Is there truth to this logic?

Question

...Rick Hendrick said that Jimmie has done a lot in a short time as far as wins goes. Statistically if he carried on the same length of time his stats would be better some say.

...Question is, is there truth to that logic?

...Jeff Gordon has been with Hendrick's organization for a while. The notes that are shared in HMS are notes from many years of Gordon's experience.

...If Jimmie had to build his own notes would he had been as successful up to this point? Would he had struggled more trying to compete if everyone at HMS had kept their notes from him and made him work his own setups up from scratch?

...You don't have to be specific to each question but take all into acount and give a general opinion based on the two drivers I mentioned.

Answer 1

It is no secret that Jeff and HMS have shared lots of information with Jimmy and his team. Jimmy himself, gives Jeff tons of credit for showing him how to do things the right way. There is no doubt in my mind, or even in JJ's mind that being teammates with Jeff has helped make him the driver he is today.

That said, I believe Jimmy still possess the tallent to be a top notch racer with or without help, but not a championship driver this soon in his career.

On a side note, I would like to point out that Hendrick Motor Sports is successful because they actually operate like a team. They share information as we have discussed, but the Hendrick boys link up and draft more often and with better success than any other team out there.

Answer 2

Jimmie Johnson has consistently proven himself as a top-tier driver. True, Hendrick seems to have the best equipment, and certainly Jeff Gordon's success is partly responsible for that success, but someone still has to get behind the wheel to prove themselves. Before Johnson, who else had his kind of success with Hendrick Motorsports other than #24?

As far as whether he would have enjoyed the success he's had behind the wheel of another owner's car, there's only one way to find out, and I doubt Rick Hendrick would let Jimmie walk any time soon.

At this point, I doubt there's enough evidence to prove one way or the other, so I'm just going to have to take Rick Hendrick's word for it.

Answer 3

One of the big reasons for Jimmie's instant rise to competitiveness and consistency is Chad Knaus. Yes, the 24 team and even the other 2 HMS teams share information amongst themselves but it's the application of that data that really matters. It is up to each crew chief to tailor the combined knowledge to the tendencies and individual style of of his driver. Jeff and Jimmie drive quite differently so their setups don't always work for each other. Kyle likes an extremely loose car (that's why he hates the COT) so his cars are really different than the rest of the HMS cars. Freely sharing data and information on how the various cars are handling is important, especially with newer drivers and new cars like the COT, but it's not as important when a team has been together for awhile and the crew chief and driver are on the same page. It would probably have taken Jimmie an extra year to get to the level he has but as long as Chad was his crew chief he would have risen to the top nearly as fast without using Jeff's base setups as a starting point.

Answer 4

I'm not sure I understand your question but it sounds like your asking if Jimmie Johnson would be this successful had it not been for Jeff Gordon paving the way and basically giving him a blueprint for success?

I think the answer is obvious. Jimmie sure has talent but if not for Gordon and Hendrick, he would be just another talented driver struggling to make races and get into the top 12 for the chase.

Answer 5

That is true in a way but I think that Chad Knaus has alot to do with jimmie's success..... as much as the cars have changed since 1992 you can throw most of the notes in the garbage especially with the COT also the tracks have changed alot over that time with different banking, repaves and new tracks... Alot of Gordons success in the late 90's was due to Ray Everham...... It takes more than drivers talent to win races.... And Chad Knaus is the master at pulling a rabbit out of the hat.........

Answer 6

First off, I see where you could come up with this from a fan's viewpoint........

But, the only way that Jeff's notes have helped Jimmie is in a way of track, tire, temps, shock, spring.........tendencies.

Jimmie doesn't drive the car the same way Jeff does. His style is quite different. The way that they turn in, through the middle, and off, are quite different. Also, the way they brake, is different. Jeff tends to use most of his brake before he gets to the corner. Jimmie tends to trail brake into the center.

I know everyone thinks that Jeff gave Jimmie the setup for the Spring Martinsville race..........that was the closest the setups between the 2 cars has ever been. But they still weren't exactly alike. The cars were still setup towards the drivers preferences.

24 and 48 have NEVER ran identical setups! Every off season, we go and test and we have the drivers run some laps in their cars and then after a while we have them switch. In the past 3 yrs of doing this we have never had any driver jump into a car that wasn't theirs and run a quicker lap. It hasn't happened yet!

So..........in Jimmie's defense, he is that good! I'm not saying that Jeff hasn't helped Jimmie, but it's not like he has been given wins. He still had to drive his butt off.

Answer 7

No doubt having a mentor like Gordon helps big time. He can share his experiences for the young drivers to gain from it. I'm sure it helped JJ a lot.
By the same token, that information has not necessarily produced the same yield for Casey Mears, or Brian VIckers before him. Because of this, I have to say Jimmie had to still go out and win on his own abilities.
You see th same thing at JGR. Smoke's talents have not necessarily furthered the career of J.J. Yeley

Answer 8

I honestly don't think he would be as successful today if he drove for a different team I mean he didn't really have a great career before he drove for Hendrick so he needs to thank Jeff for getting him a ride at Hendrick b/c it definitely helped his career

Answer 9

Sorry Tina I can't answer all your questions because I don't know, but I think when we are talking about the success of Hendrick Motor Sports the name Ray Evernham has to be mentioned!

Answer 10

yes i totally believe in your third paragraph. Jeff has really paved the way for Jimmy. Its like Jeff had to struggle to write the book and now Jimmy comes along with the Cliffs Notes. Chad Knaus is damn lucky.