May 11, 2005

By Rebecca Gladden

The NASCAR Nextel Cup Series completed its 10th race with the running of Saturday night's Dodge Charger 500 in Darlington, South Carolina.

Remarkably, nine of those 10 races have been won by just two teams. Drivers from Roush Racing account for five of the nine wins, while Hendrick Motorsports racers represent four.

The only driver from a team other than Roush or Hendrick to win a race in 2005 is Kevin Harvick of Richard Childress Racing, winner at the Food City 500 -- held at Bristol in April.

In terms of wins, Jeff Gordon is the leading Hendrick driver. He has won three out of 10 races this season, starting with the Daytona 500 in February. Gordon also won at Martinsville and Talladega. HMS driver Jimmie Johnson accounts for the team's other victory with his March 13th win at Las Vegas. Of note, two of Gordon's three wins have come at restrictor plate races in Daytona and Talladega.

With a last-lap pass for the win at Darlington, Roush's Greg Biffle matched Jeff Gordon's team-leading three victories. Biffle also won races at California and Texas. Other Roush drivers with wins include Carl Edwards at Atlanta and Kurt Busch at Phoenix.

The combination of Roush and Hendrick drivers accounts for the top four positions in Nextel Cup points standings, and six of the top 10 overall, with Jimmie Johnson (1), Jeff Gordon (2), Greg Biffle (3) Kurt Busch (4), and Mark Martin (6). Robert Yates driver Elliott Sadler is in fifth and is the highest ranking driver from a team other than Roush or Hendrick.

Of course, both teams field drivers other than those already mentioned. Second-year HMS driver Brian Vickers is currently in 24th place, while Cup rookie Kyle Busch is 27th. Vickers' highest finish has been a fifth place run at Phoenix, while Busch has a pole (California), and a second place finish at Las Vegas.

Roush drivers outside the top 10 include Carl Edwards in 13th and 2003 Cup Champion Matt Kenseth in 23rd. Mark Martin has five top-5's in 10 races, while Edwards has four, including his Atlanta win. Matt Kenseth has struggled in 2005, his best finish and only top-10 an eighth in Las Vegas.

The Roush and Hendrick dominance is to some degree a continuation of last year's Chase for the Championship, in which half of the 10 Chase competitors came from those two teams. Roush drivers Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, and Matt Kenseth were in the hunt, along with Hendrick drivers Johnson and Gordon. While Kurt Busch won the championship, Johnson and Gordon lost by only 8 and 16 points respectively in the new format's inaugural year.

The highest points finish for a driver outside the two teams in 2004 was DEI's Dale Earnhardt Jr., who ended the season fifth in points. But Earnhardt Jr. has been notably absent from the top of the charts this year. After 10 races in 2004, Junior had victories in Daytona and Atlanta and seven top-10 finishes. He was also leading the points standings, followed by Johnson, Gordon, Kenseth and Busch. So far in 2005, Earnhardt Jr. has no wins and is ninth in points.

Also noteworthy is the fact that Dodge drivers have not won a single race so far this year. With the Hendrick drivers in Chevrolets and the Roush boys in Fords, Kevin Harvick's Chevy is the only other car to visit Victory Lane so far in 2005. Chevy and Ford also take the first seven spots in the points standings. Jamie McMurray is the highest ranking Dodge driver in eighth, followed by Ryan Newman in 10th.

A few weeks ago, Dodge driver Jeremy Mayfield was asked whether he thinks the media is making too much of the Roush and Hendrick dominance in 2005. "I think it's reality right now," Mayfield acknowledged. "They've definitely got it going on. Roush cars started getting that way last year, and the Hendrick cars have always run good … They've got it going on. They've got it figured out."

Until proven otherwise, Roush Racing and Hendrick Motorsports are the teams to beat in 2005.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN. Although we may not always agree with what is said, we do feel it's our duty to give a voice to those who have something relevant to say about the sport of auto racing.