DON'T BET AGAINST HENDRICK.(Competition)(Rick Hendrick the owner of Hendrick Motorsports)

Byline: AL PEARCE

Funny man, that Rick Hendrick. The owner of Hendrick Motorsports sat in front of the entire American motorsports media in mid-January and said with a straight face that his teams were tied for dead last in the 2008 Sprint Cup standings. He added, again with a straight face, that he hoped some of his teams would qualify for the Chase and then run well enough maybe to contend for this year's NASCAR championship.

That's a good one, Rick. Pretty funny. What a kidder.

If Hendrick had glanced up during that speech, he'd have seen 11 NASCAR championship banners hanging from the rafters. They represent seven Cup titles, three Craftsman Truck Series titles and one Nationwide (then Busch) Series title. Two of his Cup drivers-Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon-combined for 16 wins and were 1-2 in final points last year. In 2006, they combined for seven victories and finished first and sixth (Johnson and Gordon, respectively) in final points. All told, Gordon has 81 career wins and four Cups, and Johnson has 33 wins and two Cups. (Now-retired Terry Labonte gave Hendrick the big trophy in 1996.)

Once again, bet against the Hendrick Motorsports juggernaut at your peril. Johnson and Gordon return with their Chevy teams almost totally intact. Crew chief Chad Knaus leads Johnson's No. 48 Lowe's team. Last year, it won four poles and 10 races, with four of the victories (and eight of its 24 top-10s) during the title-deciding, 10-race Chase in the fall. Crew chief Steve Letarte leads Gordon's No. 24 DuPont team. It won seven poles and six races and led the points for most of last season before once again falling short in the playoffs.

Their teammates aren't bad, either. Casey Mears got his breakthrough victory last year, added a pole and finished 15th in points. He'll team with crew chief Alan Gustafson, who had two poles and four victories in three years with the since-departed Kyle Busch. Then there's the "rookie'' in the garage, some kid named Dale Earnhardt Jr. Despite mediocre stats, he's clearly the face of NASCAR and the sport's most popular driver. He joined Hendrick from Dale Earnhardt Inc., the company his late father and his stepmother founded. He and his cousin, crew chief Tony Eury Jr., realize that this is their opportunity to show they have substance as well as style.

And although Hendrick never would admit it publicly, the smart bet is on the 48 over the 24. Or, if you prefer, the 24 over the 48.