Young'n's have Hendrick locked, loaded for future

By simple association, those who carry an intense distaste for Jeff Gordon share an identical sentiment towards the entire Hendrick Motorsports organization, and undoubtedly fantasize of a day when HMS is a has-been bunch of hangers-on.

Well folks, I hate to break it to you, but relief isn't coming anytime soon.

	Marty Smith

Rick Hendrick is at it again.

In Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch, Hendrick Motorsports has secured the most impressive young talent currently in NASCAR, and in doing so has solidified itself as a force to be reckoned with for decades to come.

Don't forget, Gordon just celebrated his 32nd birthday and Jimmie Johnson is only 28. Take that foundation and build on it with a pair of 19-year-old hot shoes, and you've got an arsenal to make Colin Powell jealous.

Vickers, a Carolina country boy with a head full of fiery red hair and a wit as quick as his Chevrolet, is already a Busch Series championship contender at the tender age of 19.

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Busch? He's a threat to win every time he straps in. Just like older brother Kurt, he moves with a confident Vegas swagger and knows but one way to approach the sport -- mat it.

"Kyle is one of the best young racers I've ever been around and it's certainly exciting to have him on board," Hendrick said. "To say he has a bright future would be an understatement."

The attitude towards Vickers is much the same.

"We're excited to have a talented young driver like Brian," said team owner Ricky Hendrick. "He's bringing the kind of energy and desire it takes to be successful in this sport and I have no doubt that he'll be a winning addition to Hendrick Motorsports."

Vickers currently ranks fifth in the NASCAR Busch Series standings, but sits less than 100 points behind leader Scott Riggs. Aside from those truly in the know, few expected Vickers to enjoy such rapid success. Entering 2003 he'd only started 25 Busch Series events, but that was plenty enough to grab Ricky Hendrick's attention.

	Brian Vickers

So when Hendrick decided to retire near the end of last season, he tabbed Vickers his replacement in the GMAC Chevrolet. Vickers is well aware the significance of the opportunity, and is not squandering it.

Vickers nearly won in just his sixth start in Hendrick equipment, but was penalized at Texas for passing to the inside on a restart -- a controversial decision by NASCAR that left the youngster in tears and only fueled his hunger.

From that point on, he's been a mainstay at the front of the pack. He's finished in the top five seven times, including runner-up efforts at Nazareth and Milwaukee. But until last weekend was unable to break into Victory Lane.

He entered Indianapolis Raceway Park having never led a lap on a short track, but after the proverbial dust had cleared following a fierce race-long duel with Shane Hmiel, Vickers had led 43 laps and earned his first career NBS victory.

Everyone was elated for the kid. It was hard not to be. He's a racer's racer.

Last year while driving for his father, Vickers skipped prom in favor of racing at Bristol. Heck, he ran the CarQuest 300 at Charlotte on the very day he graduated from high school.

Busch is a kindred spirit. So badly did he yearn to advance his racing career that he took a full load of summer school classes every year in order to earn his diploma a year early.

This is nothing new. This kid does everything at warp speed. He was racing in the Craftsman Truck Series with Roush Racing at age 16, an opportunity that was cut short when NASCAR issued a minimum age requirement of 18 for drivers in its three top series.

Following the mandate, Busch moved back to the American Speed Association and posted three poles and four top-five finishes. When the time came to return to the NASCAR ranks, Busch couldn't agree to contract terms with Roush Racing and Hendrick quickly scooped him up.

It was a no-brainer. And it's already paying dividends.

	Kyle Busch

At Pocono two weeks back, Busch posted the fastest lap of the weekend -- in any series. His 170.849-mph lap in ARCA qualifying was quicker than Ryan Newman's Winston Cup-best 170.358-mph effort. And that's not all.

The Pocono pole marked Busch's second of the current ARCA campaign. The other came at Nashville Superspeedway in his first career start with Hendrick Motorsports. And for good measure, he dominated the race that weekend, too.

In the months since, Busch has collected yet another ARCA victory, at Kentucky Speedway, and nearly won his first career Busch Series start at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May.

I told you these kids were good.

"You're always looking for the next guys to come along and really push your program," Rick Hendrick said. "That's what I'm counting on with Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch. Both of them are showing really strong signs of being superstars and really competing in this sport real well."

Uh, yeah.

Neither has yet reached the age of 20 and both are reaching for the stars.

I can hear the Gordon-haters grumbling already.

Marty Smith is NASCAR.com's senior writer. His column appears each Thursday.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.