The Nextel Cup regular season is officially half over, which means it's time to say goodbye to Darrell Waltrip and the rest of the Fox commentating crew as race coverage switches to TNT and ABC. It also means that championship contenders are starting to emerge and intriguing storylines are developing as speculation and rumors run rampant. For those that have been too busy to follow NASCAR closely or for those that just can't keep up with the sport's high speeds, I'll fill you in with what has been happening on the track and in the garage.

For starters, the biggest story so far this year finally has closure. Dale Earnhardt Jr., the most sought after free agent in NASCAR history, announced that he is joining Hendrick Motorsports for at least the next five seasons. The car number and sponsor are still undetermined, but if I were Dale Jr. and team owner Rick Hendrick, I would change both. Junior has been voted the most popular driver for four consecutive seasons, and that's a lot of fans that will have to buy new t-shirts, hats and diecast cars if their No. 8 Budweiser apparel becomes obsolete.

While it will be interesting to see how Dale Jr. performs next season, I will be even more interested to see how the fans react to Jeff Gordon. There has always been a distinct line between Gordon and Earnhardt fans and now the two are teammates. It was only a few weeks ago that Gordon's car was pelted with Budweiser cans when he won a race at Talladega to pass Dale Sr. in career victories. Michael Waltrip rode Dale Jr.'s coattails to immense popularity when the two were teammates, maybe Junior can do the same for Gordon and turn the jeers to cheers. One thing is certain; Rick Hendrick has created the NASCAR version of the Dream Team.

Speaking of Rick Hendrick, his team isn't too shabby this season even without Dale Jr. Jeff Gordon and the entire Hendrick Motorsports team are good – really good. I mean like 1995-96 Chicago Bulls good. Hendrick Motorsports drivers have won 10 of the 14 races this season, five of the six Car of Tomorrow (COT) races and all four members of the team have visited victory lane. The COT was supposed to tighten competition and add parity to the sport. So far the only competition this season has been between Hendrick teammates. Gordon sits atop the point standings and has four wins this season. He leads the series with six poles, 10 top-five finishes, 12 top-10 finishes and an average finish of 6.6. Defending series champion Jimmie Johnson also has four wins this season, and Kyle Busch and Casey Mears have each captured a checkered flag. At this point, the Hendrick bunch look like the class of the field and Gordon and Johnson appear to be the favorites to claim the 2007 Nextel Cup.