[TomSportsHack]

give it a year or so, then he'll be wishing he would have figured out a deal to drive for Gibbs.

I don't think so. For Junior to move to JGR, that operation would have had to start a fourth team from scratch (meaning unknown chemistry, no owner's points to fall back on and unproven equipment). The 5 operation is a known quantity, and Alan Gustafson is a helluva crew chief. You're also looking at the probability of a sponsor with shallower pockets than Anheuser Busch.

I think he would have worked much better with Tony, Denny Hamlin and JJ Yeley (who has matured, having a solid season and is EVERY BIT the driver Junior is)

No, he isn't. He will never win at the Cup level.

I think he went out of his own way to steer clear of RCR (another better fit than Hendrick) just because he wants to stay that far away out of his daddys shadow

You are definitely on to something there. He's very aware of the comparisons fans make between him and his late father, mainly because he makes those comparisons himself and far more harshly than you do. A new-from-scratch team at RCR would also face the same problems as a new-from-scratch team at Gibbs.

My guess is that the National Guard deal goes away from the 25 after this year (all military sponsorships are year-to-year), with the Kellogg's/Carquest colors going there. The 5 team is where Hendrick Motorsports started (with Geoff Bodine, ironically) and I guarantee Hendrick wants that team to be a marquee operation again.