The most dominant team in stock car racing's modern era isn't showing any signs of slowing down.
After qualifying all four of its cars into last season's Chase of the Sprint Cup, Hendrick Motorsports appears primed to do it again with only seven races to go in NASCAR's regular season.
Not only does Hendrick have the funding to put together some of the fastest cars in the sport and the drivers to get those cars to the finish line first, the team also employs some of the top tacticians in racing, giving the teams an edge well before the green flag flies each weekend.
By any metric, Hendrick has been the team to beat throughout most of the Chase era. With five series championships and six dozen race victories since 2006, no other team can compare with the success of the drivers in Rick Hendrick's stable.
This year has been no exception, with Jimmie Johnson leading the way in the points standings and teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon all hanging around the Chase cut off with only a month and a half of racing to go before the playoffs begin.
Hendrick has qualified at least three cars in the Chase in six of the last seven seasons, but last year was the first time they managed to get all four into the post-season. This year he's close to doing it again.
Heading into the July break, Gordon is alone among Hendrick drivers not currently in a position to make the Chase - but he's only two points out of the final automatic qualifying position. Although he sits 12th in the driver standings, Gordon is being edged out at present for the final Chase spot by 13th-place Tony Stewart because Stewart has a race victory and Gordon doesn't.
Johnson is in the catbird seat with his lead in the point standings and his four race wins. The driver of the No. 48 has a 56-point lead on the rest of the field - equivalent to more than one full race. The five-time champion could sit out the rest of the regular season and still make the Chase comfortably.
Victory lane has so far eluded NASCAR's most popular driver, but Earnhardt appears to have rebounded from a mid-season slump to improve to fifth in points. A few disastrous outings could still imperil the No. 88's chances, but barring a series of crashes he should earn a Chase berth with ease.
Kahne has one race win under his belt, which could come in handy. Sitting in 10th in the points standings, the driver of the No. 5 is on the bubble and may need to use his lone win to get into the Chase as a wild card entrant should he fail to stay in the top 10.
In recent years the only team which has consistently challenged the Hendrick four, week-in and week-out has been the trio of drivers employed by Joe Gibbs Racing. Yet despite racking up race wins at a similar clip, the last Sprint Cup champion from the Gibbs' garage was Tony Stewart in 2005.
This season Gibbs' cars have six race wins to Hendrick's five, with both Kyle Busch and newcomer Matt Kenseth in great position to make the Chase - but reliability was a problem for the team's Toyota engines earlier in the year which led to a series of DNFs.
Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin's season has been an utter disaster, from missing four races due to injury to failing to finish four other events. Even running the table and winning seven straight races might not be enough to get the No. 11 team into the Chase.
The Gibbs cars may be in a position to push the Hendrick crew once again, but if history is any guide it's Hendrick who has the inside lane to another championship.
