Hendrick banking on its track record at Martinsville

Charlotte is NASCAR's home and Daytona is the sport's mecca, but the track at Martinsville is just as important to team owner Rick Hendrick.

The car salesman from Virginia won his first NASCAR race as an owner at Martinsville Speedway - but wasn't there to see it. He was in a church in Greensboro, N.C., that day. That's OK: His teams have gone on to win 16 Cup races at Martinsville, more than at any other track.

This week, Hendrick is looking to the historic half-mile to remedy his ailing teams. Not since 2003 has Hendrick Motorsports arrived at this spring stop still seeking its first Cup win of the season. Hendrick won that 2003 race, starting a stretch of three wins in four races.

Should his four-car team not fare well Sunday at Martinsville, questions about what's wrong will grow louder and harder to ignore.

It's obvious his teams are not as strong as other s on the 1.5- to 2-mile tracks but, even in down times, Martinsville has been Hendrick's rock.

Jeff Gordon's average finish there is an impressive 7.2. Teammate Jimmie Johnson has been even better, winning the track's past three races and posting an average finish of 6.1. Even Dale Earnhardt Jr., who joined the team this season, has seven top-10 finishes in his past 10 Martinsville starts.

With that kind of success as a backdrop, Martinsville figures to give the Hendrick teams a place for momentum to swing their way.

This race is important because Bristol, another track where Hendrick teams typically fare well, didn't produce strong results this time. Finishing fifth, Earnhardt was the only Hendrick driver to place in the top 10. Johnson appeared headed for a top 10 until a late tire problem relegated him to 18th. Gordon struggled with an ill-handling car and was 11th, failing to lead a lap at Bristol for the first time in four years.

Questions about Hendrick's team started at Las Vegas last month, when Johnson, who had won three races in a row there, finished 29th. He struggled at Atlanta, fell a lap down, got it back and finished 13th, the last car on the lead lap. Gordon ran better at those tracks. A late crash while racing at the front dropped him to 35th at Las Vegas; he was fifth at Atlanta.

Still, Gordon faced questions about his team at Bristol two weeks ago and said his cars aren't as strong as others'.

"We have had really good cars, but I don't feel like we have had the car to beat yet," he said. "A few little things here and there (and) we could have maybe pulled one off, but we weren't the car to beat. We've done our homework with our team and we're doing good, but some other teams have stepped up.

"To me, the Roush teams have really stepped up. Toyota - especially Toyota-Gibbs combination - has been strong."

Throw in Richard Childress Racing, which proved with its 1-2-3 finish at Bristol that it can't be overlooked. After his Bristol win, Jeff Burton wouldn't declare that his team - or any other - has surpassed Hendrick Motorsports.

"We can answer that question in late November," Burton said.

What happens next can help dictate what happens then. Both Johnson (13th in points) and Gordon (14th) are outside the 12-car cutoff point for the title chase beginning in September. While both drivers are fewer than 25 points from that last spot, it is worth noting that, since 2004, more than 75 percent of the drivers who were in the transfer spots after five races made it into the Chase.

"You wake the sleeping giant," Burton warned, "they're going to be hard to beat."