Heading into Sunday’s Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at PIR, there were all but three realistic possible outcomes to the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup...
Tom Jensen
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Posted November 16, 2009
Avondale, AZ
SPEED.com's Editor-in-Chief Tom Jensen. (Image: SPEED)
Heading into Sunday’s Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, there were but three realistic possible outcomes to the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup:
• Jimmie Johnson wins his record fourth consecutive Sprint Cup championship.
• Mark Martin finally wins his first Sprint Cup championship at the age of 50.
• Jeff Gordon wins his fifth Cup title eight years after winning his fourth.
Taken on their own, each of the aforementioned three scenarios would be terrific stories — Johnson for making NASCAR history, Martin for breaking through after four runner-up finishes dating back to 1990 and Gordon for making his Drive For Five a reality.
That those stories could all simultaneously be possible within the same team is nothing short of amazing. And while the individual accomplishments of Johnson, Martin and Gordon will rightfully be lauded and applauded at year end, the real key to the story is the Hendrick organization’s strength as a team — specifically, the willingness of four fiercely competitive cars, crews and drivers to function as one for the common good.
When Johnson crashed at Texas Motor Speedway last weekend, three of the four Hendrick crews pitched in to help with repairs. And when the crew chiefs and drivers meet for their debriefing sessions, the books are completely open for all to see.
And while that might not seem like a big deal to the casual observer, all good racers are selfish. They have to be. Getting to the front requires it. Every driver I’ve ever met who was worth a damn wanted the best engines, the best crew chiefs, the best tire changers. And they didn’t naturally want to share their secrets, even with their own teammates.
But the Hendrick system has changed all that.
Team owner Rick Hendrick insisted that all his employees from drivers and crew chiefs to entry-level personnel buy into the open-book system, a critical reason that the team will end the season having won nine Sprint Cup championships since 1995.
Hendrick said he began encouraging cooperation as far back as 1986 when Geoff Bodine and Tim Richmond drove for him. Finally in the late 1990s he drew a line in the sand and insisted that all his people work together.
And it’s never been more clear than in this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup. It’s why when Johnson crashed in Texas, crewmen from Martin’s car and Gordon’s pitched in with repairs to get it back on track.
“The important thing is in the organization for everyone to believe that if we work together and share information and make each other better, at the end of the day one's gonna out‑perform somehow the other three,” said Hendrick.
“You just have to believe in that and Rick really makes it clear that that’s his expectation of everyone,” said Doug Duchardt, Hendrick’s vice president of development. “So you don’t change what you’ve been doing all year when you get to the Chase and you’re racing each other. If you a crew chief, and you’re leading a discussion, it’s just as open and frank as it was before the Chase.”
