Dale Jr.'s racing roots with Hendrick

But you may not know that Dale Jr.'s grandfather, Robert Gee, built cars with Rick Hendrick when the owner founded his first NASCAR team, All-Star Racing, in the early 1980's. And Hendrick's first Busch win in 1983 came with Dale Earnhardt Sr. behind the wheel. Dale Jr.'s family has had a lot of connections with Hendrick so the move made sense.

When Dale Jr. announced that he was leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc., Darrell Waltrip noted a personal relationship with an owner was so important to Junior. Rick Hendrick comes to victory lane, puts his arms around his drivers and tells them that they did a great job. That's why he went to Hendrick Motorsports. The decision had deeper roots than a lot of people may have realized.

After winning three championships with Junior Johnson, DW joined Rick Hendrick in 1987 because Rick was a class individual. While they weren't able to win a title together, the one time Waltrip won the Daytona 500 it was for Hendrick Motorsports. When DW decided to start his own team, Hendrick helped him get going by providing engines and support.

Dale Sr. drove for Richard Childress, but he started his own organization, Dale Earnhardt Inc. Maybe JR Motorsports is the beginning of a Nextel Cup-winning organization for Dale Jr. Time and time again, Junior has said that he would like to own his own business and move his racing team forward. The decision to drive for HMS may be an opportunity for Dale Jr. to work with Hendrick the way his father worked with Childress.

Speed Mail Jeff Hammond

Both guys are handling it very well, putting pressure on themselves to take care of business. But Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a ton of talent. He can drive race cars and he's won Cup races on every kind of track the series races, except for road courses. Give him the right car and the right group of people, he'll get it done. Hendrick's record speaks for itself. No matter who is driving for him — Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson or now Dale Jr. — they all have first-class equipment. If you don't believe me, ask Casey Mears who got his first Nextel Cup victory in only his fourth month with the organization.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. took a very small step for his career, but it's a huge step for Junior Nation to get warmed up to Hendrick Motorsports.

Kyle will be fine

FOX race analyst Jeff Hammond led Darrell Waltrip to two of DW's three Winston Cup championships as his crew chief. They also teamed to win the 1989 Daytona 500.

For autographed copies of Jeff Hammond's book "Real Men Work in the Pits" plus magnets, hats and more, check out www.dwstore.com.

For photos and appearances, visit Jeff's web site www.jeffhammond.com.