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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Communication Key At Hendrick
Hendrick Motorsports teams share the benefits...
Mike Harris  | http://www.RacinToday.com  |  Posted September 29, 2009   Charlotte, NC
Dale Earnhardt Jr, (Left) Jimmie Johnson (Second Left), Rick Hendrick (Center), Jeff Gordon (Right) and Mark Martin (Second Right), the story of the 2009 NASACAR Sprint Cup Season. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

There are those who automatically believe that drivers who work for Hendrick Motorsports have a built-in advantage.

No question the Hendrick entries have the best of everything – great cars, powerful engines, top-notch engineering, the best personnel available.

But that’s not the only reason that Jeff Gordon is a four-time champion, Jimmie Johnson is vying for a fourth straight NASCAR Sprint Cup championship and 50-year-old Mark Martin has found new life driving a Hendrick Chevrolet.

The not-so-secret key ingredient is communication.

“Before I came to Hendrick, I would never have believed the kind of information the crew chiefs on this team share,’’ explained Chad Knaus, Johnson’s crew chief.

Johnson’s No. 48 and Gordon’s No. 24 share one shop, while Martin’s No. 5 and Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 are housed in another close by. But it really doesn’t matter where those cars and their crewmen are, everything is wide open to everyone.

“It’s a little strange at times,’’ Johnson said. “You find something that gives you an edge out there on track and the next meeting you have all four crew chiefs sitting there looking at the open notebooks. It’s different, but it obviously works pretty well for everyone.’’

Not only do the crew chiefs get along, but the drivers all seem like one big happy family.

“I only had one teammate in my entire career, other than my son, that I could trust,’’ said longtime racing star Mario Andretti. “You said you were sharing with them, but you really didn’t. You wanted to keep that edge, whatever it was.’’

Three-time Cup champion Darrell Waltrip had a similar view.

“I had some great teammates, but you just didn’t share information the way they do today,’’ Waltrip said. “We were in one shop and they were in another and there was a line down the middle.’’

The big difference at Hendrick is the boss, Rick Hendrick. Here’s a guy who truly believes that you have to work together,


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Mike Harris

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