Hendrick Garage: Las Vegas Recap

 Welcome to "Sin City," where anything can and will happen. The Hendrick cars were all great in qualifying, except for the 88 of Dale Earnhardt Jr., who would start 33^rd. Mark Martin would start 10^th, Jimmie Johnson 14th, and Jeff Gordon would be 13th. Could there be another Jeff victory? Or would someone else break their winless streak?

Jeff "4-Time" Gordon

The winner of Phoenix was the fan favorite to win this race, but sadly Lady Luck was not with Gordon. Jeff started out very strong and raced hard all day long. Jeff had great pit stops as well as great track position, but sadly he’d lose that all.

On around Lap 76 or Gordon hit the wall hard, causing his car to catch fire. Thankfully Jeff was okay and walked away safe. Jeff would get a DNF, finishing a disappointing 36^th place. Jeff is currently 19^th in points.

Mark "The Kid" Martin 

What’s there to say about Mark Martin? He did amazing racing Saturday in the Nationwide race. Lady Luck was very much on Martin’s side as he won his 49th Nationwide Series event.

Hoping to have momentum for Sunday’s race, Martin looked to be the driver to beat. Mark looked good on the track and had a good pit stops as well as other things. Mark would close out the day finishing 18^th, as well as being 11^th in points. All and all it was a pretty great day for the 5 team. So far changes with the crew are looking good.

Jimmie "5-Time Champ" Johnson

For Jimmie Johnson, his day was decent. Jimmie didn't like his car all day. Crew Chief Chad Knaus had to be a cheerleader and keep his driver positive during the race.

Johnson would go a lap down, which made him very unhappy. Would Jimmie catch a break from Lady Luck? Yes, when a caution came out, Jimmie got back on the lead lap and was gaining positions quickly.

Jimmie Johnson would close out the day in 16^th place, a good comeback from going a lap down earlier in the race. Johnson now sits 12^th in points. Not too bad, Mr. "5-Time" Champ.

Dale "Little E" Earnhardt Junior

Dale Junior had his work cut out in Vegas, as starting 33^rd would not be an easy task. The 88 car was hoping to have speed and be a threat on the track. By lap two the 88 was already in 26^th place, and was moving on up as fast as he could. When the first caution came out, the 88 team stayed out to gain more track position - a good call by Steve Letarte.

The 88 car was moving and a fast car all day, quickly moving through the field. Could it be that the combo of Steve Letarte and Dale Junior is a good thing? Only time will tell, but so far so good. Junior would spend most of his day in the top 4 and would have finished 4^th or better; however, a late pit stop cost him spots.

Earnhardt would finish 8^th place, earning his second straight top-10. Earnhardt also leads the Hendrick cars in points in 10^th. 

Carl Edwards would go on to win the race, but all and all it was a good day for the Hendrick Garage.