Is Joe Gibbs Racing overtaking Hendrick Motorsports?

By foxsports
Published

If you go back to 2014, Joe Gibbs Racing only won two races the entire season while Hendrick Motorsports won something like 13 races.  Now only two short years later it is a complete role reversal.

So far in 2016, JGR has already won 10 races while the Hendrick teams have only won twice. I've been getting a lot of questions from fans asking if JGR has replaced Hendrick Motorsports as the top organization in NASCAR.

My answer is I am still a little hesitant to say that is the case. Joe Gibbs Racing has four NASCAR Sprint Cup championships. Now, by the way they are running and by everything we are seeing, they look to be the odds-on favorite to repeat as champions in 2016.

Now, if they can pull off either at or close to the number of wins they had last year which was 15 and one of their four drivers win the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship, then yes I am pretty confident in saying they are all but there alone at the top.

I mean they just have it all flowing their way. They have every "I" dotted and "T" crossed. After Denny Hamlin's win Sunday at Watkins Glen, now all four of their drivers have multiple wins in 2016. There literally isn't a race track that we roll into that any of the four Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas can't win at.

You really can't say that about the other organizations especially right now Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing which are the other four-car operations in the sport. Unfortunately at SHR, Danica Patrick isn't close to winning a race. For that matter, she is still looking for her first Top 5 finish.

Then if you look over at Hendrick Motorsports, I'm sorry, but Kasey Kahne is no-where close to being able to win a race.

I still believe Hendrick Motorsports will end up with two cars in the 2016 Chase with Jimmie Johnson already clinched his spot with two wins this season and I still believe his rookie teammate Chase Elliott will make the Chase on points.

Then however if you look over at Joe Gibbs Racing, all four of their cars are already locked into the Chase.

Don't get me wrong; when you look at the numbers, Hendrick Motorsports is the King of the Hill. The numbers don't lie with all the wins and 11 driver championships. Unfortunately NASCAR is a "what have you done for me lately" kind of sport.

Let me give you an NFL comparison. Sure the Dallas Cowboys are a dynasty, but look what they have done, or more correctly, what they haven't done these last few years.

So right now today I'm just not ready to put Joe Gibbs Racing at the top of the pyramid just yet, but it's close. I just go back to what I said earlier, if they can repeat with the total amount of wins from 2015 and if any one of their four drivers can win the championship in 2016, then yes, I'd say Joe Gibbs Racing is the best in the business.