In late January, Rick Hendrick challenged his teams to return to championship form. Much of that challenge was seemingly directed toward the No.48 Lowes team. This pressure to perform coupled with the unveiling of the new Gen-6 car, definitely made for a long, hard off season. Today, however, at the Daytona 500, Jimmie Johnson and his Chad Knaus led crew, took the first step in answering that challenge.
Johnson, who started ninth in the event, didn’t spend much of time at the front of the pack, but when the time came, he drove his Hendrick Chevy to the front. Johnson looked very strong in the late stages, driving with extreme determination. He seemed to have re-kindled the fire he had during his five year reign as the series champion. Today’s victory was Johnson’s 61st career victory and his second in the Daytona 500.
Knaus, who was forced to miss Johnson’s first Daytona 500 win due to a NASCAR suspension, is known throughout the garage for his work ethic. The challenge from Mr. H is sure to have hit home with him the most. Given Chad’s personality, being told by his boss that he “…didn’t feel they were as good as they could be”, was most assuredly a wake up call for the five time championship winning crew chief. Today his team displayed a flawless performance that allowed Knaus to add the Daytona 500 to his already impressive resume’.
After seeing the performance today, Mr. Hendrick is proving once again why he owns the most successful teams in the sport. Hendrick’s has the ability to spot and attain talented individuals and then motivate those individuals to perform at unheard of levels is the key to his success. The current Hendrick driver and crew chief line-up is very impressive and shows no sign of going away in the foreseeable future. We are witnessing a dynasty similar to that of the Steelers, Lakers, and the Yankees. There is absolutely no reason why we cannot see all four Hendrick cars in the chase again this season and if today is any indication, the No.48 team may once again be leading the way.
