NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
  • Peg It on GarageMonkey
CUP: A Hendrick ‘Recovery’ In 2012?
After five seasons of wealth, Hendrick Motorsports drivers missed the top five in 2011…
Mike Hembree  |  Posted January 03, 2012   Charlotte, NC
None of the four Hendrick Motorsports cars finished in the top five in Sprint Cup points in 2011. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
The 2011 Sprint Cup season marked uncharted territory for Hendrick Motorsports.

When all of the numbers settled after Homestead, no HMS drivers finished in the top five in points, a circumstance that most observers would have found unimaginable in the preseason.

The biggest surprise was the slide of Jimmie Johnson, who carried Hendrick colors to five straight championships but dropped to sixth in points last season. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished seventh, and Jeff Gordon was eighth.

Mark Martin, the fourth Hendrick driver (and racing in his final season with the team), finished 22nd in points.

None of this is cause for panic on the huge Hendrick “campus” near Charlotte Motor Speedway, but, for a team so entrenched at or near the top, it’s certainly a detour of sorts.

In 2009, Johnson, Martin and Gordon finished 1-2-3 in the standings, and Johnson and Gordon were 1-2 in ’07. Johnson, of course, won the championship from 2006-10 and this year finished outside the top five for the first time in his career as a full-time Sprint Cup driver.

Is there reason to expect different results from HMS this season? Certainly. In fact, it will be a large upset if one or more of the Hendrick drivers don’t land in the top five this season – and few would be surprised if one of the best teams in international motorsports scores the championship again.

Johnson and Gordon have been there and done that (although Gordon hasn’t won the title since 2001, he has been in the top five five times since that year). Earnhardt Jr. showed signs of a rebound last season. And Kasey Kahne, the new guy on the block, should be a Chase threat in his first season with the team.

Johnson said he prefers to look at the season just past as a “building” year.

“We had a lot to overcome on pit road and the lack of speed in our cars at the start of the year,” he said. “And we got there, so I hope that we can come back real hungry and dedicated and get it done.

“I’ve lived this for the last five years, and I have known how fragile the championship battle is and the stress that goes with it – the near-misses that we had. And I’ve always said it’s going to come to an end and maybe gave some PC (politically correct) answers along the way, because I was coming from a vulnerable spot. I was living it. It’s so fragile when you’re racing for a championship.”

Tony Stewart took that away from the Hendrick drivers last season, but it’s worth pointing out that he did it in Hendrick equipment.

Look for the front lines to be challenged by Hendrick drivers again in 2012.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 29 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
mike.hembree's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mike Hembree

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2013

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.