Year in Review: Hendrick Motorsports

Hendrick Motorsports had arguably the best 2003 season of any NASCAR Winston Cup operation -- even considering Roush racing's dominant championship with Matt Kenseth.

Rick Hendrick was the only owner with three cars in the top-10 in the Winston Cup standings and one of only two, along with Joe Gibbs, to have more than one placed there.

The 2003 season marked the 20th consecutive year that Hendrick Motorsports has claimed at least one Winston Cup pole position and the 18th consecutive year that HMS has won at least one Winston Cup race.

Hendrick shared the lead in Winston Cup wins with Penske Racing, with eight apiece.

	Rick Hendrick saw all four of his teams win in 2003. Credit: Autostock

Hendrick's teams won either a race or pole position at every short track on the 2003 Winston Cup schedule: Martinsville, Bristol and Richmond. Jeff Gordon earned three poles at Martinsville and Bristol combined and swept both Martinsville races from the pole. At Richmond, Terry Labonte started from the pole and teammate Joe Nemechek won the race.

Five Hendrick drivers: Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Labonte, Nemechek and Brian Vickers won at least one event in 2003.

Hendrick Motorsports won pole positions at every kind of Winston Cup venue in 2003, including short tracks (Richmond, Martinsville and Bristol); superspeedways (Pocono); intermediate tracks (Kansas); and road courses (Watkins Glen).

Hendrick's leading trio featured second place Johnson, whose performance proved over and over again that he had learned much from his mentor and teammate, four-time Winston Cup champion Gordon.

Johnson ended the season in storming fashion with six consecutive top-three finishes. For the year, he had three wins -- including a sweep at New Hampshire -- 14 top-fives and 20 top-10s.

"He has gotten better every year, and one of the things I enjoyed seeing this year was his ability to focus on how to race for points and win a championship," Gordon said. "He definitely has what it takes and I am really proud of him for finishing second. I would love to see a 1-2 points finish for me and him."

Johnson also won the final The Winston at Lowe's Motor Speedway, and followed up a week later with a victory in the Coca-Cola 600.

Gordon rebounded from a debilitating summer stretch -- six finishes of 24th or worse in seven races -- to win two of his three races on the season in consecutive weeks at Martinsville and Atlanta to vault into fourth place. For the 10th consecutive year, Gordon posted multiple victories.

	Terry Labonte won at Darlington for his first win in four years. Credit: Autostock

"I am just really happy with our year," Gordon said. "Our chemistry for our team is where it needs to be for next year. We want to go out there and get (championship) number five."

Gordon ended with 15 top-fives, 20 top-10s and also was second in the miles led standings. Gordon led 22 races, second best in the series to Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s 24 races led.

"I think that we learned you have to have good luck to go along with your strong performances and that is one thing we didn't have during the summer," Gordon said. "We can learn from some of our own mistakes. We have to get our handle better on our pit strategy, and having a solid pit crew all year will be helpful."

Two-time Winston Cup champion Labonte regained the top-10 in the standings for the first time in five seasons when he finished 10th -- an improvement of 14 positions over last year's 24th place standing.

Labonte won for the first time in more than four years and in a consistent season, added four top-fives and nine top-10s, the lowest totals by far of anyone in the top 10.

However, Labonte led nine races -- a statistic he's barely been able to accrue at all in the last few seasons -- and finished 26 times in the top 20.

	Brian Vickers gave the No. 25 program a much-needed shot in the arm in the closing races. Credit: Autostock

"We overcame some obstacles in the last few races to get back (in the top-10)," Labonte said. "Nobody got discouraged. Nobody gave up, and because of that, we're going to New York.

"Our primary goal for this year was to get back in NASCAR's top-10 (and) the key to that was being consistent. One of the most satisfying things about the year was seeing that consistency return to the No. 5 team."

Vickers, who won his first Busch race in his 47th start, was NASCAR's youngest national touring division champion when he clinched the crown at Homestead.

But prior to that, the driver who clinched the Busch crown on the strength of three wins, 13 top-fives and 21 top-10s had already made his Winston Cup debut for the team that he'll drive for in 2004.

Vickers and owner Ricky Hendrick, 23, were each honored by The Sporting News, being named the 2003 Busch Series "Driver of the Year" and "Owner of the Year."

Nemechek started the season in Hendrick's No. 25 Chevrolet, but despite winning at Richmond in the spring -- his third career win -- he and the team never produced the expected results and he was 25th in the standings when he stepped out of the car.

Vickers ended up making four starts in the No. 25 Monte Carlo and, while his qualifying ability was an eye opener, based on starts of fourth, second, second and third; he found out there'll be a lot more to racing in the Nextel Cup Series in 2004 than he was used to in the Busch Series.

"It's very tough," said Vickers, whose best finish was 13th. "The competition there is unbelievable, not just in the top five, but all the way through 43rd. You can be back there in the 30s and you're racing with former Winston Cup champions."