At the end of the season last year, if you were to ask anyone in the garage which team was most likely going to dominate the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, without hesitation they would say Hendrick Motorsports. Unfortunately for Hendrick, that does not appear to be the case in 2008. Joe Gibbs Racing has emerged as the dominant power in NASCAR so far this season, largely in part to the dominant performance of Kyle Busch, who joined the team this season. With Joe Gibbs Racing having a dominant start to the season, it is difficult not to have one of their teams as favorites for the 2008 Sprint Cup championship.
At this point last season, Hendrick Motorsports had eight wins among three different drivers, including at the debut of the new car by Kyle Busch. So far this season, Joe Gibbs Racing has posted four victories and they don't look like they are going to slow down any time soon. The biggest reason that Hendrick Motorsports was able to dominate last season is because it was the team that was able to figure out the new car the soonest. Now that all the teams in the Sprint Cup garage have a grasp on the new car, that dominance has diminished.
There are many factors to Joe Gibbs Racing's success in 2008.
The biggest contributer to the team's success this season is the talented drivers running for the team, including Kyle Busch, who was released from Hendrick last season to make way for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Busch has given the Joe Gibbs Racing three victories this season in the Sprint Cup Series, along with multiple victories in the Nationwide Series. Kyle Busch is on a winning streak in all of NASCAR's top series. Despite being criticized for his aggressive driving style and cocky behavior, Busch is proving that he could be a NASCAR champion.
This is also considering that Tony Stewart has yet to start his typical summer win streak. Stewart typically performs significantly better during the summer races, even though he has already managed to get six top-ten finishes, including four top-five finishes, already this season. Despite becoming the lowest rated driver at Joe Gibbs Racing, Denny Hamlin has proven his worth, having successful runs in short and intermediate tracks.
Switching manufacturers has also worked to Joe Gibbs Racing's advantage. Where the team was a second or third class team with Chevy, it has become the premiere Toyota team, giving the manufacturer its only wins in the series. Toyota engines have slightly more power than any other manufacturer's power plant, giving the Toyota teams a slight advantage. All it takes is the talent to drive the car, which Gibbs has.
Despite not having as strong a start that Hendrick Motorsports had last season, Joe Gibbs Racing is well on its way to lining up another Sprint Cup championship this season. The team has the drivers and the equipment necessary to dominate the Sprint Cup series, and has already begun to exert its power. The only thing that may limit the team from performing at its best is the ongoing discussion about Tony Stewart's future.
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written by Tim Zaegel, May 13, 2008
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