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Associated Press 17y

Putting the brakes on Hendrick

CONCORD, N.C. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. couldn't defend
Talladega from the Hendrick Motorsports domination.

Then Richmond fell like Las Vegas, Atlanta, Bristol,
Martinsville and Phoenix before it: With a whimper from Kasey
Kahne, a weak charge from Carl Edwards and a tantrum or two from
Tony Stewart.

Greg Biffle, you're NASCAR's last hope. Please keep your hold on
Darlington Raceway, where you'll try to win your third straight
race this weekend.

Somebody has to do something to end this Hendrick onslaught,
because seven wins in the last eight Nextel Cup races is hardly the
parity NASCAR was looking for this season. Although Hendrick has
suddenly taken on the look of the 1927 New York Yankees, the
competition isn't conceding just yet.

"I'm real confident that I can go back to Darlington and have a
chance at winning again," Biffle said Monday. "Now, they may
finish first, second, third again ... but I feel like we have a
good opportunity there."

Recent statistics show otherwise.

Jimmie Johnson led a Hendrick parade at Richmond International
Raceway, where he scored his fourth win of the season on Sunday
while leading teammate Kyle Busch across the finish line. Hendrick
cars actually ran 1-2-3 for the final 100 miles, but Jeff Gordon
slipped to fourth right at the end.

Johnson's win was the third consecutive Hendrick victory, and
the fourth time this season Hendrick cars finished 1-2.

It also kept Hendrick undefeated in the four Car of Tomorrow
races this season, with no sign that Saturday in Darlington will be
any different.

"I know Rick, I know his passion for winning and I know he's
going to do whatever it takes," said rival car owner Ray Evernham,
who won three championships as a Hendrick crew chief.

"Right now they are just pounding everybody. More power to him.
He's worked for it and I don't see it letting up anytime soon."

The Car of Tomorrow was supposed to be NASCAR's great equalizer,
the one variable that would close the gap between the elite teams
and those struggling to survive. It hasn't worked out that way, as
even the usual contenders have struggled to keep pace with
Hendrick.

Even Roush Fenway Racing, which paced NASCAR in 2005 by placing
all five of its cars in the Chase for the championship, is lagging.
Biffle, winless this season and 15th in the points, said Hendrick
has lapped the competition in COT preparation.

"They say that Hendrick's have almost 100 days of testing in
the COT car ... we've spent nine days testing," Biffle said.

Hendrick officials scoffed at that estimation, and say they've
actually only tested the car between 25 and 30 days.

But there's no denying that Hendrick has the most resources and
is able to devote the most amount of time and energy toward
developing its COT program.

Earnhardt, mired in contract talks with struggling Dale
Earnhardt Inc., had a twinge of jealousy in his voice while
explaining that Hendrick has used several different test drivers
this season to gather data. Max Papis, David Green and 17-year-old
development driver Landon Cassill have all logged considerable
hours with the Chevrolet Impala for Hendrick.

"They've got a lot of resources. They've got a great company,
two, three really good cars every week, great crew chiefs. They've
really got the package right now," Earnhardt said. "Their cars,
they handle pretty good. They're getting through the center of the
corner better with the COT, and that's just because they test the
hell out of it.

"I hear rumors they got Max Papis and road race guys at Sonoma
testing and testing and testing and testing."

Asked if DEI could keep up, Earnhardt didn't pause.

"No. Not many teams can do that," he said. "There are a few
that can do that, but not many. They put a lot back into their race
teams, you know what I mean?"

NASCAR isn't too concerned with the current Hendrick dominance,
pointing out that several of the victories came after chief rivals
faltered.

Tony Stewart should have won at Bristol but had a mechanical
failure. Denny Hamlin seemed to have Phoenix in the bag until he
was caught speeding on pit road. And Kevin Harvick was the class of
Richmond, only to wreck on pit road.

Hendrick cars, meanwhile, have had nary a thing go wrong.

"Hendrick's is not only at the top of the game
performance-wise, but they haven't made any mistakes and haven't
had any mechanical failures," Nextel Cup director John Darby said.
"Everything is going right for them, and to some degree, the rest
of the garage has helped them."

Jeff Burton, who had an early engine failure on Sunday, agreed
and was buoyed by the fact that teammate Harvick could have won at
Richmond. If the competition can put together a complete package,
Burton said he was confident the Hendrick cars can be beat.

"When I go to the racetrack, I don't think they're that much
further ahead," Burton said. "When I leave the racetrack, I may
come to that conclusion, but when I go there, I don't believe that.

"Post-race, if somebody's beating you, it's because they're
doing a better job and we have no excuse to say they should be
doing a better job. We have the resources, We have the manpower. We
should be doing as good a job as they are and when we're not. We
need to find out why."

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