Hendrick's fall from grace?

What a difference a year can make! We are five races into the 2008 Sprint Cup season and Hendrick Motorsports is still seeking its first win. Last year at this time, HMS was well on its way to complete domination, winning three of the first five races, and seven of the first 10. Although its early in the season, this winless streak is sort of a fall from grace for the organization once touted as the authority on the COT platform. So, what's really happening in the Hendrick garage? Was the torrid pace of last year just too much to maintain? Or is it the Tiger factor? Well, I like to refer to this as the Tiger factor. Tiger Wood's dominance over the years has forced more PGA golfers to hit the gym and work harder at their game. Same philosophy applies here. Last year Hendrick was so dominate, it forced other teams to buckle down over the off season, and today we are seeing the results. Toyota got it's first win at Atlanta. Last Sunday at Bristol Richard Childress Racing got it's first 1-2-3 finish. The best thing going for HMS might be the biggest surprise of all: Dale Earnhardt Jr. He had a ton of pressure coming over to Hendrick from DEI. Now, I think we all expected Junior to do well, but leading this star studded team comes as a complete surprise. If the Chase for the Cup were to begin today, Junior would be the only Hendrick teammate to make the Chase.