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Chevrolet gains advantage with mix of top teams

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Larry McReynolds

FOX race analyst Larry McReynolds has more than 30 years of NASCAR experience as a mechanic, Daytona 500-winning crew chief and broadcaster. He earned 23 Cup wins as a crew chief, including two victories in the prestigious Daytona 500, as well as a pair of non-points victories in the annual all-star race.

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Ford has good race teams. The manufacturer not only has Roush Fenway Racing, but this season has added Richard Petty Motorsports. Getting Kasey Kahne back into the Ford camp was a big deal for them.

Unfortunately for Dodge, it is only represented by one organization and that is Penske Racing. Toyota backs a few teams, most notably Joe Gibbs Racing -- featuring Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano.

My point to all this is Chevrolet is simply stronger in its numbers and that’s where the separation is coming from right now. Chevrolet has Hendrick Motorsports. It has Richard Childress Racing. It has Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. It has Stewart-Haas Racing.

Chevrolet simply has a bigger mix to pull from. For example, if Roush Fenway struggles, well that probably means the whole Ford camp is going to struggle. So with Chevrolet backing so many big-name teams, well if one is struggling, you normally see another Chevy team pick up the ball and run with it. It’s been this way for a number of years.

Obviously Joe Gibbs Racing is the standard-bearer for Toyota. Sure, I was impressed with the runs that Michael Waltrip Racing had in Las Vegas last Sunday, but Gibbs is the banner team for Toyota. Joe Gibbs Racing came onboard when Toyota was in the second year of its Sprint Cup program. With the addition of Gibbs, the performance really picked up.
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Over on the Ford side, it seems like Roush Fenway is getting closer. Last Sunday, the organization had three cars solidly in the top five throughout a good part of the day with Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards. The team is closer now, in my opinion, than it has been in a few years. That said however, the teams still have work to do to be able to compete with those Chevrolets consistently.

See that’s the problem when you are weak in numbers. It just seems when one struggles, well the rest do, too. The opposite is true over in the Chevy camp. We know Hendrick sits on an island by itself. We know RCR sits on an island by itself.

Again, the bottom line with the manufacturer separation right now in NASCAR Sprint Cup racing is simply the numbers. Chevrolet is at the top of the heap right now with Toyota, Ford and Dodge all chasing it week in and week out.
Tagged: Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Michael Waltrip, Joey Logano

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