Driver reports: drivers reports, written by Lee Spencer, analyze high-profile Nextel Cup teams. The reports will appear next in the March 29 issue: who has the best chance of winning the title for each manufacturer and why?(NASCAR)

 
Who has the best chance of winning the 
title for each manufacturer and why? 
 
DALE EARNHARDT JR.  Earnhardt is leading the Cup points race for the 
CHEVROLET           first time in his career. He knows that races and 
                    titles can get lost in the pits, and for once the 
                    stops worked in his favor at Rockingham, helping 
                    him maintain his points lead. Crew chief Tony Eury 
                    isn't sure what the best strategy is for chasing 
                    the title under the new system but says the team 
                    can improve on the downforce tracks, so it will 
                    test at Texas after the March 14 race at Atlanta. 
                    Bristol is the only weak spot in the team's short 
                    track program, so the No. 8 will test there, too. 
                    Eury says the team won't decide on where else to 
                    test until he sees how the points race starts to 
                    shake out. Several offseason changes--getting a 
                    new rear tire changer, making former driver Stevie 
                    Reeves a spotter and putting director of 
                    motorsports Richie Gilmore in the pits--already 
                    have shown positive results. 
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON      The most consistent team in the garage was unable 
CHEVROLET           to finish the race at Rockingham, knocking Johnson 
                    from the top 10 in points for the first time since 
                    March 10, 2002--a span of 70 races. But Johnson 
                    says it's better to get bad luck out of the way 
                    early, instead of getting knocked out of the 
                    field in the final 10 races. "You're going to have 
                    downfalls throughout the season," Johnson says, 
                    adding that his crew picks up the pace when it's 
                    under pressure. Johnson's support system--bolstered 
                    by Hendrick Motorsports, the team is intact from 
                    last year--is excellent. He continues to seek the 
                    best balance between his aerodynamic package and 
                    the new tires. His teammates, particularly Jeff 
                    Gordon and Terry Labonte and their crews, are the 
                    best in the garage at devising solutions, and the 
                    Hendrick pipeline to Detroit is second to none ...