Compelling questions … and maybe a few actual answers
Who needed that off-week?
You dont need much insider knowledge to realize the Chevrolet teams spent that free week kicking over every stone they could find in and around the garage, trying to find where they left their recipe for speed. They probably brought in a forensics team at the Hendrick shops to look for Chad Knaus decoder ring, which has apparently slipped into a couch cushion.
Will they rebound?
Sometimes, a season-opening slump is just that, a slump, and all the smart engineers and assorted specialists work it out. Yes, sometimes. Often, since six races is a pretty good chunk of time, its symptomatic of something the old-timers would say just aint right. They used to figure it out with elbow grease, but nowadays they hope the engineers stumble upon a magical algorithm. Thats racin.
Ken Willis, ken.willis @news-jrnl.com
