2007-11-22 16:51:22 · 30 answers · asked by bluedevil9 1 in Sports ➔ Auto Racing ➔ NASCAR
I think it's his car. Why? Because the #48 team is a bunch of cheats.
Do you all forget or care that the crew chief for Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson had been suspended for six weeks this season for rule violations? Well he was.
Considering it was his fourth suspension in six years should bug everyone.
2007-11-23 08:25:07 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
The answer is simpler than most think... It's both driver and car.
Equipment only takes you so far. Both Gordon and Johnson teams not only shared equipment but traded notes and ideas. It was up to the driver and crew chief to make good use of such info. The Johnson/Knaus team are a VERY calculated bunch. They hold back when they need to and pounce when ready. The Gordon/Letarte team is different. They play it all out by ear taking advantage of moments of opportunity.
All Hendrick's teams we're at the ready for the new car. This was a clincher this year. The engineers did their homework, and the crew chiefs took notes. Look at any of the post-season interviews. Even the other owners say that Rick Hendricks' success (4 out of 5 teams contending) was because they were so good with the new car. From the first C.O.T. race, the Hendricks teams came out of the box running and chasing wins (Even Casey Mears first win was a C.O.T.).
2007-11-23 19:35:57 · answer #2 · answered by defiantdj 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I would say neither, and both. Neither alone is responsible solely for their success. I would say what we are seeing now is similar to what Hendricks had with Gordon and Evernham back in the 90s. Knaus and Johnson are just hooked up right now so well that they anticipate (Jedi like) problems and adapt to changes so quickly that no one else can touch them. His car is so nasty by the end of the race that he drives it to the front almost effortlessly. That's a sign of a driver, chief and team hooked up and on the same page. Look at Johnsons results over the last 4 years, not just the last 2 years. A bad race at miami for K. Busch 2004, or Stewart 2005, and we'd be a talking about a 4 time defending champion in Johnson, as both point finishes (esp. 2004 when Busch won) were close.
2007-11-22 18:53:07 · answer #3 · answered by abiogeek2 4 · 3⤊ 1⤋
It's just an all around winning team. I have seen Jimmie save that car when many other drivers would have wrecked. Knaus is the best in the business and rarely makes a bad call. Hendricks has the best equipment out there BUT other teams with Hendrick engines still suck so it has to be a combination.
2007-11-23 00:17:40 · answer #4 · answered by hendrick girl 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Jimmy Johnson actually is that good. Yes he also has a well put together team, with lots of money; but take all that away and he still would have the talent to be a contender. This is what sets him apart from Jeff Gordon. Jeff Gordon really isn't that good of a driver, he just has a really good team; if you were to take him and put him in a different car on a different team he wouldn't do nearly as well.
2007-11-23 06:14:30 · answer #5 · answered by Rick G 1 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Johnson is just that good so watch out for next year, it's a combination of talent, driving skills, knowledge, patience, crew chief, Hendrick Motor sports have the best of the best so I'm gonna say " all of the above" Go 48 GO looking forward to the 2008 season!!!! Records are meant to be broken!
2007-11-22 19:45:48 · answer #6 · answered by 48's biggest fan 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋
He's got to be a good driver if he's driving a faster car than all the other guy's. Having a computer WIZ-KID as a crew chief helps as well !!! When your dealing with 10th and one-thousand's of a second over a 500 mi. race,that helps tremendously
2007-11-23 14:05:22 · answer #7 · answered by Bow-legged Snake 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I agree, both!!! That team and driver are both the best on the track right now! But from thirty+ years of following the sport that will change at some point!
I'm not a fan of pretty boy, but neither him or the car or getting around the track by themselves!!!
2007-11-23 04:03:02 · answer #8 · answered by Working Man 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
They go hand in hand. Ya need both to win. I don't know if JJ would win as much in John Andretti's car. At the same time, I'm not sure if David Ragan would be more successful in Johnson's car.
2007-11-23 03:52:58 · answer #9 · answered by Jim M 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Doesn't a driver have to have talent and drive good to get his car across the finish line?
2007-11-24 04:07:20 · answer #10 · answered by Loews 48 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋