major brake issues. “Not that we’re running out of brakes or don’t have enough brakes, we are building up pad on the rotor and it creates a vibration. The last three or four times we’ve been here, all I’ve had is a vibrating brake pedal and we could never work on the car.”
For those fans affectionately known as Hendrick Haters, this has not been a banner year. So how good are the Hendrick cars? In a season dominated by Chevrolet, Hendrick's top three are clearly the class of the field. Hendrick has five wins in eight races, including a sweep of the COT starts, and looks to be unstoppable
How much longer before the buzz from the Ford and / or Dodge camps becomes a full-throat roar, wanting a change here or a tweak there to help even the competition? The Ford camp remains all Roush all the time. The Dodge folks must be wondering if they'll catch a break before it's too late.
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