Hendrick Motorsports 2014 Preview
By Richard Tix
After the 2013 season I can see how Rick Hendrick could be any happier. Once again one of his drivers won a Championship and all four of them made the Chase. If there is one spot he can look for improvement it would be the other three (obviously Johnson doesn't count) to find a way to win more races.
2013 Team Stats
- Wins: 9
- Top 5: 45
- Top 10: 77
- 2013 capped off another Championship year for Jimmie Johnson. If you have been away for awhile (you havent missed much), that is number 6 in his trouphy case. He finished the season with 24 top 10's (tied a career high, he has had 24 four other times), 16 top 5's, and 6 wins. He lead the most laps (1,985) that he has since 2009 when he lead 2,238. To say the least, he had a pretty good season in 2013. People say the points change if focused on JJ, but I think he will be just fine in 2014.
- Jeff Gordon has had a season in which he notched 20+ top 10's since 2009, he had 17 in 2013. He also had his lowest amount of top 5's (8) since 2005. In the last six years Gordon has started to fall off his win pace from before. Will he get to 100 career wins? I think 2014 is going to be the determining factor in that. If he can find a way to win 3 or 4 he has a shot, otherwise I think it might just be a dream.
- In his second year with Hendrick Kahne made the Chase again, but that is where this story ends as he had a few bad races that left him finishing 12th in points. Kahne was fast most the year but still only ended with 2 wins, 11 top 5's, and 14 top 10's. Looking on the bright side, he lead more laps then he had in his previous 6 seasons.
- Jr finished another season without a win in 2013 and then found out this offseason that Steve Letarte will be leaving him for the booth after the 2014 season. It is go time for him and Jr with nothing to lose. In 2013 Jr did finish with the most top 10's he has had in a single season (22) as well as 10 top 5's. He finished 5th in points.
This series will consist of 9 team previews for the 2014 season. Check back for the next team up daily. Also, check out Twitter for even more updates from the NASCAR World (Media, Drivers, #NFB, and just good people). Daytona is so close!
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