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Since debuting as a full-time team owner in 1984, Rick Hendrick has won seven Sprint Cup Series championships - all since 1995.

The driver of his No. 48 Chevrolet team, Jimmie Johnson, has won the past two titles and is trying to win his third consecutive championship in Sunday's season finale at Homestead, Fla.

Hendrick, 59, fields four Cup series teams this season, including drivers Jeff Gordon, Casey Mears and Dale Earnhardt Jr., and also co-owns JR Motorsports, which fields two teams in the Nationwide Series.

We recently spoke to Hendrick about a variety of topics, including the effect of the bad economy on NASCAR and the automotive industry, Johnson's championship chances and where Johnson stands among the sport's greatest drivers.

Q: How concerned about you about General Motors and the automobile industry?

Hendrick: I'm concerned for the whole industry. When you look at the numbers for October, it's the worst month (in sales) since World War II. GM has the best products they've ever had and they got the best management team they've ever had. They need a bridge to get through next year. When you look at the possibility of 2.5 million people out of jobs, there is no way the government can't help them. I believe in them. I just have confidence that we have to get through one year.

Q: Is it business as usual for the race teams?

Hendrick: Absolutely. I talk to them on both sides because I'm also a dealer. They've been very upfront and open about what they are trying to do. I think they will be fine. I've seen better days (as a car dealer). We had a decent month last month in the midst of all this. Our guys dug real hard, worked real hard.

We came off the best year we ever had in '07. We were tracking along about the same, maybe 10 percent off through the summer and then it hit everybody - I don't care what you're selling. I'm very thankful our guys dug really deep last month, and I was really surprised we turned a profit. I think it's starting to pick up.

Q: Has Hendrick Motorsports made cutbacks? Are there changes made on teams based on performance?

Hendrick: We've had some cutbacks because we ran four (Cup) teams, a (Nationwide) team and then we brought Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) in and we didn't cut anybody back. We are not running as many cars, and we're running one full-time car (in Nationwide) next year. It's all sponsor driven. There are also changes you make to make everybody a little better. So, you have a little bit of both going on right now.

Q: What do you think of Johnson's chances?

Hendrick: Very good. When you take into consideration you've got to have racing luck, and people make their own racing luck, but they just cinch it up every year. He missed it in '04 by what? Eight points?

So he's been there every year. I don't think it's going to slow down. If Carl (Edwards) doesn't have bad luck, Jeff (Gordon), (Earnhardt) Junior, any of those guys have bad luck, but those guys (the No. 48 team) bounce back so much. I'm real proud of them.

They have good chemistry and they work hard. They really dig deep this time of year.

Q: You've seen Cale Yarborough, who also won three championships in a row. Can you compare him to Johnson?

Hendrick: I watched Cale and he was like a bulldog. He was unbelievable.

But I don't think I've ever seen anybody any better in a car than Jimmie Johnson. He reads the chassis, the way he communicates with the team, his pure drive and at 190 mph he's like a professor in there - 'We need a little bit of this. I'm about a six here' when other guys can't even get their breath. He rides a mountain bike on Monday mornings. He's in great physical shape. Whatever it takes. He's just got talent. I'm just really proud of him.

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