Clearly, the Hendrick squad is not performing at the level it did last year when it won 18 of 36 races and a second-consecutive championship for Jimmie Johnson, who finished 13th at Darlington. And that lack of performance does not sit well with Gordon.

“We were unstoppable last year,” he said. “We worked hard to get into that position. Other teams worked hard to catch us and pass us, really. That just shows you just how tough and how competitive this sport really truly is. We've been doing everything we can, testing, trying to figure it out with all the tools that we have at Hendrick Motorsports. We're definitely still missing a little something that we're going to keep working on.”

The reaction was much the same for Earnhardt, who solidified his hold on third in points with his fourth-place finish, yet like Gordon remains winless on the season, while the Joe Gibbs Racing squad Busch drives for has won four Cup races on the season. Earnhardt was glad to earn his fourth top-five of the season, but far from satisfied.

“We were off a little bit all night, weren't really that good,” said Earnhardt. “Track position was everything; you could not pass, period. That was the worst I have ever seen it as far as trying to be able to pass. But, I have to hand it to my team. They worked hard. We worked hard and we finished top-five. I am pretty happy with that.”

And so, the team will go back to work and try to find out what they are missing. “I wish I wasn't so darn competitive because you have no idea,” concluded Gordon. “I am happy that we have a top-five and we are third, but also how frustrated I am because of how far off we are from winning races right now. We did the tire test here at Darlington and the No. 18 (Busch) just kicked everybody's tails tonight. So, we have some work to do. We have been working hard, hopefully we can get a little bit closer to them at Charlotte.”

DODGE CHALLENGER 500 RESULTS

Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

SPEED will televise the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race XXIV and the NASCAR Sprint Showdown live on May 17, as well as provide more than 90 hours of support programming prior to the event. Stay tuned to SPEEDtv.com for frequent updates on the history of the event and all the details about this year’s action.