NASCAR mailbag: Why are Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing still winless?

Each week SB Nation’s NASCAR reporter Jordan Bianchi answers your questions about the latest news and happenings within the sport. If you have a question, email jordanmbianchi@gmail.com.

Since when is it OK for a lapped car to slam into the leader and shove his way by? I’d be mad too if I were Kyle Busch and if I were him I would’ve turned Ricky Stenhouse Jr. just to teach him a lesson. The leader has the right of way!!

--Darren

Yes, slower cars shouldn’t impede the leaders and play a factor in deciding the outcome of a race. Rookie Austin Cindric made a mistake when trying to stay on the lead lap when he threw a block on leader Christopher Bell during Saturday’s Camping World Truck Series race, causing Bell to slam into him entering Turn 1. The accident possibly cost Bell the victory.

There are exceptions, however. And the Stenhouse-Busch scrap is one of them. With the second stage ending, Stenhouse felt he needed to stay on the lead lap if he was to have a chance at a decent finish. A justifiable viewpoint when you take into account that he then went on to rally and finish 10th.

Had it been the end of the race, then Stenhouse absolutely should’ve conceded and not shoved Busch up the track. To do otherwise and Stenhouse would warrant an appropriate measure of payback from Busch (within reason, of course).

But let’s completely absolve Busch, who needed to exercise better judgement in that situation. Before running up on Stenhouse and others, he held a four-second lead over Chase Elliott and was under no pressure to slice through traffic. With a little more patience, Busch could’ve maintained the top position and gotten the bonus points for winning the stage. Instead he chose to force the issue, and it ended up costing him.

How is it Brad Keselowski wins Martinsville with a crew chief who should’ve been suspended, but instead he gets to be at the track helping his driver win a race? I get he’s appealing the suspension, but it still doesn’t seem fair that he can be at the track when he should be at home. Him being allowed to be there changed the outcome.

--Eric

There isn’t anything unfair about the situation. Team Penske believes NASCAR erred in penalizing the No. 2 team and therefore crew chief Paul Wolfe shouldn’t be suspended for Keselowski’s car failing post-race technical inspection at Phoenix International Raceway. Thusly, the team is appealing the ruling and if that appeal is denied, then Wolfe will sit out the two races he has remaining on his three-race suspension. (He missed the March 26 at Auto Club Speedway.)

How the situation has unfolded is no different than in other sports where a player who’s been suspended can continue playing while their case is under appeal. It happens regularly in sports and NASCAR is no different. Because if Wolfe was required to miss time while the appeal process moved along and Penske were to win its appeal, Wolfe would’ve essentially served a suspension for no reason.

Regarding Wolfe’s presence impacting the finish of Sunday’s STP 500, that’s not necessarily true. Drivers have won races with interim crew chiefs filling in for someone who’s suspended, Kurt Busch did so last year at Pocono Raceway in June. Just the week before when Wolfe elected to skip the race at ACS, Keselowski finished second with Xfinity Series crew chief Brian Wilson leading the team. And let’s not forget that even when a crew chief is suspended, thanks to instant communication they’re still heavily involved in running the team whether it’s during practice or strategy decisions in the middle of a race.

What the heck is up with Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports?

--Justin

That JGR and Hendrick haven’t yet won is certainly a surprise, considering the two organizations have combined to win 50 percent of the 72 Cup Series races over the past two seasons. The last time both teams went this late into a year winless was 1994, which speaks not only to the consistency of JGR and Hendrick but how quickly each notches a ‘W’ in the win column.

As to why JGR and Hedrick have been shutout thus far, there is no all-encompassing reason.

In the case of Busch and Elliott, it’s more circumstantial as both have been in position to win several times but didn’t. Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin have had their chances too, yet neither of their teams have executed to its usual high levels. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth have shown flashes, though each has been inconsistent with improvement needed. Kasey Kahne remains mired in a slump that’s now extending to its third year. And Daniel Suarez is a rookie, still acclimating to a new series.

All this coincides with Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing making obvious performance gains, which has propelled Keselowski to victory twice and Kyle Larson once; part of the natural ebb-and-flow within the sport where some teams improve and others regress, even if it’s ever so slightly.

It’s worth noting despite the early season drought, neither JGR nor Hendrick have fallen off a map. Busch ranks first in laps led and Elliott is fifth and both are in the top five in total stage points earned. In all likelihood, things will eventually sort out and it won’t be long before JGR and Hendrick return to winning at a clip we’re more accustomed to seeing.

A good bet for that initial victory is Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, where Busch and Johnson have won the past two spring races, while a JGR or Hendrick driver has won five of the past eight.

Then again, you could’ve said the same thing going into Martinsville and look how that turned out.