As if the changes made in the off-season at Hendrick Motorsports wasn't enough, now for one race fans are going to have trouble finding their favorite Hendrick driver on the track.
At least that's what is to come with both Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin.
It was announced that Mark Martin will be driving a special No. 25 car in the Sprint All-Star Race this coming May. With Farmer's Insurance signing sponsorship with Hendrick, it is a throwback of sorts as Martin's car will look like that of the No. 25 Folgers car that Tim Richmond drove in the 1980's.
Here's the problem. For the last three years, fans have recognized Martin as the driver of the No. 5. Some even say he brought that car back to glory, thanks to his five-win season in 2009 that nearly brought him a championship.
Even for one race, seeing Martin in the No. 25 is hard to figure out.
Luckily for fans, the No. 5 car will be on the track at the All-Star Race. That car will be driven by...Jimmie Johnson?
Yes, as if seeing Martin in a different numbered car is bad enough, try to get hold of this change of pace. Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 are now possibly the most recognized combination of number and driver in the modern era.
It also doesn't hurt to be the five-time defending champion.
Now, for one race, the No. 48 isn't going to be on track. Even with this race not counting for points, the thought of seeing Johnson in a car other than the No. 48 will just seem odd.
Many fans may think they are entering the Twilight Zone because it's so different.
Three Hendrick drivers are in the race, as Jeff Gordon punched his ticket thanks to his victory at Phoenix in February. Luckily for his fans, he will still be piloting the No. 24 Chevrolet that he has been driving since 1993.
However, all this number jumping is taking a lot to get used to.
It's first like seeing Brett Favre retire, then unretire to play for the Jets, then come back twice more to play for the Vikings. Let's face it, every pro football fan recognizes Favre as the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers for the majority of his career. It just didn't seem to fit, and still is hard to fathom even though he has officially hung up his helmet.
For NASCAR, seeing Jimmie Johnson in the No. 5 and Mark Martin in the No. 25 is going to be along those same lines.
Luckily, this is for one race only, so no permanent number changes are planned. However, even for one race this change is going to take some getting used to.
Has anyone figured this out yet?
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