Published: July 21, 2009 11:45 pm      

de la BASTIDE: Hendrick sets a pace few can match

Anderson to draw Fisher tonight, Busch on Monday

With just seven races before the Chase for the NASCAR championship begins, the spotlight is squarely shining on the Hendricks Motorsports team.

Hendrick Motorsports has four drivers running officially under their stable, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Three of those drivers have tasted victory in the first 19 races and three are currently in the Chase field.

Defending three-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and four-time champion Jeff Gordon are locks to make the Chase field. Martin is currently in the 11th position, but has the most wins, four, at this point in the season.

It appears that despite being in the best equipment in NASCAR racing, Little E is going to miss the Chase field again and it appears doubtful that he will record a victory in 2009.

The Stewart/Haas team, consisting of Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman, also uses Hendrick Motorsports engines. Both are in the Chase field and are likely to remain there. Stewart has recorded two wins in point races and one in the All Star race.

With the Allstate 400 slated for Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it’s almost impossible to imagine that a Hendrick car will not be in victory lane after 400 laps.

Perhaps the only team that can challenge the Hendrick block is that of Joe Gibbs Racing with Kyle Busch and Joey Logano at the wheel. Busch has three wins this year and has challenged for the win at 18 of the 19 races.

Don’t look for a Ford to be in a contending position, since Matt Kenseth won the first two races of the year the Blue Oval teams have struggled on a weekly basis.

I expect Martin or Johnson to record the race win at Indy. A long shot might be Kasey Kahne in the Budweiser Dodge.

Expect a Toyota truck to win at O’Reilly Raceway Park on Friday and Busch to win in a Toyota on Saturday night in the Nationwide Series.

In other racing news

Fans of open-wheel racing will want to visit Anderson Speedway this week. Action starts tonight at 8 p.m. with Sarah Fisher returning to the track to compete in a Kenyon Midget and Tracy Hines driving a USAC Regional Midget.

Saturday night the USAC Mopar Midget Series will be at Anderson Speedway for a 200-lap event. This will be the longest midget event since the 1990s when a 500-lap race was attempted at the Indianapolis Speedrome.

There is no halfway break so the action among the top drivers will be non-stop for 200 laps.

Kyle Busch and the Champion Racing Association late models will be at Anderson on Monday for the Red Bud 300.

• Ken de la Bastide may be reached at ken.delabastide@kokomotribune.com