RCR undergoes change in hopes of catching HMS

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- No one has to instruct Richard Childress on how to identify a racing dynasty.

He once presided over one.

Richard Childress won 69 races in the 3 car, all but two with Dale Earnhardt behind the wheel. This year marks the 10th anniversary of Earnhardt's Daytona 500 victory.

RCR

Career Victories

Car	Driver	Wins
3	Dale Earnhardt	67
29	Kevin Harvick	11
31	Robby Gordon	3
3	Ricky Rudd	2
31	Jeff Burton	2
07	Clint Bowyer	1

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On the eve of the 50th running of the Daytona 500, everyone seems to want to know if anyone has what it takes to topple the dynasty that is Hendrick Motorsports. Led by two-time defending points champion Jimmie Johnson and four-time champion Jeff Gordon, Hendrick has captured a total of 11 car owner championships in NASCAR national series competition -- which currently encompasses the Sprint Cup Series, the Nationwide Series and the Craftsman Truck Series.

That impressive feat matches that of Richard Childress Racing, which held the record mark until the second of Johnson's consecutive titles in 2007. Childress acknowledges that Hendrick is the team to beat these days based on recent seasons -- but he cautions not to count out RCR.

He harkened back to the day when the late Dale Earnhardt was in his prime, and RCR was the envy of all the other stock-car racing entities. Beginning in 1984, Earnhardt launched a 17-year run with RCR that included 67 race victories and six championships (Earnhardt won the first of his record-tying seven championships in 1980 while driving for car owner Rod Osterlund).

"They all knew they had to beat us then. It's no different than us today, looking up at what Hendrick is doing," Childress said.

Driver Kyle Petty of Petty Enterprises said he found it humorous during the recent offseason when many teams said they were concerned only about improving themselves, and not worrying about what Hendrick was doing to get better even after team owner Rick Hendrick signed Dale Earnhardt Jr. to drive the No. 88 Chevrolet for him.

"Let me tell you something, those guys move the bar. Check that. They didn't raise the bar; they ripped it out, broke it over their knee, tossed it aside and now they're playing in an entirely different arena from everyone else," Petty said. "Everybody says, 'We don't pay any attention to Hendrick.' OK, I'm going to have to throw the B.S. flag on that one for everybody in the sport. Everybody pays attention to them."

Childress admitted he does. But he also points out that RCR placed all three of its drivers in the Chase for the championship last season, and that all three of his drivers won races -- including Kevin Harvick's victory in the season-opening Daytona 500 and, later, in the non-points All-Star Challenge at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte.

While Harvick, Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton each won one points race for RCR, however, Hendrick fielded four teams that won at least once each. Johnson and Gordon combined for 16 wins between them, with Johnson capturing a series-high 10. Kyle Busch, who was replaced by Earnhardt Jr. and now drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, and Casey Mears won one each. (Continued)