Domination by Hendrick a good thing for NASCAR

"A house divided against itself cannot stand." -- Abraham Lincoln, 1858

Nearly 150 years ago our 16th president uttered these words in the halls of the Illinois Statehouse accepting the state's Republican nomination for Senator. Why do I bring up this quote from a pre-presidential Lincoln?

It is because I say nearly 150 years later that a NASCAR Nation of fans divided against themselves can and will stand and thrive. This brings me to the matter at hand and it's our Question of the Week.

Beau Estes co-hosts the Jack Daniel's Post-Race Show with Nikki Alexander. It can be seen following every Nextel Cup race live on NASCAR.COM.

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Is Hendrick Motorsports' absolute domination of NASCAR good or bad for the sport and why? As always, send your responses directly to my e-mail at Beau.Estes@turner.com.

Before I get to my thoughts on the subject let's take a gander at some of the numbers. There have been 10 races so far this season, meaning (thankfully) that I won't need my calculator for percentages. Of those first 10 races HMS has won seven or (getting out my calculator) 70 percent of the time, Jimmie Johnson has four wins (40 percent), Jeff Gordon two (20 percent) and Kyle Busch one (10 percent). This has left mere scraps for Gibbs, Roush Fenway, RCR and others to fight over and perhaps more surprisingly, has Tony Stewart and Dale Jr. winless well into the month of May.

All of these stats bring me to reason No. 1 why this development fills me with glee. If you don't think Tony Stewart is ready to leap from a last-lap wreck and sprint to the finish line on foot for a win Ricky Bobby-style, you're not watching the same guy as me. As much as "The Tiger" has lost weight he's bursting at the seams due to this development. Wrecking Tony is one thing, making him inconsequential is quite another.

Also, somewhere in the Roush Cave I'm sure Jack Roush is on the Roush Phone rousing (or Roushing if you prefer) NASA scientists at 3 in the morning demanding the latest aerodynamic charts for Darlington. Right now, I'm sure he's a mad (read angry, not insane) scientist and owner. Remember, he declared war against Toyota before the season, but now has a much bigger battle to contend with -- merely competing. Who among us would have thought that a year ago?

The point is, HMS has raised the bar. They've taken the sport to a higher plane and what makes it exciting for NASCAR fans is the fact that guys like Tony Stewart, Dale Jr. and Matt Kenseth are going to be forced to chase them down. And you know what? They will, but the question is when. (Continued)