Is there no end to Chevy dominance?

It backs Sprint Cup's most successful team, the four-time reigning series champion and a collection of organizations that for the seventh straight year put it atop the series' wins list.

It saw one of its former champions return to the nest with his own team and place him and his new teammate, a former Dodge driver, in the Chase.

An international superstar appears to have made the transition from open-wheel star to NASCAR championship contender the season his team switched from Dodge.

It is a giddy thing to be a dynasty in progress, and Chevrolet is wringing every bit from the experience. So are Hendrick Motorsports, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates and Juan Pablo Montoya, respectively.

Do things change during 2010?

They were pretty good last year even with Richard Childress Racing run aground, but the team owner promises improvement.

A major question is whether Stewart-Haas will suffer a sophomore slump after struggling, a top executive said, while finishing its freshman campaign.

Oh, to have such worries.

Sweet spot

The present has been perfect for Chevrolet. But will the future be tense? The manufacturer is loaded with successful drivers generating wins and high point totals in the primes of their careers (in extended primes in Mark Martin's case).

Coming of age or already there?

Average age of top five drivers (according to Observer rankings):

Chevrolet (39): Jeff Gordon (38), Johnson (34), Martin (51), Stewart (38), Montoya (34). The average age is 36 without Martin. It's prime time at Chevrolet.

Ford (33): Carl Edwards (30), Matt Kenseth (37), Greg Biffle (40), Kasey Kahne (29), A.J. Allmendinger (28).

Toyota (30): Denny Hamlin (29), Kyle Busch (24), David Reutimann (39), Brian Vickers (26), Martin Truex Jr. (29)

Dodge (29): Kurt Busch (31), Brad Keselowski (25), Sam Hornish Jr. (30). Only three drivers considered.

Next generation

So who's next?

Chevy stalwarts Dale Earnhardt Jr., 35, Kevin Harvick, 34, and Jeff Burton, 42, aren't ancient, but they aren't exactly tweens. Clint Bowyer is a boyish 30. Montoya seems to be having enough fun to do it for another decade.

Hendrick Motorsports has the reputation and the financial wherewithal to acquire young talent, but the pipeline isn't as defined series-wide as just a few years ago when developmental systems were more cost-effective. Keselowski's jump from JR Motorsports to Roger Penske's Dodges was a talent/personality net loss.

The answer could spring from a JR Motorsports Nationwide team, anyway. Perhaps Kelly Bires, 25, Keselowski's replacement, becomes a prospect during his first full season in the No.88 Chevrolet.

Maybe within two years - once her contract, including a 2012 option, with Andretti Autosport expires - the new Chevrolet star will be Danica Patrick, 27. But she has yet to demonstrate an appetite or aptitude for stock cars. And though she is the most recognizable driver in the IndyCar Series, her performance has not caught up: She has one win in 81 races over five seasons.

Maybe the next great one harks to another golden age of Chevrolet and NASCAR. Austin Dillon, the 19-year-old grandson of team owner Richard Childress, will tackle a full Truck series schedule in the No.3 Childress campaigned to six Cup championships with the late Dale Earnhardt.

Stock watch

Three situations to watch within the Chevrolet camp:

The 5/88 shop at Hendrick Motorsports: Martin crew chief Alan Gustafson allowed his lead engineer to move to Earnhardt Jr.'s team in hopes of sparking the underperforming fourth car. Cooperation and morale are reportedly high for now.

Richard Childress Racing: Harvick was fourth, Bowyer fifth and Burton sixth in 2008 but each fell at least 10 spots in 2009. Casey Mears was even worse and his full-time program dissolved. Harvick is in a contract year and is awaiting a performance uptick.

Childress said the organization has made engineering strides and expects a return to viability. That might return Harvick to the fold. If not ... it'll be an interesting first few months at RCR.

Stewart-Haas Racing: So worried about a second-season slump were SHR officials that the organization spent much of the offseason evaluating, tweaking and purging.

Competition director Bobby Hutchens knows a slump is a "good assumption," because he said one began before the 2009 season even ended. Although Stewart and Ryan Newman qualified for the Chase, the team was not as good as results suggested, Hutchens said.

"That's something we've talked about not letting happen because you can rest on their laurels a little bit. I've been a part of that at RCR in my day. I have experienced that particular thing," he said. "When we came back after Christmas break we had a meeting with all our folks and kind of laid out where we are headed and what we wanted to do and what some of the changes are.

"I see a lot of enthusiasm. A lot of positive energy, you might say, and hopefully we've got past that," he said. "But there definitely is a thought of that and I'm not so sure we didn't experience a little bit of that toward the end of the season.

"I think we kind of nosed-over a little bit the last little bit even though we did have two cars in the Chase. We want to protect from that."