2024 NASCAR THREAD

There's no giving up so a teammate can have a shot at JGR

 

I sat in one as a kid, I don’t know how those troopers got in & out of those glorified go-karts. Rear seat delete with a gun rack. I rode back there once

 

I feel bad for Bell at JGR. They won’t let him drive dirt like HMS allows Larson to do and that’s his passion. Bell is the future of that team. He has more talent than the rest. Denny and Martin have the experience but are long in the tooth. I don’t think Martin has ever been all in at JGR. He was on a roll in the 78 and liked be the outsider. JGR was just the only way he stayed in quality equipment. Coach wants nothing more that to get Denny that championship and at some point they just might but the resources are shifting to the young Gibbs as Joe now must fill the father roll and he is the future ownership I suspect.

 

Chase needs to get out of his own head. And I think it’s time to bring in a new crew chief. Alan has had a couple good years but he has never been outstanding. Unfortunately Chase has become that Dale Jr. at HMS. Sponsors will never be a problem and he generates a ton of income just because of who he is. Larson is actually better because he lives to drive whatever has wheels. Alex is pretty much in B class equipment for HMS and Gordon’s heart is with the 24 and they paired Byron with the right crew chief. Ricks heart is with the 5 and I’m sure they want to see Chase do well but I don’t think he is a priority. Just my .2.
I don’t think this car suits Chase well either. He just does not have a feel for a car that has that much grip without power. He would push the hell out of the old car but just seems like he can’t trust the new platform and does not hustle the car as much as others. Time will tell I guess.

 

You could tell that it bothered Bell today when KB confronted him. Kyle was right and I think they both handled it well but you could see the respect that Bell has for Kyle. I will say Kyle is doing a good job being an elder statesmen of late too. Seems he finally came around.

 

One of those Father/Son talks. I bought you into this world and I’m not afraid to take you out and make a new one.

 

I wonder why they won't let him race dirt. Busch raced dirt quite a bit while there. I agree about the rest of it too. I wouldn't go as far as to say Martin has never been all-in there but he's definitely on the back side of his career. He and Hamlin are the two oldest active, full-time drivers in cup.

 

It was also nice to see Kyle with some fire and frustration again. But I believe the respect is mutual in a different sort of way. Had Bell not been a driver that Busch had mentored for so long, I believe that it would have probably been more than a 15 second verbal discussion. Bell is better than he raced today.

 

Good point. I agree 100%. It was one of those "I am not mad, just disappointed moments". It looked like it hurt Kyle to actually confront him but he feels like he has to stand up for his team because RCR cup cars suck and its all on Kyles shoulders.

 

Good point. I feel like when Cole Pearn left Martin lost his fire. From what I understand JGR does not want the risk of injury and I get that angle but it has to be hard to see KL go do whatever he wants when you are the one guy who is as good as him in that arena.

 

Almost looked like Christopher was about to cry when KB came over to confront him. All in all, it's a respect thing between two former teammates. KB was in the right and Bell was not. Both knew it.

 

Agreed but you have to remember it goes a LOT deeper than that with those two. Kyle really mentored C Bell in the trucks and was a huge advocate to replace Jones with C Bell at JGR. It is not fair to say that Kyle made Bell but he is the reason he is in the seat he is in. You know Kyle will not mentor you unless he thinks you have the potential to be as good as him and Bell is one of a very few that Kyle mentored.
I never thought much of Bell until I watched the Netflix doc. He is a cool dude, grounded and very mature for his age. Overall he is a class act. Dudes passion is pretty much having a better lawn than his old neighbor. LOL...

 

Agreed on all points. Dude is a superstar in the making. To your point, the Netflix series did allow us to look into his thoughts a bit. He just needs to figure out how to not wreck equipment when he gets to the Championship 4.

Better lawns than your neighbors is critical in guy code. CBell gets it!

 

I finally head the audio from the conversation. Kyle asked him how many times he’s wrecked him. Then said he has one coming.

 

Yeah, I heard the same. I don't think Kyle will do it though. Just wanted to make a point. Then again, if Kyle is having a rough day.... He just might! LOL... I suspect Kyle is pretty pissed off that he sees Denny with new sponsorship and some of the colors that uses to be on his car on the 11. Kyle had to give up a lot to make the move to RCR. He lost all the Toyota $'s backing the truck team and that was the majority. He had to step into mostly shit equipment and into a situation where Austin is his teammate. He won more races for Toyota and JGR than anyone and they did not find a way to keep him around. Denny has history and a lot of success yet it was never a question of if he would remain in that car. JGR and Toyota did Kyle kinda dirty. I would love to see Rick stick him in the 48 for the last few years of his career. Would be great for the vanilla ass HMS driver lineup too!

 

I don’t actually see him going to start shit with JGR and especially Bell. He can’t afford any enemies. His teammate is worthless, HMS drivers don’t do shit to help push him. JGR drivers will actually pick him up if they think he will improve their overall position and they know what he will do. Kyle is pretty much stuck out on his own island trying to make a mid 20 car into a top ten. I mean the car might qualify mid pack but that pit crew sucks hind tit and is basically 5 places backwards on their own.

 

All I know if that if it gets past the halfway point in the season and Kyle has not won a race we will start seeing some serious frustration because he has that streak which he now holds on his own at 19 years but you know he expects that to continue. I just do not know why RCR can't field a decent car or crew. Back in the day the pit crew was top notch. As for the cars, Richard has the money but they let themselves become a 2nd tier team. Look at the success of Trackhouse. RCR is nowhere close in that regard and can't seem to find funding to back the car and really get behind it.

 

Gibbs has fucked quite a few past Champs. Busch, Kenseth and Labonte. Gibbs is a piece of shit in my opinion.

 

I guess elite crew & shop guys don't want to move all the way out to Welcome, NC. Some in the biz say the work climate is very different at RC compared to the other, more modern teams.

 

I do not disagree. All the religious stuff is more of an act to me. No doubt Joe is religious but I feel like coach does what is best for coach always. Owners like Rick H have used the status and money they have to correct wrongs like Rick did with Larson and many others.