Cup Preview: Hendrick Motorsports
— -- One in a series of 16 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team previews ahead of the season-opening Daytona 500:
Hendrick Motorsports
Principal owner: Rick Hendrick
Manufacturer: Chevrolet
Engine source: Hendrick Motorsports
Alliances: Stewart-Haas Racing
Drivers (crew chiefs): Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Greg Ives), Jeff Gordon (Alan Gustafson), Jimmie Johnson (Chad Knaus), Kasey Kahne (Keith Rodden)
2014's top finisher: Gordon (sixth)
2014 Grade: A-minus
Ownership stability: A
Sponsorship stability: A-minus
Driver/crew chief quality: A-minus
2015 team grade: B-plus
2015 outlook: The 2014 season didn't produce a championship for Hendrick Motorsports, but it was a great year nonetheless for NASCAR's most successful team. All four Hendrick drivers qualified for the Chase, and three of them -- Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- put together title-worthy efforts. But change is afoot at HMS. Keith Rodden (ex-Chip Ganassi Racing) has been installed as crew chief for the No. 5 car in an effort to get Kasey Kahne back on level terms with his teammates. Earnhardt also has a new crew chief, with Greg Ives replacing television booth-bound Steve Letarte. Dale Jr. put together the most impressive Cup season of his career in 2014, winning the Daytona 500 and three other races, and it will be interesting to see whether he can carry that confidence and momentum forward with Ives on the pit box. The Jimmie Johnson-Chad Knaus relationship appeared tense on occasion in 2014, but that was the product of the frustration from Johnson and the No. 48 car not running as consistently as they needed to win a seventh Cup championship. The biggest news surrounds Jeff Gordon, who will make one final run at championship No. 5 before handing the No. 24 car off in 2016 to current Xfinity Series champion Chase Elliott. Hendrick will run Elliott in five Cup races this year in a No. 25 Chevrolet.
Driver lineup
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Nationwide/Diet Dew/Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet): It's often said that NASCAR's fortunes mirror those of Dale Earnhardt Jr. That's probably not as true as it was five years ago, but there's no question that Earnhardt's breakout 2014 season was a key storyline in a vintage season for stock car racing. Crew chief Steve Letarte was widely credited for helping re-establish Earnhardt's confidence and swagger, resulting in four wins including the Daytona 500. Letarte is embarking on a television career, but Earnhardt believes there will be no drop in performance with new crew chief Greg Ives, who led Chase Elliott to the 2014 Xfinity Series title for Earnhardt's JR Motorsports outfit. It's hard to believe Dale Jr. is 40, but based on what we saw last year, he still has plenty of fuel left in the tank.
2015 goal: Show that 2014 was not a fluke
Jeff Gordon (No. 24 3M/Drive to End Hunger/Axalta Chevrolet): There's not much else you can say about Jeff Gordon and his awesome Cup career spanning more than 20 years. Most of today's NASCAR stars have Gordon to thank for molding the image of a modern stock car driver. The pilot of the famous No. 24 announced last month that 2015 would be his final Cup season, and if he and crew chief Alan Gustafson can find the tiniest bit of improvement over a solid 2014 campaign, there's no reason why Gordon can't bow out by winning that elusive fifth Cup title. He may no longer be Wonder Boy, but he looked like his old self last year, and if Gordon can summon up one more title run, NASCAR will truly be blessed.
2015 goal: Win his fifth Cup championship in a walk-off performance
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe's/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet): When you've won six Cup series championships, including five in a row, anything other than finishing on top is a letdown. Four wins and another run in the Chase would be plenty successful for most folks, but Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus are held to a higher standard and their frustration occasionally boiled over in 2014. NASCAR's changes to the cars are expected to better suit Johnson's driving style and only a fool would write off the No. 48 group because it is definitely not an 11th-place team.
2015 goal: Match Dale and The King with a seventh ring
Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Farmers Insurance/Great Clips Chevrolet): In a 2014 season when each of his teammates won four times, Kasey Kahne was the odd man out. A nonfactor most of the season, Kahne scraped into the Chase with a solitary win at Atlanta, but he dropped out in the first round. Suspicion was raised when sponsor Farmers Insurance announced a contract extension without mention of a driver, but Kahne soon received a new three-year deal, to the surprise of some. Hendrick clearly believes in his driver, and Keith Rodden, crew chief for Jamie McMurray at Chip Ganassi Racing in 2014, has been hired to resume a 10-year working relationship with Kahne. He takes over crew chief duties from Kenny Francis, who assumes the new position of vehicle technical director.
2015 goal: Reverse his recent drop in form
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