Deltona Couple

Well it is now official! Dale Jr will be driving for Rick Hendrick, allongside new teamates Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Casey Mears. The biggest speculation left is if he will drive the #5 car that Kyle Busch is leaving, or will Theresa allow him to take the #8 with him! Kyle has just said himself that he has been in disussion with DEI about taking over the space that will be left behind when Dale departs at the end of the 2007 season.

What is everyone elses take on this?

__________________
"It is not that I have failed, but that I have found 10,000 ways that it DOESN'T work!" --Thomas Edison

ShaniFaye

Im not happy about anything to do with this entire situation.

My gut tells me its a mistake....but then that could be my extreme dislike of Hendrick....I can't support that team, not even with Dale driving for them.

I realize that he didnt have a whole lot of choices, but geez. Teresa needs to get her head out of her ass. If I were Sr I'd be spinning in my grave

__________________
I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!

ngdawg

I totally understand why he'd go there. They're Chevy-based, they churn out winners like M&M's and they have no problem using Budweiser as a sponsor.
But Jr. fans and Gordon/Johnson fans are like the Hatfields and McCoys.
Jr.'s gonna lose a lot of fans over this-one of my friends, a total NASCAR and Jr. freak, is so pissed, he says he won't watch racing anymore.
Teresa was/is an idiot. Sr started his DEI with the idea that Jr and Kerry would take it over at some point. Echoing Shani-Sr has got to be spinning in his grave right now(even though he was a mentor and friend to Gordon).

__________________
Don't blame me. I didn't vote for either of'em.

zipper

Haha.....haters. All you haters out there...Jr might finally win a race or two! Now you will see what kind of wheel man the young man is!

__________________
"If you wait 'til the last minute, it will only take you a minute!" Visit my home page http://zhphotography.zenfolio.com/

ngdawg

That, we already know. Jr's inconsistency has more to do with what he's been handed than what he can handle at the wheel. He's never been a 'dirty driver'(like Harvick, Biffle and Kurt Busch have shown to be at times), he's never blown up at another driver, usually either taking some of the blame or waving a wreck off as 'that's racing'. That's not to say he doesn't have a temper(his radio transmissions are loaded with expletives) or that he doesn't screw up.
But, as Michael Waltrip intimated and has been reported in the past, DEI is not a 'team' team, in that they don't share information between camps, don't contribute data to everyone and, reportedly, don't sink as much dollars into R&D as teams like Hendrick do, even though they had major sponsor dollars to do so.
Before Brian Vickers left Hendrick, he had said that the one thing Hendrick does is to make sure that all cars are 'equal' by sharing R&D, involving the drivers more and putting the cars on as equal a basis as possible so that the competition is between drivers, not teams.
Watching the last 3 or 4 races, it would seem that DEI, knowing Jr. was leaving, has sunk more time and money into Truex, judging by his performance since the announcement.
Jr. is championship material-he's proven that more than once. While I can't stand Gordon or Johnson at all(*gag*), no one can deny the force over there.
I'm taking a wait and see stance....all those that would diss Jr. for this might be eating their words if he ends up standing in the winner's circle at Homestead, 2008.

__________________
Don't blame me. I didn't vote for either of'em.

troit

Whenever family tries to screw you over - its time to move on.

__________________
I've yet to dephile myself...

QuasiMondo

Educate me. Why is there such a strong dislike for Jeff Gordon? I'm no nascar watcher, but I've known quite a few devotees, and they've hated him with a passion from day one. Insight, anyone?

__________________
Cameron originally envisioned the Terminator as a small, unremarkable man, giving it the ability to blend in more easily. As a result, his first choice for the part was Lance Henriksen. O. J. Simpson was on the shortlist but Cameron did not think that such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer.

-From the Collector's Edition DVD of The Terminator

laconic1

Ha! I've been giving my sister shit about this all day! She is a Jr. fan., but hates Jimmie and Jeffy. I don't care one way or another about Jr. and I dislike Jimmie and Jeffy immensely. I can't put a finger on why I don't like them, but they just grate on me. The one thing that would be weird to me is if Hendrick gives up the use of the #5 or 25. Hendrick has been using both of those numbers for over 20 years, it would be like the Petty's giving up #43.

Borla

I couldn't agree more.

Depending on how much of his team comes with him (especially Tony Eury Jr.), I think there could be an adjustment period, but in the end this will put Jr. in the best car available.

I'm torn about this because of my strong dislike for Gordon and JJ, but in the end I think it was probably the best move.
Various reasons, depending on who you ask.

Some feel neither had to REALLY pay their dues in Nascar before being teamed up with some of the best crews and organizations in the sport, that they were handed everything on a silver platter.

Some (this is a big one for me) are annoyed that nearly every time they have a poor showing they place blame on fellow competitors, their crews, or otherwise pass the buck. Nascar is still somewhat of an old school sport where you tip your hat to the winner and keep your mouth shut when you think you've been dealt a bad hand or treated unfairly by the other drivers. You just man up and make sure you get them back next week.

Others just don't dig the polished, clean cut image projected in what is mostly (even still, though it is slowly diversifying) a "redneck" sport.

Probably the last of the major beefs is that both have been involved in quite a few races where an overly aggressive move on their part (especially way too early in the race with JJ several times) caused a big wreck taking out guys with great cars. This in itself isn't a major sin, EXCEPT when you compound it with the earlier point about them almost never accepting blame for negative things that happen.



Clear as mud?

__________________
Coimhéad fearg fhear na foighde!!!!

ngdawg

Since I didn't get into NASCAR until 3-4 years ago, I can say I'm not one of the "love Earnhardt, hate Gordon" crowd...I came of my own opinions.
Gordon grates on my nerves every time he opens his mouth. There's no denying his driving greatness, but as a person, I can't stand him. He's condescending-his opinions of others just seem fake. Johnson, when I started watching religiously, came off to me as a dirty driver-if he could run over others, he'd do it and he has a snake of a crew chief in Cheat....ooops...
Chad Knaus, who's been caught no less than 4 times cheating. Johnson is also a 'wasn't me' wimp. Interestingly enough, when Knaus was suspended last year, Johnson did well enough during the 4 race suspension to get to first place and he stayed there mostly, winning the championship, so he's good, obviously. But he, along with Biffle, the Busch Brats and Harvick, always do this 'not my fault' tune on their bad days.

__________________
Don't blame me. I didn't vote for either of'em.

Deltona Couple

Just a bit of information for you, but obviously you haven't been watching racing much lately. Dale Jr has 17 cup wins under his belt, and 2 Busch Series Chanpionships. I think he has proven himself as a driver.

For those that haven't been watching Nascar as long as I have (almost 20 years now) A large part of the "dislike" of Gordon is that he is a California Boy, in a predominantly Southern sport. He has had a following of haters since he began in 1992, when The King, Richard Petty retired. I personally am a Dale Jr, and Truex Jr fan, but I have a lot of respect for many of the drivers. I know Gordon is a Cali Boy, but he IS a skilled driver, as well as Johnson. This will make 2008 a VERY dominant year for Hendrick. Dale has always been VERY good as the restrictor plate races, but has been unable to dominate them for long due to the problems of insufficient teamwork in the ranks. It is like the old saying, there is no "I" in team. Some die hard fans of Dale Sr and Jr don't actually realize that Dale Sr and Gordon were actually not only GOOD friends, but business partners in several companies NOT involved directly in Nascar. Gordon himself said he learned most of what he knows about running a business and driving from Dale Sr.

You have to remember that Nascar has evolved FAR from it's grass roots of the Good Ol' Boys in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. It has become comercialized to the point that money is where the sucess is. Hendrick has done well for himself to recognize tallent and skill, and he knows what he is doing when it comes to that. He has been a LONG time friend of the Earnhardts, and was actually the one who first offered help to Dale Jr when he announced he was leaving DEI. Theresa I believe IS making a big mistake. She is more interested in having things for her daughter, Taylor Nicole Earnhardt. I see in the future that Taylor will be groomed to take over DEI in the future, unless something else comes about. Personally I think Dale Jr leaving DEI is a good thing for him. Dale Sr didn't drive for himself, he drove for Richard Childress. Dale has said before that it is a mistake to drive for yourself, being your own boss is akin to "...marrying yourself and trying to have children, it just don't work!" So this could be a very good move. Dale Jr wants to win, and lets face it, the winning team has been Hendrick.

So to all you who think it is a bad idea, remember what the whole idea is, to win races, and win a championship. Dale jr and Gordon race well together, and if you think back to the big races, if Dale jr and Gordon or Jimmie hook up, you can say goodbye, cause they are GONE! Here is my prediction, so remember it in Feb when the Daytona 500 comes around:
At some point, it will be Dale jr, Jimmie Jonhson, and Jeff Gordon up front, and when things are safe, they will all 3 trade spots, allowing the other teamate to lead atleast ONE lap to get the points. And if it is the 3 of them at the end, look for a 3-car-wide finish!

__________________
"It is not that I have failed, but that I have found 10,000 ways that it DOESN'T work!" --Thomas Edison