NASCAR: Where Have All the Good Times Gone?

When you think of the word domination, try to link it to the word parity. There is no way the two of them even come close to having the same meaning.

Especially when looking at the way the HMS engine-chassis package have dominated the first 19 races of the season.

What Rick Hendrick has been able to do so far in the Sprint cup series, is toss all of that parity talk out the window that NASCAR shoved down the throats of the fans before the beginning of the 2008 season.

This was when NASCAR decided to go full time with the C.O.T. and made it clear that parity was supposed to bring the competition to a more level playing field. Instead, what it has done is bridge the gap even further than what it already is.

So far in the 19 races that have been run this season, 10 of them have been won with the HMS engine-chassis package.

Out of the 10 races that have been won, only two of them did not feature a one-two finish with the package.

One of those races was at Martinsville where Jimmie Johnson came home with the win, and Denny Hamlin was the runner-up.

And the other was at Pocono where Tony Stewart won his first race as an owner-driver, and the runner-up was Carl Edwards.

Now looking to the last three races that have been run in the series, once again the HMS package has finished one-two, which also includes Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

They have also managed to hold onto the top three spots in the standings, which also include a total of five drivers in the top 12, leaving only seven spots for the other teams.

Now, it’s no big secret that HMS has been able to get a jump on the competition this season, especially when you look back to last season at this same time even though Johnson went on to win his third championship.

Rick also has four of NASCAR’s most popular drivers racing his equipment, which also includes NASCAR’s golden boy Dale Earnhardt Jr.  

But is this really what NASCAR had in mind when they developed the car?

So that one engine-chassis package could get a huge jump, and basically walk away from the rest of the teams?

It’s not that hard to see that’s what exactly is happening, and NASCAR once again has their hands tied.

I guess there goes the whole idea of trying to bring parity, as well as an equal playing field back to all the teams.

And once again it will be the fans who will be paying the price.