By Ben White When Jimmie Johnson graduated from the Xfinity Series into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2001, the first order of business was to request a car number for the newly formed fourth Hendrick Motorsports team. Most racers look for the smallest of advantages, including omens that have proved successful. By the time Johnson’s name was placed on the fleet of silver and blue Chevrolets, teammate Jeff Gordon had already collected three Cup championships in 1995, 1997 and 1998 with a fourth coming by season’s end. Gordon had driven the No. 24 Chevrolets to 52 of 93 total victories…

By Jared Turner 5. Truex, Furniture Row Are Here To Stay Remember just two years ago when Martin Truex Jr. and Furniture Row Racing won a race and wore NASCAR’s proverbial Cinderella slipper all the way to the Championship 4? Well, in 2016, Truex and his Cole Pearn-led team proved that the previous year was no fluke by recording a career-high four victories and consistently having one of the fastest cars throughout the season. With his win at Las Vegas, Truex needed just three races to get to Victory Lane in 2017. That’s a bad sign for the competition or anyone hoping…