2022 NASCAR THREAD

The other thing that we are not looking at is this new car does not lend itself to what we consider the elite driver of the sport. This new generation is a car where you pretty much have to trust the engineers to set it up where it should be fast and the driver just has to hang it out and resist all the things there instincts are telling them. So far the younger drivers are proving more successful than the older generation who is used to control.

 

in other words, HMS will be dominant for a few more years!

 

Its funny that Tony left JGR because they were switching to Toyota. LOL... Then FORD walked over with a hauler full of cash.

 

In my opinion HMS and Chevrolet has positioned themselves in a very good position for the next decade. HMS being the flagship but now having and building alliances with RCR and others. Trackhouse being a mid range team who is massively over achieving will jump RCR and without some new blood coming in to manage RCR they will become the JTG type of team for Chevrolet. Penske has a solid base and they will get there due and JGR will compete but Chevrolet will dominate like Dodge back in the day for a long time to come.

 

In my opinion yes. In a huge way. Rick has the best talent in almost every position. He has brought in Jeff to take the helm as he starts to pull back. Chad being where he is and the only old school crew chief being with the 9. Then coupled with JRM being the supporting cast. They are set to make the JJ years look like lean times.

 

couldn't agree more. I'm a fan of HMS, mostly

 

Kyle might just say fuck it. Go drive his own truck full time and win the truck series championship and have all 3 series championships.

 

not a chance. He can't afford himself. I do however think walking away isn't out of the possibility. Focusing on KBM, Brexton and the new baby is going to be a full time gig in itself.

 

One reporter asked him where he saw himself if he was not in the 18 and he said "being the fulltime driver for the Brexton car hauler".

 

HMS has figured out that these crew chiefs and engineers know more than the drivers when it comes to making the car fast. That is all CK and if you think about it why JJ was so successful. They set the car up to be as fast as it can be and it is on the driver to figure out how to get it around the track. The exception is the 9 but Alan said a few weeks ago that they had to pull Chase aside and tell him that he was the reason they were not winning. He has to stop trying to analyze the car and he just has to push it harder. 10 days later he wins the race. Beyond that, Rick Hendrick is a salesman first. Gibbs is a coach, Penske is a businessman. When Rick wants you he sells HMS to you as a culture. And if you get high enough you become family, if he wants to keep you. You are family to him and the organization. Sometimes family branches out but if the family ever calls. You come home and do your job. Hence RE and JG.

 

I guess all the blue oval and Toyota fans are to depressed to keep chatting. LOL...

 

Ha! Kinda slammed with work stuff. Took Friday off and still climbing the email mountain today.

 

Watching the race Sunday, my kid said "hey dad maybe we should go to Darlington next Spring." I agreed but said we could NOT be gone for Mother's Day. We compromised and decided to attend the Friday & Saturday races, then return home to be with Ma and catch the 400 from our couch.

 

I visited his statue in Kanapolis and check his butt to see if he was wearing Wranglers. Sure enough, the statue was sportin' Wranglers:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CcGKyIdL-M3/

 

bucket list visit for me. Very cool!

 

Yes and no. Rusty Wallace once said he likes to talk to drivers like Kyle Busch because they understand the car and know how it works and what makes it tick. A lot of the newer drivers either don't know, don't care, or aren't allowed to know. Personally, I think that's sad.

 

As for Kyle Busch: Busch going to SHR is nothing more than media speculation based on Busch's comments after sponsorship frustration since he has the strongest resume in the sport and Tony Stewart having a history of not giving a shit and hiring drivers near the end of their careers. Ford also has few teams in the trucks so KBM would be a crown jewel for them. SHR will likely go to Dodge after Dodge comes back though. If that happens, it likely won't be until after NASCAR goes to their new engine, seeing as there's no point in developing a program on the current engine since it will soon be replaced.

As for Busch: he isn't going anywhere else. He'll be in the 18 until retirement. Either he'll retire without a contract, retire based on increasing frustration with decisions NASCAR has made, or both. Either way, he'll be focusing on Brexton. He's long been driven to develop next generation talent and now that he has 2 children, it's a whole different level. Not to mention; things can always change, but he said in an interview about a year ago that he bleeds Toyota. I am not so sure I see that changing, especially with he and his truck team being the face of Toyota racing.

 

There is a massive gap from the cars Rusty was talking about and what they are in now. I can guarantee you none of those drivers have any insight on independent suspension. I think it’s sad that NASCAR pretty much put a bunch of Corvette's on the track.

 

Yep. Kyle is an old-school setup guy like Bill Elliott and many others from that generation of drivers. In this way, he's kind of a throwback. The new generation of drivers strap in, do what the crew chief tells them, and delivers feedback to engineers. It's like the F1-ification of NASCAR. Another reason to love the lower ranks where things are a bit more raw.