The message was the same from every race team during the Sprint
Cup media tour: The guys in the shop have been working
really, really hard. Our cars will be faster. Our engines will
be stronger. We honestly believe we'll win the championship
this year.

January is the month of promise in NASCAR. We're still four
weeks away from the Daytona 500, and everyone in the sport --
even the small-money teams -- genuinely believes that 2012 will
be a special year. But after talking to dozens in the sport
over the last few days during the tour, I believe one team is
better positioned to dominate the season than any other:
Hendrick Motorsports.

Owner Rick Hendrick has never been one to bite into the apple
of hyperbole, so when he said that he likes the chances of all
four of his drivers -- Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale
Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne -- qualifying for the Chase and
one winning the championship, it's worth taking notice.
Hendrick has as many resources as any other team in NASCAR, and
this offseason the owner spared no expense in building a new
fleet of Chevys.

In our NASCAR preview issue [on newsstands now] we at SI
made Jimmie Johnson, the five-time champion, our pick to hoist
the big trophy at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November. But he
surely won't be the only Hendrick driver to thrive in 2012,
which leads us to our first question ...

Do you think [Jeff] Gordon will seriously contend for a
Chase title again -- in other words was last year a fluke as he
[apparently] transitions to elder
statesman/ambassador/full-time businessman?

-- George, Columbia, S.C.

I do think Gordon has as many as five championship-contending
years left in NASCAR. Last season the 40-year-old Gordon had 13
top-five finishes -- the same as in 2002, when he was
supposedly in the prime of his career -- and he led 922 laps,
which was his most since 2007. Even though Gordon has been
involved in several horrifying crashes in the last few years,
he doesn't appear gun shy and it doesn't seem like he's lost
any of his hand-eye-foot coordination.

Given that Gordon will again be piloting superior equipment in
2012 and he'll again be teamed with crew chief Alan Gustafson
(who in my opinion is the most underrated pit boss in NASCAR),
I think Gordon will cruise into the Chase. The playoff doesn't
set up well for him, as his best tracks aren't in the Chase,
but if he gets a little racing luck, who knows? He certainly
still has the driving skill to win a fifth title. The numbers
back that up.

Lars, quick question ... in your note about EFI, you
hypothesize that the change should help the big-money teams,
and you list Hendrick, Roush and Gibbs. The premise makes
perfect sense ... but my question is, does Roush still belong
in that list? They lost sponsorship on one car, and while they
did pick up Best Buy, they are running the No. 17 without
anything near full funding. The Carl Edwards package is
probably as big as anyone's in the sport, but does Roush still
qualify as a "big-money" team? Do we need to re-evaluate what
we consider the power teams?

-- Brian, Brookline, Mass.

Great question. For now I do think Roush belongs on that list,
especially considering that Edwards lost the championship last
year by a grand total of one point.

I think the future is actually pretty bright for RFR. Edwards
looks like he'll be a force in the sport for years to come.
Matt Kenseth has finished eighth or better in the final
standings in eight of the last 10 years. Greg Biffle struggled
last season but has shown that he's capable of contending for
titles (he finished second in points in 2005 and third in '08).
And Ricky Stenhouse Jr., the reigning Nationwide champion,
likely will jump to the Cup series full-time with Roush in
2013, when I think RFR will again field four cars.

Yes, RFR has had some sponsorship problems, but I don't think
the team is to the point yet where they'll be at a competitive
disadvantage because of a lack of resources.

What do you think will be the remaining race that Danica
Patrick will race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2012?

-- Chris Fiegler, Latham, N.Y.

Right now Patrick is scheduled to run in 10 Cup events. She'll
be in the Daytona 500 and said last week she'll compete in the
Coke 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend
rather than in the Indy 500. Nine of her 10 races are set.

If I were her team owner Tony Stewart, I'd start Patrick in the
season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, a 1.5-mile oval.
Intermediate-length tracks form the core of the Chase schedule
(five of the 10 races in the playoffs are on 1.5-milers) and so
if Patrick is ever going to contend for a title (and I know,
we're years away from THAT), she'll need to perform well
on these venues. Plus, if Stewart is in the hunt for another
title, it wouldn't hurt to have an extra teammate on the track.

Referring to carburetors as "outdated" technology, can you
explain if EFI will increase Sprint Cup engine power output?
Will the brake-specific fuel consumption be improved? Will the
fuel economy improve? My guess is EFI will offer very marginal
improvements, but a big boost in racing cost. Carburetors are
that good, even if they are "outdated."

-- Roger Lake, Los Angeles, Calif.

You're right -- sort of. EFI definitely has spiked racing
costs, but the early testing has revealed that it has increased
fuel economy. As for engine power output, several drivers told
me that the cars don't have as much initial acceleration, but
that gains in overall horsepower have been made.

EFI will be one of the biggest stories of the 2012 season.
Whichever team can harness the potential of EFI the quickest
will have the inside track on the championship.