[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”280″]
[/media-credit]Obviously a great amount of success is coming out of the 48/88 shop this season at Hendrick Motorsports. Teammates Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. are doing great this season. The two together have combined for four point race wins and two non-point race wins, 19 top five finishes, 30 top ten finishes, and Johnson has one pole on the season so far.
Earnhardt gained the points lead coming out of Indianapolis and Johnson sits in fourth in the Sprint Cup Standings. But what’s leading to the dominating success of the two?
Well first off, it is Hendrick Motorsports. They can never be underestimated. They have the best equipment money can buy. Secondly, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. work great together. They draft together at the plate races, they give each other data on their cars, I believe one time this season they even practiced in each others cars to gather information. Great, helpful, supportive, teammates give you good finishes.
It’s not just the drivers that have chemistry, it’s the crew chiefs as well. Chad Knaus and Jimmie Johnson have always worked well together, getting five consecutive championships in a row. When Rick Hendrick put Dale Earnhardt, Jr. with Jeff Gordon’s former crew chief Steve Letarte, it was the start of something new. 2011 was a rebuilding season for Earnhardt. Now in 2012, the good finishes haven’t stopped. Letarte and Junior have great chemistry, Letarte acts like a cheerleader over the radio instead of arguing about decisions most of the time.
In conclusion, the 48/88 shop at Hendrick Motorsports has had great success in 2012 and can’t be stopped. It’s all because of a great team, a great owner, two great crew chiefs, and two great driver. Don’t be surprised at all if Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. are the two drivers battling it out for all the marbles in Homestead.
