Back in 1992, the NBA Dream Team was born, and it was a novel concept in any sport. The very idea of clubbing together the biggest stars on the same team was absolutely mouth-watering. Imagine Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna in the same garage, or tennis’ Big Three of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, as teammates. Hendrick Motorsports came ever so close to assembling its own dream team in NASCAR.

However, one driver had to be sacrificed, and that was none other than an up-and-coming Kyle Busch. It’s easy to forget that Busch once hailed from the Hendrick Motorsports stable as he’s been associated with Joe Gibbs Racing for so long. From 2005 until 2007, he was partnered with none other than Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. However, from 2008 onwards, he was let go and joined Joe Gibbs Racing, and the rest was history.

Who did Hendrick Motorsports recruit in place of Kyle Busch?

During his HMS tenure, Kyle Busch could only muster four wins in three years, with two coming in his debut season. However, it was not enough for Hendrick Motorsports, so he was let go and Casey Mears moved from the #25 to the #5 car. Meanwhile, the #25 was replaced by the #88 car, and it would be driven by none other than Dale Earnhardt Jr. Just imagine, if Busch had not been unceremoniously booted, HMS could have had Johnson, Gordon, Busch, and Dale Jr, all in the same lineup!

Had Hendrick Motorsports elected to retain Busch and keep Earnhardt Jr, it would have been a PR heaven. Jeff Gordon was already a legend with his four titles, Johnson was just coming off the back of his second consecutive title. Meanwhile, Busch and Earnhardt Jr were rising stars, and the latter had the Earnhardt name bolstering him. Sadly, it was not meant to be, but Mears proved that he was no slouch, with a win in 2007 at the Coca-Cola 600. However, that was his only Cup win, and Dale Earnhardt Jr also struggled a lot in his HMS tenure.

READ MORE: Dale Earnhardt Jr Completed Hendrick ‘Dream Team’ Akin to Michael Jordan’s as Kyle Busch Paid the Price

Would a dream team in any sport work in theory?

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The 1992 NBA dream team worked somehow and steamrolled the competition during the Olympics. They ripped through Cuba, Canada, Panama, Argentina, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela, going undefeated to win gold. To put this in perspective, it was like allowing an F1 team to field four cars. Then to recruit Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel, and Fernando Alonso, all in their prime to drive.

F1’s latest attempt at a star-studded line-up was in 2007 when McLaren recruited Alonso and paired him with rookie star, Lewis Hamilton. Unfortunately, the two drivers’ personalities and ego clash ruined things for them, not that Kimi Raikkonen was complaining. Speaking of Raikkonen though, he partnered Alonso in 2014 for another star-studded line-up.

Swapping four wheels for two, Valentino Rossi partnered with rising star Jorge Lorenzo from 2008 until 2010, and again from 2013 to 2016. Lorenzo even partnered with fellow Spaniard Marc Marquez in 2019, which was his final year in the sport. So in short, dream teams are indeed possible, but getting everyone to fire on all cylinders, is a different kettle of fish. One thing is for sure, at the time, Hendrick Motorsports felt that it was best for them to let Busch go.

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