JR....TONY....NO MORE..

[gregg52]

NASCAR .COM

THIS EVVENING HENDRICKS NOT CONFIRMING TONY WILL BE ON THE BOX AT DOVER !

[LMITOUT]

So he's giving the "cannot confirm nor deny" line.... that doesn't mean much.

[gregg52]

40th place finish doesnt mean much either !!!!!!!!!!!

[LMITOUT]

Yeah, but until the word comes down it's nothing but speculation and media hype. We heard the same thing a month ago. Slow news day I guess after the flop of a race at Charlotte yesterday.

[gregg52]

ya could be

but i predict a change....which is no big strech here

i dont think jr is a great driver but i believe he alittle better than hes showing

and hendricks wouldnt have put him in that car if he didnt think so

[LMITOUT]

Last year at this time he was the best Hendrick car, so you have to wonder what changed between then and now. I'll be happy to see a crew chief change just to shake things up a little. Something has to be adjusted because it doesn't appear to be getting any better as the weeks go by. It may very well happen before the race this week and I would expect something by tomorrow at the latest.

[Dilly]

If he didn't have the last name that he has he would be scraping to get in a car each week, if he was lucky!

[gregg52]

well i dont think any body will take away his last name any time soon.....lol

[harvey lee]

If he didn't have the last name that he has he would be scraping to get in a car each week, if he was lucky!

Seems to me that Jr finished much higher than the majority of the drivers in cup last season.

I do believe Jr also won a few Busch championships also.

Thats maybe a stretch to state he could be looking for a ride. I don't believe HMS would put a nobody in one of their cars.

[HOF#13]

If he didn't have the last name that he has he would be scraping to get in a car each week, if he was lucky!

Are you serious? No matter what his last name was, if you had a 2 time Busch / Nationwide Series Champion, with 22 wins in that series and 18 cup wins looking for a ride, he'd have plenty of teams bidding for his services.

If you don't like Jr., that's fine, but at least be realistic.

[Harmonica Bear]

You beat me to it. 18 wins in cup (the majority at DEI) is nothing to sneeze at.

[PikeBayCommanche]

OF his wins 7 of them are at the Plate tracks like Dega and Daytona.

Where he struggles is why he will never be able in my opinion to ever win a championship is because he can't seem to win on very many of the 1.5 mile tracks.

Besides his fuel mileage win in 2008. He has not done well at places like Michigan, Vegas, Lowes, Miami, Kansas, Texas, and California.

Man it has been a really long time since he looked like the dominant car at the end of a race.

2008

* Lifelock 400 at Michigan International Speedway - June 15, 2008

2006

* Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway - May 6, 2006

2005

* USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway - July 10, 2005

2004

* Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway - February 15, 2004

* Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway - March 14, 2004

* Chevy American Revolution 400 at Richmond International Raceway - May 15, 2004

* Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway - August 28, 2004

* EA Sports 500 at Talladega Superspeedway - October 3, 2004

* Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway - November 7, 2004

2003

* Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway - April 6, 2003

* Checker Auto Parts 500 Presented by Havoline at Phoenix International Raceway - November 2, 2003

2002

* Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway - April 21, 2002

* EA Sports 500 at Talladega Superspeedway - October 6, 2002

2001

* Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway - July 7, 2001

* MBNA Cal Ripken, Jr. 400 at Dover International Speedway - September 23, 2001

* EA Sports 500 at Talladega Superspeedway - October 21, 2001

2000

* DirecTV 500 at Texas Motor Speedway - April 2, 2000

* Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond International Raceway - May 6, 2000

[edit] Nationwide Series (22 wins)

2006

* Winn-Dixie 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway - June 30, 2006

* Carfax 250 at Michigan International Speedway - August 19, 2006

2004

* Hershey's Kisses 300 at Daytona International Speedway - February 14, 2004

* Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway - August 27, 2004

2003

* Koolerz 300 at Daytona International Speedway - February 15, 2003

* Aaron's 312 at Talladega Superspeedway - April 5, 2003

* Winn-Dixie 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway - July 3, 2003

2002

* EAS / GNC Live Well 300 at Daytona International Speedway - February 16, 2002

* Funai 250 at Richmond International Raceway - September 6, 2002

[harvey lee]

With a new crew chief he will be back in form. One needs to remember that it will not happen in 1 season as it takes time to build that working relationship between a driver and a crew chief.

I have stated it before and will once more, HMS would not have signed Jr if they didn't believe he could be a top ten car in the standings.

[VMS]

Not to say Jr is a bad driver....he knows how to drive well enough to compete, but I say he is mediocre at best in cup. We've seen this type of thing before with other drivers that are supposedly really strong, but fizzle out in cup. That is not to say Jr will continue to fizzle, but when you consider his year so far, there have been far more mistakes on his part than just a crew chief will change will solve. Lack of concentration coming in for pit...missing or over-running his stall multiple times this year. Jr's focus is not where it should be, which, to me, is why he is back so far as he is.

Last year, Jr. Had something to prove by leaving DEI...so did Hendrick by taking him on after how poorly Jr had been performing at DEI in the previous years. Now that one year is under the belt at Hendrick, I feel we are seeing the abilities of Jr. we saw at DEI, and the level of performance that comes with the 3rd and 4th team. Hendrick supposedly is to have better engines, better equipment, better set-ups etc, than DEI had at the time, but here we see the same thing out of Jr that we did 2 years ago at DEI.

There is more to this whole thing than just a crew-chief change. I just don't see the desire there to be on top. The abilities of Jr are nowhere near his Dad, nor do I feel his "drive" to be as good or better than Dad is there either. Much of this I think is mental...not the vehicle itself.

As for being in the top 10...consider the other 4th teams that Hendrick has put on the track over the years. They have never done much for the most part, and seem to be more of a developmental team or research team rather than highly competitive on the track on raceday.

JMHHO

Steve

[PikeBayCommanche]

They signed JR to make money from the Merchandise. He was probably also hopping he would win too but I guess you still make millions having him on your team.

$30 to $40 million per year just in licensing sales. Hendrick knows that it always was a win-win situation.

[gregg52]

theres lots of guys who win nationwide championships and never make in cup...big difference...nemacheck...green bros....vickers

bodine...biffle... etc etc actually if you look at the top 12 who has a chmpionship in a nationwide ride....biffle

i think it will depend on the crew chief and how jr can relate

as to how long it will take to get better

look at stewart newman martin all new crew chiefs (top 12)

this year basically all hendricks guys

All very good drivers...I believe the reason these guys are good is they can tell the chief what REALLY whats wrong with the car

Can JR relay that info...that will be the difference

Wont be many excuses after a couple months with a new crew chief

[harvey lee]

I totally agree that it seems like Jr doesn't have the drive like he use to. I do not have the answer for that one but do agree he has messed up quite a few times. One cannot expect Jr to have the drive his father did as he is his own person. Not many have or ever will have that type of dedication or drive to win.

If he gets his act together and works well with his crew chief, that could make a big difference.

It takes two to win and not just a driver or a crew chief. Its a team effort. It also seems whenever he pits, he always loses spot in his position as his stops are to slow.

[gregg52]

ya alot of great drivers kids try but it just isnt there

like kyle pretty dale jarret son rustys son

mark martins lost interest labontes son

on and on big shoes to try and fill

specially the 3

[harvey lee]

Noone could fill the big 3's shoes.

[VMS]

I can agree to a point on comparing Jr to his dad is apples to oranges...definitely Jr is his own person no doubt. Would it be safe to say that Jr. has different priorities to some extent? The commercial aspect, so to speak? With appearances, etc taking up so much of his time, it detracts from where his mind (I feel) should be....at work at HMS. His focus is taken by other things rather than the team and driving... I feel that is never going to be a winning combination.

Steve

[harvey lee]

I agree 100%. All the extra commercial stuff has to take away from his concentration on the races. But I don't know what kind of money he is taking in from the commercial stuff either.

[gregg52]

i can believe hes busy but so are other drivers its not like

the 24...48..5...18...99 dont do endorsements

thats not a good excuse

your either a racer or not !

thats part of it in this day and age the almighty $$$$$$$$

[SledNeck]

Originally Posted By: Dilly

If he didn't have the last name that he has he would be scraping to get in a car each week, if he was lucky!

Are you serious? No matter what his last name was, if you had a 2 time Busch / Nationwide Series Champion, with 22 wins in that series and 18 cup wins looking for a ride, he'd have plenty of teams bidding for his services.

If you don't like Jr., that's fine, but at least be realistic.

[gregg52]

good thing JR is around wouldnt have no reason for all the banter.....lol

gotta love nascar !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PierBridge]

So Jr MIGHT miss the chase like Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart have done ??????

Wow what a collapse.....