LEADERS OF THE PACK HENDRICK, ROUSH TEAMS SHARE SIMILAR MAKEUP, BUT DIFFER IN APPROACH.

Byline: Tim Haddock Staff Writer

The similarities between the Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Racing teams are eerily close.

Both teams house five drivers.

Each has a valuable veteran: Two-time Cup champion Terry Labonte for Hendrick, four-time Cup runner-up Mark Martin for Roush.

Each has a promising young driver: Kyle Busch for Hendrick, Carl Edwards for Roush.

Hendrick has drivers with six Cup championships.

Roush has two, but have come in the past two seasons. Matt Kenseth was the last Winston Cup champion in 2003. Kurt Busch was the first Nextel Cup Series champion.

After spending decades chasing a Cup championship, Jack Roush has emerged as the top team owner in NASCAR. The team should be the envy of NASCAR.

But as Busch and Roush Racing prepare to defend their NASCAR Nextel Cup Series title, they are keeping a mindful eye on the Rick Hendrick teams and his top two drivers, three-time Daytone 500 champion Jeff Gordon and the promising Jimmie Johnson.

In doing so, it would seem a rivalry is building between Roush Racing and Hendrick Motorsports.

``We know that there's other teams we have to beat every week and Rick is usually one of the top groups,'' said Busch, driver of the No. 97 Ford for Roush Racing. ``They look at us in the same fashion, knowing that there's other teams that can knock them off.''

Funny that the defending champion would be concerned about knocking someone else off. But such is the case in NASCAR these days.

During preseason testing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and California Speedway in Fontana, Busch said his team was monitoring the Hendrick teams carefully. And he was certain their teams were returning the attention.

``With the way that I notice some of our testing going, our team scans the 24 (Gordon's team) and 48 (Johnson's team) and I'm sure that they scan us,'' Busch said. ``Because we hear on their scanners, `The 97's doing this.' We are knowing of what the 24 and 48 are doing.''

There's no doubt the Roush Racing and Hendrick Motorsports teams are the best in NASCAR. They made up half of the field in NASCAR's new Chase for the Nextel Cup Chase for the Championship - Gordon and Johnson from Hendrick and Busch, Kenseth and Martin from Roush.

Last year's Chase for the Championship format produced one of the tightest points races in NASCAR history. Busch won by eight points over Johnson.

``Last year, we learned a lot,'' said Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports. ``We just didn't get our job done in the end. I think this year we'll be hopeful we're in that same situation again.''

Though Busch won the championship, Johnson certainly had the momentum late in the year. He won four of the last six races and surged through the standings to become Roush Racing's greatest challenger.

``We know they are a consistent competitor we're going to have to race against,'' Busch said. ``You might have a Kasey Kahne that comes in and does well at a Vegas or at a California, but doesn't do all that hot at Darlington or Atlanta.

``So we know the Hendrick cars are as competitive as the Roush cars at every race track. They're the ones that look at us to set the bar and they're the ones that we look at when they're setting the bar.''

Roush and Hendrick are similar in many ways. But in one way, they are very different.

While Roush Racing takes a very independent approach to how it runs each team, Hendrick Motorsports combines its efforts by having Gordon and Johnson's team work closely together.

``Things are as good as they are because of how we structured the 24-48 team,'' said Gordon, a four-time Cup champion and winner of Sunday's Daytona 500. ``Got 'em under one roof. They've both been successful.''

It's a philosophy the team is going to use with the No. 25 team of Brian Vickers, No. 5 of Busch and No. 44 of Labonte.

``Everybody understands the concept of teamwork and sharing information moreso than ever,'' Gordon said. ``I think it has a lot to do with the relationship between the 24 and 48.''

Although Vickers never has worked so closely with another driver before, he said he is looking forward to the restructuring at Hendrick Motorsports.

``The 25 and the 5 have not been in situations that have been good situations,'' Vickers said. ``It's led to the 25 and the 5 not only being different from each other, but being very different from the 24 and the 48. We're trying to bridge that gap by bringing the two shops closer to each other.''

It's the teamwork philosophy that Vickers says separates the Hendrick teams from the Roush teams.

``That's why when the 24 and 48 are good, they're good together,'' Vickers said. ``Where Roush looks at each team as an individual than as more of a whole, in the long run, that's going to hurt them more than it's going to help them.''

Still, it is hard to argue with the way Roush has been running his teams the last two years.

``For us, we've had a good group of guys,'' Busch said. ``With Mark Martin being our veteran leader. With Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, myself, a newcomer in Carl Edwards. The five of us know we all can win races.''

As far as rivalries go, it's not quite Dodgers-Giants, Lakers-Celtics, or Red Sox-Yankees. But it's close.

``It's not necessarily a rivalry,'' Busch said. ``Just good competition.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 8 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- 2) Jack Roush, above right, has won the past two points championships and houses five drivers, including four-time Cup runner-up Mark Martin, above left. Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson, left, and Jeff Gordon work together to succeed.

Associated Press photos

Box:

(1) HISTORY BOOK

(2) RECORD BOOK

(3) RACE INFORMATION

(4) ON THE TUBE

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(6) SERIES SCHEDULE

(7) BUSCH SERIES STATER BROS. 300

(8) CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES AMERICAN RACING WHEELS 200