Hendrick lineup like rock band

By Cathy Elliott
Contributing NASCAR columnist
I don’t really know how or why we develop personal affinities for certain celebrities, like musicians or athletes, but they are deeply rooted and can last a lifetime.
Hundreds of thousands of otherwise ordinary adults, for example, leave their offices a couple of times each year to attend Jimmy Buffett concerts, draped in mardi gras beads and dressed in grass skirts and bikini tops made of coconut shells. And those are just the guys.
At a NASCAR event I attended recently, fans patiently stood three rows deep to purchase caps, T-shirts and banners bearing the name and likeness of their favorite driver, Dale Earnhardt Sr. The formidable Mr. Earnhardt has been gone for seven years, but his professional legacy and the love and loyalty of his fans remains undiminished.
Heroes are like that. We see something in them, sometimes definable and sometimes not, that speaks to something in us. We respond by knowing their birthdays, their hometowns and the ages of their kids.
They don’t even know our names, but we don’t mind. Our lives and memories are filled with their faces, or the sound of their voices. To us, they are friends.
This point was driven home to me in a most literal way when I had the opportunity to attend a concert featuring some musical heroes of my own, the Eagles. As Glenn Frey, Timothy B. Schmit, Joe Walsh, and my beloved soul mate (unbeknownst to him) Don Henley walked onto the stage and the opening bars of “Take It Easy” poured out into the sultry summer evening, I felt like I had been drop-kicked straight back to my childhood.
For an hour and 45 minutes, I was that kid sitting on her bed in the 1970s and painstakingly picking out the chords to “Hotel California” on my guitar, or earnestly belting out “Desperado” in the school talent show.
Like most other groups, the Eagles went through their share of personnel changes over the years, but this particular four-man lineup was the absolute best in the band’s history. As I stood there and listened to their disparate yet compatible voices singing the familiar phrases that most of us know by heart, I was reminded of another four-man group which has found a comfortable harmony of its own, although they’re chasing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series trophies rather than Grammy awards.
Each member of Hendrick Motorsports, which has been called racing’s “Dream Team,” seems to have a counterpart in the band with the top-selling album of all time, the Eagles.
Despite a stellar career including work with Poco and Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band, Schmit probably isn’t the first name that comes to mind when someone mentions The Eagles.
I’ll bet Casey Mears can relate to that.
The quiet guy at the back of the stage is an absolute genius when he gets busy. Sometimes Henley goes unnoticed, obstructed by that drum kit, but when he decides to advertise his presence, there’s no way to hide his unparalleled talent.
Henley reminds me of Jimmie Johnson. Although Johnson is hardly hidden, he is a member of a group with a flashy front man who also happens to be a four-time champion.
With his TV star good looks and gregarious stage presence, a far cry from the “grunge” image embraced by many rock musicians, Frey has become the face of the Eagles franchise. Jeff Gordon had a similar impact on NASCAR when he came on the scene 15 years ago, embarking on a lengthy streak of winning races, championships and fans.
Schmit is respected, Frey is admired and Henley commands something akin to reverence, but Walsh is the Eagle who makes a room erupt.
Walsh hasn’t written nearly as many mainstream hits as his counterparts. He sometimes seems reluctant to interact too closely with the public, allowing his band mates to do most of the talking, but when he picks up that guitar and launches into one of his signature songs, the music speaks for him. Crowds go wild with enthusiasm. They love the guy.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., the most popular driver in all of NASCAR, has never won a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. Consistently good performances have failed to result in a victory so far this season. With every reason in the world to have an inflated ego, he remains one of the most down-to-earth guys in the garage.