Having all four of your team’s cars finish within a half-second of the lead usually amounts to a darn good day.
NASCAR Results From Talladega Superspeedway: Hendrick Motorsports Shines
That was undoubtedly the case for Hendrick Motorsports on Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, which had the winner (Jimmie Johnson), his loyal pusher (fourth-place Dale Earnhardt Jr.) and the third-place finisher (Jeff Gordon).
Note: Click here if you’re looking for the Talladega race results. ... Click here if you’re looking for the updated NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings.
Other than Mark Martin becoming barely unhooked from Gordon’s bumper at the last second and finishing eighth, it was a pretty stellar day for Hendrick Motorsports all the way around.
“We have a collective group of guys at Hendrick Motorsports that work on our superspeedway program, and they do a fantastic job of putting a very good product out there,” winning crew chief Chad Knaus said. “...You know, we have been working a while to try to get to where we could get the drivers to really commit to one another and work together.”
And they did on Sunday. The 1-3-4-8 finish gave Hendrick an average result of 4.0, which led the way among all the major teams of three or more cars.
Here’s a look at the rest:
Richard Childress Racing (average finish: 8.75)
Sunday was a pretty decent day for Richard Childress Racing, as the team’s ECR-powered cars once again showed how strong they are at restrictor-plate races.
But given how random circumstances and situations dictate the finishes, just the slightest bit of timing kept Childress’ day from being great.
Clint Bowyer was second, the loser of what tied the closest finish in NASCAR history.
“That sucks!” Bowyer said. “It’s never very good to know you made NASCAR history by losing. Sooner or later, I need to start making history by winning. That guy (Johnson) has won enough.”
Kevin Harvick was right behind Bowyer in fifth, though Paul Menard (12th) and Jeff Burton (16th) fell back a bit at the end of the race.
Roush Fenway Racing (average finish: 22.0)
Talladega was a split decision for Roush Fenway Racing: Two cars finished in the top 10 and two cars finished outside the top 35.
The drafting tandem of Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle made it four-wide at the finish on the very outside lane, but their charge came just a bit too late. As a result, points leader Edwards finished sixth and Biffle was seventh.
The news wasn't as good for Matt Kenseth (36th) and David Ragan (38th). Both drivers were caught up in accidents – Ragan's may have started with an engine failure – and thus had disappointing results.
Joe Gibbs Racing (average finish: 22.7)
After eight races – with nearly a quarter of the NASCAR season gone – Joe Gibbs Racing’s struggles are still a head-scratcher.
Bad luck seemed to be the problem again on Sunday. Joey Logano accidentally spun teammate Kyle Busch, who wrecked and finished 35th. The same incident also got Denny Hamlin out of shape, and Hamlin eventually finished 23rd – another lackluster result for last year’s Chase runnerup.
Logano, who has struggled to put together a good finish all year, was the team’s top performer on Sunday. He finished 10th.
Is this team’s luck going to change? Or is it perhaps just not JGR’s year?
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