IS IT THE CAR OR THE DRIVER? DRIVER?BY PACK BRYAN It’s an age-old question: Does a good car win races, or does it take a great driver? Are other factors involved as well? We may not settle the debate, but we will provide some persuasive arguments, representing several points of view. immy Johnson scores an unprece- stock car racing. The latest count is 188. dented fourth consecutive win Their success displays the advantages with the 2009 Sprint Cup Cham- of multiple-vehicle teams. When crew pionship, and two of his three chiefs put their heads together and JHendrick Motorsports teammates share experiences, setup, handling and —Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon speed secrets start flowing. Sometimes it —finish the season second and third be- takes time for new crew chiefs to get up hind him. Definitely three good drivers to speed, but when they do, the results . in three good cars! Which do you can be very impressive. think was more important? No matter Out at the track, nine- and ten-second how you answer, I’ll say it was the other. pit stops require precision and strength, It’s a wonderful argument—car or so the better teams also have well- driver—as old as racing itself. But are equipped gymnasiums in their shops, there other important factors that come and pit crew personnel spend several into play? hours a day practicing pit assignments Hendrick’s cars were virtually identi- and working out with weights. cal; Johnson and Gordon are former Then there’s attitude. Success breeds champions, and Mark Martin is a peren- success, and there is no greater morale- nial front-runner; and they’re all mem- builder than being on a winning team. bers of a dominant racing organization. The enthusiasm is contagious, and their A look at the recent 1-2-3 Sprint Cup mutual experiences and easy communi- Championship finish and at the records cation develop a bond that pays off suggests that Hendrick’s team approach every time. is the way to go. His teams have won As Hendrick himself puts it, “It’s all more NASCAR events than any other in about the people—the team and driver. Wieck Media images: Harold A. Perry; Montage: 18 March 2010 March 2010 19 IS IT THE CAR OR THE DRIVER? If you assemble a group that’s willing to work together, everything else will take care of itself. The cars are so close and the rules are so tight that it almost al- ways comes down to the human capital.” Yes, the cars are so close. NASCAR’s much-heralded Car of Tomorrow has proved itself to the satisfaction of the sanctioning body, although some drivers still have their reservations. For the 2010 season, there’ll be two changes; sometime in March the rear wing will be replaced with a spoiler and the four orifices on the carburetor restrictor plate will be enlarged to 63 ⁄64ths for the Daytona and Talladega races this year. Lake Russ Photo: According to Aussie driver Marcos Birth of a legend. Because his rear-engine racer was not ready, A.J. Foyt put Ambrose, the Cup cars have “nowhere pavement tires on his dirt car and put it on the pole for a 200-mile race at the enough downforce, way too much pow- Milwaukee Mile in 1965. He finished second, beating many newer cars. er and not enough tire grip. If the car is comfortable, you’re too slow.” ful. It sounds easy, but that combina- right combination. He was crew chief for An experienced driver who’s won tion is hard to find.” Jeff Gordon on the Hendrick team from championships in Europe and Australia, The fourth Hendrick driver, Dale 1993 to 1999. This was during Gordon’s Ambrose is a NASCAR regular, having Earnhardt, Jr., NASCAR’s most popular early climb to sixth on the list of all-time successfully raced for a year in trucks, driver for the seventh straight year in great NASCAR drivers—47 Cup wins two in Nationwide and now in the 2009, finished a disappointing 25th in the and three championships. Gordon now Sprint Cup series. Cup standings. The whole Hendrick op- has 82 Cup victories to his credit. Ambrose goes on to say that “Cup eration spent the winter doing the team- Evernham is very familiar with the racing is possibly the only motorsports work bit, working with him to bring his crucial chemistry between driver and left in the world where drivers make the driving and his car up to their standards. crew chief, the ability to communicate big difference, because the cars just The results? Earnhardt shared the totally with each other. As he puts it, in don’t handle.” front row for the 2010 Daytona 500 with the years since they’ve gone in different Hendrick asks, “Who is willing to teammate Mark Martin. Earnhardt fin- directions, neither Gordon nor Evern- outwork the competition? What team ished second in the race and Martin, ham has had the success they achieved has the best communication? Who has who sat on the pole, was twelfth. together. the best chemistry? When all those Ray Evernham, now an ESPN analyst Chris Economaki, the dean of motor- things work together, you’ll be success- for NASCAR, agrees about finding the sports journalism, offered some thoughts. A happy Kendrick team faces the press (l. to r.): Mark Mar- Speedway Indianapolis Motor courtesy Photo tin, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jimmie Johnson and After leading the 1912 500 from the third lap, Ralph DePal- 1 owner Ray Hendrick. Martin and Earnhardt sat on the front ma and his riding mechanic pushed their car the full 2 ⁄2 row for the 2010 Daytona 500. Earnhardt finished second. miles of the 199th lap but couldn’t make it for the last lap. 20 March 2010 IS IT THE CAR OR THE DRIVER? “For many years there was no question it the car’s importance has increased you’ll attract good driv ers. His record of was the driver, but with the technology tremendously. That infinite adjustability three Indy 500 wins, three 24 Hours of that’s been brought into the sport lately, of the car also, unfortunately, allows you Daytona wins and several NASCAR that’s changed somewhat. With the infi- to set it up wrong if you don’t know what wins backs up that statement. And his nite adjustability of the equipment, the you’re doing. Not too many teams are driver Juan Pablo Montoya seems to car becomes more of a factor in a win- up on that, yet.” have been the only Indy 500 winner so ning combination than it was in the past. Successful team leader Chip Ganassi far to have any real success in NASCAR “In recent seasons,” he added, “really, says that if you have good equipment, since Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt in the ’60s. Montoya finished tenth in the 2010 Daytona 500. For another look at the car or driver question, let’s go back to the two Offen- hauser-powered front-drive machines built and entered in the Indy 500 by Lou Moore from 1947 through 1950, several years before the team approach became popular. For three years in a row, one of the two cars won the race. Bill Holland was leading in ’47, when More than Moore cautioned him to go easy. Team- mate Mauri Rose zipped past him and 50 certification tests they finished one-two. The next year, in 12 specialties. they finished in the same order. Finally, in 1949, Holland won the race. In 1950, Rose moved to another team and Holland finished second again in the same Offy-powered car. Not bad— three seconds and a first in four races. Where did the arguments about car vs. driver first start? Evidence says that with first-rate cars, any good driver could be successful. But what happens with an outclassed car? The car might be obso- lete, underpowered, ill-fitted for the track or just not in condition to go racing. Three examples from the early, middle and modern eras of racing add fuel to the fire of enthusiasm for the drivers. My favorite is Ralph DePalma, who raced from the early teens in the last century to the mid-’30s. He compiled a record of 2557 wins in the 2889 races he entered! One example from the Vanderbilt Cup race in Santa Monica in 1914: ASE provides: Driv ing a much slower Mercedes, De- Palma beat the great Barney Oldfield N Up-to-date, industry-recognized tests Taking in a Mercer in what he considered his N A visible symbol of competence ASE Tests finest race. He went on to win the Indi- N Better job opportunities and earnings this Spring? anapolis 500 in 1915. Register by N An evaluation tool for new hires Although he finished 11th in the 1912 March 31. N A gauge for on-the-job performance Indy 500, DePalma that year earned a place in the hearts of race fans that last- N Consumer marketing opportunities ed forever. Getting to the front on the third lap, he led the race until the 197th, when he broke a connecting rod. He Register for May tests at www.ase.com. and his riding mechanic then got out 22 March 2010 and tried to push the car for the last two It was like that during the post-World Midgets. When everyone was driving laps, but fell exhausted after one. War II Midget era when hundreds of virtually the same car, it gave the driver a A single example of Italian driver Offy- or flathead Ford 60-powered Kur- better chance to shine.