Working On My Redneck ™ » HMS

How The HMS Crew Chief Swap Really Worked

Leon — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 15:39:29 +0000

Photo courtesy Leon Hammack)

As the media reported last week, there was a major shakeup, a crew chief swap, a company upheaval, or whatever you would like to call it, at Hendrick Motorsports!

After closer scrutiny, it appears that the way this swap is going to really happen is as follows:

Dale Earnhardt, Jr., the #88, all his sponsors, AMP and the National Guard, etc., are really moving into the #24 shop with all its equipment in tact. Crew chief Steve Latarte and all the #24 support and race team is staying put in their shop.

Jeff Gordon, the #24 and all his sponsors, are moving over to the #5 shop with Alan Gustafson. All the #5 support and race team staying intact, as well.

Likewise, Mark Martin, the #5 and all his associated sponsors will move over to the #88 shop with all the #88 support and race team in tact, as well.

So in the final analysis, the real movement in all this crew swap upheaval at Hendrick is that the three drivers affected are shifting to new race shops/buildings within the organization. Those particular race teams are changing paint schemes and numbers to reflect their new driver’s sponsors and affiliations.

That, my friends, in a nutshell is the final analysis of “The Great Shakeup AT HMS”!

And as Paul Harvey used to say,”now you know the rest of the story”

What is your take on the “New Hendrick Motorsports” lineup?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDENCK!

Is Dale Jr’s Fortunes Martin’s Misfortunes?

Leon — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:33:01 +0000

(photo courtesy Tom Whitmore/Getty Images)

Could it be that Dale Earnhardt,Jr.’s rise in the standings this season is related to the fall of Mark Martin?

Earnhardt finished fourth last Saturday night at the Coke Zero 400 and climbed up to 12th position in the Chase. Meanwhile Martin was caught up in one of the “big ones”, finished 28th and fell out of the Chase to 13th place.

Is this just racing luck or is there something to this analysis? If you look at the bigger picture, maybe there is something here. During the off season Rick Hendrick made some changes to try to bolster the sagging performance of “NASCAR’s rock star”, Dale Jr. and the #88 race team. Hendrick moved some “key players” from Martin’s team over to Earnhardt, Jr.’s team. It was explained as part of “reorganization “ effort to help both teams.

After last year’s performance, Mark Martin’s team really didn’t need any help, they had 5 victories to show for themselves. What needed help? Now 18 races into the season, Martin has zero victories and has fallen out of the Chase.

There is also this small item, what to do with the new Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Kasey Kahne, for the 2011 season? There is much conjecture on the future of Mark Martin, Kasey Kahne, and Hendrick Motorsports. Martin has a contract to drive full time with HMS in 2011, but the water is still very murky as to how the pieces of this puzzle will fit together.

Does any or all of this Kahne, Martin, and HMS negotiations have an affect on the Martin’s 2010 performance? One thing that is for sure, winning in NASCAR requires a multitude of factors to fit together snugly, from mechanical to mental, and many things in between. There are some people that may wondering if Hendrick’s tinkering may have upset the apple cart.

Nevertheless, there is some happy news for the ardent Mark Martin fan. Martin is only a handful points out of 12th place. The driver currently in 12th place is Carl Edward, hardly a powerhouse and winless in 2010.

What is your view on Martin’s slide and Junior’s ascent?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Is Martin A Lame Duck?

Leon — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 00:01:12 +0000

(photo courtesy Jason Smith/Getty Images)

The big news in the NASCAR garage this week is the Hendrick Motorsports signing of Kasey Kahne to drive the #5 HMS Chevy staring in the 2012 season. That headline puts Mark Martin, the current driver of the HMS #5 GoDaddy.com Chevy, in very precarious position.

It’s not like Martin is building this team for a very young inexperienced driver to take control of once Martin retires. Quite to the contrary, Martin will be turning over the reins of the #5 Chevy to a very capable and experienced driver, Kasey Kahne. Kahne is a proven winning driver, in waiting! If the facts are correct about this new Hendrick-Kahne contract, it would appear that the sooner that Kahne takes over the driving status of the #5 team, the better it is for the entire race team. No Lame duck!

This story has a very familiar sound to it. It mirrors a story that erupted back in 2004 when, this very same, Kasey Kahne make his entrance into the Sprint Cup scene with Evernham Motorsports. In 2004 Kahne took over the driving duties in the Evernham #9 Dodge from a very capable veteran, Bill Elliott. In the last 7 races of 2003, Elliott had an average finish of 4.56 including a win at Rockingham. Is this current Hendrick-Kahne situation deja vu?

Martin, like Elliott, has shown that he is still a very capable race car driver. But with this HMS logistical dilemma, what is Mark Martin supposed to do?

Does Martin stubbornly stay in the driver’s seat of the #5 car through the end of 2011? Should he volunteer to step out of the car at the end of 2010 and request to drive for JR Motorsports in the #88 Nationwide Chevy in 2011? Martin then could try to make an arrangement to race for a team that is closely aligned to HMS, Stewart-Haas, or Phoenix Racing, in selective Sprint Car races at Martin’s favorite tracks?

It is very obvious that Martin needs to formulate a good and graceful exit strategy for his Sprint Cup driving duties at Hendrick Motorsports! There are a number of options that must be explored and negotiated very soon!

What are you views?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Hendrick Motorsports Talks About Signing Kahne

Leon — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 21:09:15 +0000

(photo courtesy Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)

The following press release was published by Hendrick Motorsports on Wednesday regarding Kasey Kahne driving for HMS in 2012:

Beginning with the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, Kasey Kahne will drive the No. 5 Chevrolets of Hendrick Motorsports after signing a long-term contract with the organization.

Mark Martin, 51, the current driver of Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 5 team, will complete the 2010 and 2011 seasons. When Kahne takes over in 2012, he will join teammates Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in Hendrick’s four-car stable.

“In Kasey, we saw an opportunity to cement a big piece of our future,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “He possesses incredible talent and a tremendous dedication to his craft, and we know he’ll be a great fit within our company.

“Kasey has earned the respect of his future teammates by the way he’s handled himself on and off the racetrack, and we know he’ll be a contributor to the success of Hendrick Motorsports for many years to come. To have someone of his caliber join our team is an unbelievable opportunity for us.”

Kahne, who turned 30 on April 10, is an 11-time Sprint Cup race winner. Now in the midst of his seventh full-time season at NASCAR’s elite level, the Enumclaw, Wash., native also has earned 16 pole positions, 43 top-five finishes and 79 top-10s on the tour.

“I have a comfort level with Mr. Hendrick, my future teammates and the culture of the organization,” said Kahne, whose contract with Hendrick Motorsports will run through the 2015 Sprint Cup season. “For me, it’s the right fit on every level, and I think it gives me a great chance to win races and compete for championships.

“Determining the next step in my career has been an important process, and I’m excited and relieved to have the decision made and announced. Now it’s my responsibility to put all of my energy into winning races and having a successful 2010 with my current team and our sponsors.”

Although 2012 and beyond has been solidified, Kahne is not scheduled to drive a Hendrick Motorsports entry in 2011 due to NASCAR’s four-car limit. While who he will race for has not yet been determined, Kahne intends to drive a full Sprint Cup Series schedule next season.

“If this opportunity was going to happen, I knew having some unanswered questions would be part of the scenario at this stage,” Kahne acknowledged. “Hendrick Motorsports has a commitment to Mark Martin that they want to fulfill, and that’s important. It’s part of what attracts me to the team.”

What is left unsaid is where Kasey Kahne will land for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. There is peculation that, because of the close relationship that Stewart-Haas Racing has with Hendrick Motorsports, Kahne could land at SHR for the 2011 season. SHR has only two race teams in the Sprint Cup series so there is room to expand to three race teams and still comply with the 4 race team maximum mandated by NASCAR.

Additionally, Furniture Row and Phoenix Racing are closely aligned with Hendrick Motorsports for engines and chassis alike. So these race teams are options for Hendrick and Kahne to consider as well. Hendrick says that he wants finalize where Kahne will be racing in the next 90 days.

Where do you think that Kasey Kahne will land for the 2011 race season?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Earnhardt, Jr. Grabs The Pole At Atlanta

Leon — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:21:13 +0000

(photo courtesy of NASCAR)

As the Sun was dropping in the western horizon, the temperature was following closely at the Atlanta Motor Speedway Friday evening. The pole winner, the driver of the HMS #88 AMP Energy/ National Guard Chevy was equally as cool as he climbed out of his race car.

Dale, Jr. scored his first pole since 2008, capturing the pole with a speed of 192.761 mph. That speed was more than a half a mile per hour than the runner-up qualifier, Kyle Busch. Not known for his qualifying prowess, this is only Dale, Jr.’s ninth career pole, the second pole at Atlanta, and the fastest ever turned in a CoT chassis.

Is this turnaround the results of the off season effort by Rick Hendrick and both crew chiefs of the #5 and #88 teams to resurrect the #88 team to a championship caliber? “Hopefully we will see the same type of improvements for our team on Sunday,” said Junior, who hasn’t won a race in the last 60 attempts! “It’s definitely a step in the right direction.”

This pole is the second one for him since he transitioned to Hendrick Motor Sports in 2008, and follows a second place qualifying effort for the Daytona 500 three weeks ago.

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Is Joe Gibbs Racing The Future Of NASCAR?

Leon — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:35:48 +0000

( l-r, Denny Hamlin, Brad Coleman, Joey Logano, and Kyle Busch photo courtesy Jason Smith/Getty Images)

Arguably Hendrick Motorsports has been the most dominate and successful race team in NASCAR for the last 15 years. HMS has set the bar extremely high for every other Sprint Cup team to try to attain, winning nine Sprint Cup championships in the last fifteen years! Having said all that, can HMS continue to be the dominate force indefinitely? If not, then who will be the next race team to carry the banner for NASCAR?

Looking at the lineup of youthful drivers that Joe Gibbs Racing have assembled for their Sprint Cup cars, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, and Kyle Busch, they just might be the next dominate Sprint Cup team.

Denny Hamlin (Dastardly Denny Hamlin)

The 29 year old’s first full year in Sprint cup driving the JGR #11 FedEx Toyota (formally Chevy) was 2006, where he won the Rookie of the Year award. He has raced in a total of 144 Sprint Cup races in the past four years, and logged 79 top ten finishes in those races. That means that 54.8 % of the time Hamlin has finished in the top ten, very consistent. Additionally, that means that more than half of the races Hamlin has put himself in a position to possibly win the race!

In Hamlin’s first restrictor plate race, The 2006 Bud Shootout, he was able to notch a victory and be the first Rookie of the Year candidate to win The Bud Shootout in NASCAR history.

Hamlin has logged 8 Sprint cup victories in his career to date.

A note on Hamlin.

After the 2009 season Denny had the right medial meniscus repaired surgically. Additionally this past weekend Hamlin tore the ACL in his left knee. Surgery for that injury is presently delayed until the end of the 2010 season. Could this be an injury that will affect Hamlin’s perormance? Time will tell!

Joey Logano (Sliced Bread)

With announcement by Tony Stewart that he was leaving JGR at the end of 2008, Joe Gibbs Racing was forced to rush Logano into the driver seat of the #20 Home Depot Toyota, well ahead of the initial plan!

Logano’s first major victory in NASCAR came during the Meijer 300 at the Kentucky Speedway in just his third start in the Nationwide Series in 2008. Logano made history with that victory making him the youngest person to win a race in the Nationwide Series. In 2009, Logano wins a rain shortened Lennox Industrial Tool 301 at Louden, NH, again making him the youngest driver to win in the Sprint Cup Series.

In spite of the quick promotion to Sprint Cup in 2009, Logano recorded 1 victory and 6 top ten finishes in the 36 race schedule. More impressively, Logano’s numbers in his full year in the Nationwide Series, 2009, reflected 6 victories and 27 top ten finishes in the 35 race schedule. Not bad for a 19 year old kid!

Kyle Busch (The Las Vegas Weasel)

This phenomenally talented race driver has accumulated some mind boggling numbers in just his five seasons at the top levels of NASCAR.. The combined victories from all three elite series, Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and Trucks adds up to 61 victories! That is for only five seasons!

Busch won the 2009 Nationwide Series championship without competing in the entire 35 race schedule! Between the JGR #18 Z-Line Toyota and the JGR #20 Game Stop Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing completely dominated the Nationwide Series in 2009 with a total of 22 wins out of 35 races!

Kyle Busch has all the racing tools to be the next dominate driver in the Sprint Cup circuit. Move over Jimmie Johnson, he is coming through!

Just imagine, if JGR could get the performance from their Sprint Cup teams in 2010 similar to the results that JGR received from the their two Nationwide teams in 2009, winning 22 out of 36 races, then Joe Gibbs Racing is a force to be reckoned with for 2010.

Who you think is the heir apparent to possibly replacing Hendrick Motorsports as the dominate race team in Sprint Cup?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Hendrick Makes Rebuilding Junior’s Team A Priority

Leon — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 18:42:07 +0000

(photo courtesy Leon Hammack)

The phone conversation between NASCAR team owner, Rick Hendrick, and crew chief Alan Gustafson was brief and to the point.

“Hey man,” Gustafson said Hendrick told him,” the 88 has got to run good, capiche?” “Sure thing, boss.”

Hendrick Motorsports, clearly the most successful race team in NASCAR, ended 2009 with a very serious organizational problem. Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, and Jeff Gordon ended the season with the trifecta, 1-2-3 in the points, but superstar Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished a very distant 25th place in the standings.

Earnhardt, Jr., NASCAR’s most popular driver, went winless in his heavily sponsored HMS #88 AMP/National Guard Chevy in 2009. Dale, Jr. notched only 5 top ten finishes, got his cousin Tony Eury, Jr., fired as his crew chief, and suffered his most self-confidence rattling season in his 10 year NASCAR career.

It was quite clear that getting the Earnhardt’s team back on pace with the other three HMS teams was a top priority in the off season for HMS. Although it is a company-wide effort, the task of making that happen falls to Earnhardt, Jr. crew chief Lance McGrew and Alan Gustafson, who led Mark Martin to five wins and a runner-up in the Cup standings.

Why would Martin, Gustafson, and the whole #5 team agree to this task, rebuilding the #88 team that was so lost and lacking direction, when they are just a step or two away from winning the Sprint Cup themselves? That task required a total restructuring of shop practices, which sent Gustafson’s lead engineer and key mechanic over to McGrew’s team.

The answer is very simple. “The success of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is very near and dear to Mr. Hendrick’s heart and these two cars have to perform. It is his responsibility and it is my responsibility,” Gustafson said motioning to McGrew. “If that 88 car doesn’t succeed this year, then the 5 car isn’t going to succeed, either.”

The Hendrick complex differs from most other race teams. Not all four teams are housed in the dame building. The #48 and #24 teams, Johnson and Gordon, are housed in one building. They established a system of sharing and efficiency from the very beginning. That routine has never been disturbed.

When Hendrick merged the #5 and #25( now #88) teams into one building, things were never as smooth as with the #24 and #48 teams. The drivers changed, the crew chiefs changed, and re-creating the chemistry of the #24/#48 teams was very difficult. Hendrick wanted the two buildings to operate the same when Dale, Jr. came onboard. But that didn’t happen.

With Dale, Jr. came his cousin, Tony Eury, Jr. and several new employees and they had their own way of doing things. Even though they were willing to adapt to the Hendrick system, not everything fell into place with Gustafson’s practices.

So when the wheels fell off the #88 team, Hendrick knew that he had to demand that the 5/88 shop had to fall into place once and for all. It was apparent to both teams and neither needed convincing!

If there weren’t enough pressure already on the 5/88 teams,those two teams have a daily reminder looming above them every day they are in the shop. Jimmie Johnson’s office is not in the 24/48 building, but instead in the long hallway above the 5/88 shop floor. On display in the window is the four consecutive championship trophies, and if the sun hits them just right the glare will blind you!

The crews see these trophies daily and what could be seen as an “in your face”‘ kind of reminder is really viewed as motivation. “Motivation can be a very positive thing,” chimed McGrew!

The two crew chiefs are approaching the 2010 season as if they are on team. Both McGrew and Gustafson are using plans and procedures as if everything and everyone is interchangeable. Both Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. are onboard with the plan, as well.

Dale, Jr. has nothing to lose and has no choice but to buy into this plan. There is nowhere to go but up, and he is putting his faith in Lance McGrew. He fully believes that his crew chief will have it turned around by the time the season opens in February for the Daytona 500.

Only time will tell!

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

The Rick Hendrick Story

Leon — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:20:26 +0000

Have you noticed that Tom Cruise has been spotted at several NASCAR races this season? The TV cameras have picked Mr. Cruise out in the pits of several different Hendrick Motorsports teams this season. Now I remember that ol Tom made a really cool movie about NASCAR a few years ago titled,“” DAYS OF THUNDER. Well, my friend over at NASCAR Bits_And _Pieces, Stuff On Brusim (SOB), Bruce Simmons has uncovered the reason!

It seems that old Cole Trickle from the movie “Days of Thunder”, aka Tom Cruise, has been involved in making a documentary about Rick Hendrick and his racing empire of Hendrick Motorsports. The TV documentary is entitled,” Together: The Hendrick Motorsports Story”. It is scheduled to be broadcast just prior to the Pepsi 500 from Fontana, CA at 1:30 pm ET on October 11,2009.

From the short trailor that I have embedded below, it appears to be a really cool documentary and well worth your time to view it!

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqT_NxPstbU&feature=player_embedded

Parity in NASCAR?

Leon — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:36:00 +0000

In 2008 there were 12 different winners for the 36 races held. But of those 12 different drivers, Carl Edwards won nine races, Kyle Busch scored eight victories, Jimmie Johnson won 7 races, for a total of 24 of the 36 races during the season. Three drivers winning two-thirds of the sanctioned races! That would be domination, not parity!

Meanwhile, in 2009 there have been 11 different drivers to score victories in the first 17 races! That would indicate to the average person that parity has arrived at NASCAR, right? That would depend on how you define parity? Is your definition of parity, parity of drivers? Is your definition of parity, parity of race teams?

In 2008, as was illustrated above, three drivers won two-thirds of all the races. That would indicate that there was not parity among drivers at all! If your definition of parity is among race teams, that existed only among three of the four “super teams”. Hendrick Motorsports tallied 8 victories, Joe Gibbs Racing won 10 races, Roush-Fenway won 11 times, and Richard Childress Racing only went to victory lane 3 times.

Now let’s look at the first half of the 2009 season. Again there have been 11 winners in the first 17 races. Kyle Busch and Mark Martin each have 3 victories, while Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson have won twice. Four drivers have won 10 out of 17 races, unlike the domination that occurred in2008. From the driver standpoint, the wins appear to be spread out amongst more drivers in 2009.

When talking about parity among race teams, that more than likely will never exist! Currently there are the “Big Four” when talking about race teams, Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Roush-Fenway Racing, and Richard Childress Racing. This year, Hendrick Motorsports has won six races, Joe Gibbs Racing has won four times, and Roush-Fenway Racing has two victories, and Richard Childress Racing has a big fat goose egg! Three of “The Big Four” are responsible for 12 of the 17 victories this season. So as far as team parity, it still is far from ever happening!

One note to the new race fan, there is one team to keep an eye on. It is the newly formed Stewart-Haas Racing, controlled by Tony Stewart! This team has emerged from the “also rans’ to be a championship contender. The rumor mill is churning about all the potential possibilities with this team and its Hendrick affiliation. This off season promises to strengthen their position as an up-and-coming new powerhouse!

What is your take on parity? Should NASCAR strive to achieve it?

UNTIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!