Drivers Discuss Competition Balance

Archdale, N.C. (April 2, 2008) – After winning 18 times, their second consecutive championship, securing the driving services of the sport’s most popular driver and increased their sponsorship presence, Hendrick Motorsports expectations became nearly astronomical heading into 2008.

After six races they have yet to win and head into this Sunday’s Samsung 500 at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway riding a seven-race winless streak. Their winless streak in 2007 extended to 10 during the summer stretch. Carl Edwards win at Michigan in June started a streak of a non-Hendrick driver winning until Labor Day weekend when Jimmie Johnson won at California. They still came back to win the championship and place three drivers in the top 10.

Drivers discuss if Hendrick Motorsports is really in a slump or if the competition has increased in 2008.

Bobby Labonte, Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series Champion:
“If having three cars currently in the chase means you’re in a slump, then I think you’re going to see a lot of teams looking for that slump. Maybe they have redefined what the slump is-more media coverage, everyone talking about them, but still leading races and being in contention every weekend.

“I’m just not sure we’ve seen the whole story shake out this season. If there is one in the lead right now, it’s parity, and if that holds true for the rest of the season, that’s great for the sport.

“You have five or six different organizations in the top-12 right now. Change some luck on our end, and Petty Enterprises is right there too. That’s nearly every team in the series having a car in the top-12, and that’s great for the fans and the interest of the sport. It might take a little longer to see this season really unfold. April and May are going to be important months for everyone.”

Marc Mitchell, Driver #15 Ergon Toyota Tundra (NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series):
“In this sport, you’ll see different eras of domination. Hendrick owned the past two seasons, but it wasn’t long ago that Roush had a stranglehold on everyone. Joe Gibbs was the stable to beat for a while. The Wood Brothers used to have everyone’s number and Petty Racing had decades of dominance. It seems like one stable will dominate for a while, and then everyone else will catch up to them. What we’re seeing now is everyone catching up with Hendrick, and a new team is going to emerge as the one to beat.

“I think everyone is surprised Hendrick hasn’t won a race yet because they set the standard so high over the past two years. I have no doubt that they’ll be back in Victory Lane before long, and probably several times this season. They’re a top-caliber team and they still know how to win races.

“It’s tough to stay on top of the sport. The competition is closer than ever before and it’s hard to get a lasting advantage over 42 other teams. There are lots of smart team engineers whose job is to figure out what has the competition running so fast. Everybody spent the off-season learning the characteristics of the new car and probably caught up to Hendrick. Now, Hendrick has to figure out some new tricks to stay on top.”

John Andretti, Sprint Cup and Open Wheel Veteran:
“I think any time Hendrick Motorsports isn’t first and second in the championship hunt people get alarmed. People see them as the strongest team year in and year out and everyone is basing their performance off of the performance at Hendrick. I think that’s why people are alarmed, but on the other hand, that’s why we race – because you want to beat the best!

“As the season goes on, some teams get stronger, some teams sustain and other teams fall behind. I think Hendrick Motorsports is always a team that finds a way to get stronger, as does Roush Racing and people like that. The first part of the season is only a glimpse of what’s to come.

“Part of the reason that no one is dominating like they used to is because of the new car. I think everyone is trying to learn more about it, and they’re re-writing their book. They’ve got no records to really go off of and there’s just a lot more to learn about it. If you saw last season when the new car first came out, the field was spread all over the place. Now, after time has gone by, people have learned a lot more about them and you don’t see as big a spread. I think that’s just normal when you see a major change in racing. They say that cream rises to the top, and in racing that’s Hendrick Motorsports. By the end of the season, they’ll be back on top.

“It’s good for the sport that no one dominates every weekend. I’m a huge Formula One fan, but there are only two teams, four drivers that are going to win the race. All four of them are going to have to drop out for someone else to win. It takes a tremendous amount of the excitement out of it because it’s not really a race. It’s more of a technical race than a competitive race on the track. NASCAR is trying to reverse that. They want competitive racing that’s not decided by engineers. That’s why we don’t have computers on our cars and a lot of other things. It just raises the cost of our sport and it takes it more out of the driver’s hands. NASCAR is doing their best to make the driver the on-board computer, and as long as that’s the case, there will always be teams that find advantages and others that get caught up. That’s what’s great about NASCAR.”