Is Hendrick Motorsports' NASCAR Dominance in Question Due to Rough 2014 Chase?

Going into this year's Chase for the Sprint Cup, it appeared that in addition to Team Penske, Hendrick Motorsports was the other team to beat for the championship.

Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. all look primed to make a run for their fifth, seventh and first championships, respectively.

Gordon was in serious trouble of elimination until his win at Dover two races ago. And while Earnhardt stumbled slightly in the Challenger Round of the first three races, it appeared he was ready to get back into things once the Contender Round (Round 2) began.

But one race into the Contender Round and there's a significant amount of angst within HMS.

Johnson is the biggest surprise: He's ranked last among the 12-driver field after a 40th-place finish resulted from being wrecked by Greg Biffle this past Sunday at Kansas.

Johnson comes into this Saturday night's race at Charlotte a massive 44 points behind Kansas winner and new points leader Joey Logano, which is essentially equal to one full race's worth of points.

In other words, JJ is in BIG trouble.

Dale Jr. is right in front of Johnson in the standings, by a mere two points, while Kasey Kahne is in a bit better shape, in ninth place, 25 points behind Logano.

Unless Earnhardt can get back on track quickly, perhaps the best chance for his first championship in his 15-year Sprint Cup career may potentially be over two races from now.

As for Kahne, much like in the latter stages of the regular season, when his back was up against the wall to make the Chase (finally doing so with his win at Atlanta), he's once again in the same position heading to Charlotte. But there's one saving grace for Kahne, who is also seeking his first-ever Cup crown: Charlotte is arguably his favorite and best-performing track. So there's that.

And then there's Gordon. While he's on the plus side of the ledger, it's only barely. He's tied with Matt Kenseth for seventh place, 17 points in arrears to Logano.

To put things in perhaps the most blunt perspective, if the Eliminator Round (Races 7 through 9) started today, Kahne, Earnhardt and Johnson would not be in it, and Gordon will have made it by the skin of his teeth.

That's why, if things don't turn around rather quickly in the next two races, we could potentially see two, three or maybe even all four HMS drivers eliminated entering the Eliminator Round.

Or could the next two races be one of the greatest turnarounds in NASCAR history, particularly for Johnson?

At least one writer, Fansided.com's Christopher Olmstead, believes so. In a recent column, Olmstead wrote:

"

For many of the members of Johnson Nation Sunday evening and Monday morning have been filled with doom and gloom. The facts are that Johnson has a lot to overcome but the reality of the situation is that the stage has been set for Johnson’s greatness to shine through.

"

While I have my doubts whether Johnson can rebound in these next two races enough to advance to the third round, Olmstead makes a good point. Remember, this is six-time and defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson we're talking about.

If there's anyone who can do it, JJ can.

The problem, though, is Johnson now is in all but a must-win situation. If he wins Saturday at Charlotte or survives the likely wreckfest next week at Talladega to take the checkered flag, he'll advance to the next round.

But that's a pretty tall order, nonetheless.

Regardless of the fact that Johnson is a seven-time winner at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Sprint Cup competition, nothing is guaranteed.

Remember how so many fans and media types predicted an assured win at Dover two weeks ago for Johnson, simply because he had won there nine times previously.

As it turned out, it was teammate Gordon who won at The Monster Mile.

With two races left in the Contender Round, it's not a full-on, back-to-the-wall kind of panic at Hendrick Motorsports just yet. But you better believe all 500-plus employees are working overtime this week to do everything they can to assure one of its four drivers wins at Charlotte and the other three finish as high as possible.

In fact, regardless of the season Team Penske is also having, I wouldn't be surprised to see a 1-2-3-4 Hendrick Motorsports finish this Saturday night.

Yes, HMS may be on the ropes to a certain degree, but if there's any team that can fight its way out of this hole, Team Hendrick can.

Follow me on Twitter @JerryBonkowski