http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19191459

not definate, but insiders say its going to happen

 

This whole deal with JR is to tough to call. Every one of the teams he has expressed in has room. Hendrick doesn't but if one listens to the rumour mill Kyle wants out and the way he has been acting of late towards the media and his own team. If I were Hendrick I would want him out too. His bad behavior has seemed to escalate since he walked from his team and JR drove the rest of the race in the #5.

Who knows, regardless of who signs him, it's time for JR to prove he can win a championship. Any of the 3 teams expressing interest are very much contending teams for the championship.

Anyone else find it ironic that Truex has picked it up 10 fold since JR anounced he was leaving?

 

family and business just sometimes doesnt work.

i dont think dei is going under, its to bad that neither sr or jr will have final say in the end.

 

Jr. is like Danica ... mediocre driver with a great publicist.

A sponsor's wet dream, though.

 

17 wins and he's mediocre? He's got more wins than half of the guys racing theses days and in less time




Jim

 

Mediocre AT BEST!
His early success was on what his father left him ... shop, tech and pit talent.
Time has caught up with DEI and moved on.

His crash a couple years ago in the C5R was marketing GENIUS! Not the crash, but the fact that "my dad pulled me out" was a brilliant cover-up to his driving talent.

He had it all and couldn't carry it forward.

 

This will end up being a super team

 

career stats both with and after Dad. You'll notice he finished 5th in points 2 years ago. Trust me I'm no fan of his but his numbers are too good to call him mediocre


<TABLE class=cnnDataTable cellSpacing=0><TBODY><TR class=cnnTopTR><TH align=middle>Year</TH><TH align=middle>Starts</TH><TH align=middle>Wins</TH><TH align=middle>Avg. Finish</TH><TH class=cnnLast align=middle>Rank</TH></TR><TR></TR><TR class=cnnCup><TD align=middle>1999</TD><TD align=middle>5</TD><TD align=middle>0</TD><TD align=middle>21.4</TD><TD class=cnnLast align=middle>48</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>2000</TD><TD align=middle>34</TD><TD align=middle>2</TD><TD align=middle>20.9</TD><TD class=cnnLast align=middle>16</TD></TR><TR class=cnnCup><TD align=middle>2001</TD><TD align=middle>36</TD><TD align=middle>3</TD><TD align=middle>15.2</TD><TD class=cnnLast align=middle>8</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>2002</TD><TD align=middle>36</TD><TD align=middle>2</TD><TD align=middle>17.1</TD><TD class=cnnLast align=middle>11</TD></TR><TR class=cnnCup><TD align=middle>2003</TD><TD align=middle>36</TD><TD align=middle>2</TD><TD align=middle>12.7</TD><TD class=cnnLast align=middle>3</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>2004</TD><TD align=middle>36</TD><TD align=middle>6</TD><TD align=middle>12.1</TD><TD class=cnnLast align=middle>5</TD></TR><TR class=cnnCup><TD align=middle>2005</TD><TD align=middle>36</TD><TD align=middle>1</TD><TD align=middle>20.5</TD><TD class=cnnLast align=middle>19</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>2006</TD><TD align=middle>36</TD><TD align=middle>1</TD><TD align=middle>13.5</TD><TD class=cnnLast align=middle>5</TD></TR><TR class=cnnCup><TD align=middle>2007</TD><TD align=middle>14</TD><TD align=middle>0</TD><TD align=middle>16.7</TD><TD class=cnnLast align=middle>14</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>Totals</TD><TD align=middle>269</TD><TD align=middle>17</TD><TD align=middle>16.1</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>




Jim

 

I like stats ...

Look at the trend over the last 4 years ...

2003 36 2 12.7 3
2004 36 6 12.1 5
2005 36 1 20.5 19
2006 36 1 13.5 5

Look at his battles within the team over those years.
Look at where and how many times you see his face on prime time TV and print commercials.

Look at how well he has adapted to the COT ...

I rank him up there with Marco Andretti ... racing on a name, not on talent.

 

Mark Martin's aren't much better but yet everybody considers him an elite driver


<TABLE class=cnnDataTable cellSpacing=0><TBODY><TR><TH>Year</TH><TH>Starts</TH><TH>Avg. Start</TH><TH>Avg. Finish</TH><TH>Provisionals</TH><TH>% Completed</TH><TH>Points</TH><TH class=cnnLast>Winnings</TH></TR><TR class=cnnCup><TD>2007</TD><TD>11</TD><TD>16.8</TD><TD>8.5</TD><TD>0 </TD><TD>100.0%</TD><TD>1586</TD><TD>$2,715,740</TD></TR><TR><TD>2006</TD><TD>36</TD><TD>16.1</TD><TD>14.3</TD><TD>0 </TD><TD>98.1%</TD><TD>6168</TD><TD>$4,282,550</TD></TR><TR class=cnnCup><TD>2005</TD><TD>36</TD><TD>15.5</TD><TD>13.2</TD><TD>0 </TD><TD>96.0%</TD><TD>6428</TD><TD>$5,994,350</TD></TR><TR><TD>2004</TD><TD>36</TD><TD>15.3</TD><TD>13.8</TD><TD>0 </TD><TD>96.7%</TD><TD>6399</TD><TD>$3,948,500</TD></TR><TR class=cnnCup><TD>2003</TD><TD>36</TD><TD>20.7</TD><TD>20.3</TD><TD>4 </TD><TD>89.5%</TD><TD>3769</TD><TD>$4,048,850</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

You wanna talk racing on a name, Kyle Petty



Jim

 

I think he's better suited for the booth than he was in the car.

Dan

 

Martin has moved to a mediocre team ... but, Martin has never been a "great" driver, just a very consistent and easy on equipment.

Petty and Waltrip fall into the name and marketing category, as does Kenny Wallace.

While I don't like him a lot, Stewart is a very good driver. He has proven he can drive just about any platform in any series at a very high level.

Ken Schrader can as well and is very under rated.

Montoya has not impressed me a lot.

Robby Gordon has proven over the years that he can tear up more than any other driver.

Just a few thoughts from the edge ...

 

I think Jr. is a high average driver whose popularity is based on both his name and the hugh publicity push by his very aggressive sponsor.

I think Kyle Petty is a below average driver who is there only because of his name and family.

However, nobody comes close to exploiting a famous name and a big mouth as Michael Waltrip.

 

you know what though would Jeff Gordon be as good as he appears if he was on a mediocre team? Nope. The whole thing about NASCAR is it is a team sport in every part of the car.

A prime example of a mediocre driver doing well is Sterling Marlin before his crash that he hurt his neck. He lead the points standings for more consecutive weeks in a row than anybody has in NASCAR history. Then the crash happened and he missed 7 races and lost the championship. You can have the greatest driver in the world but if 1 part of the team doesn't perform you're done

Martin has moved to a team that is building. Check out Ginn's site and see what he's doing to improve. The man is spending major amounts of money in order to compete. In the near future Ginn will be one of the top notch teams



Jim

 

Good point. His crew chief soap opera didn't help. But I'm going out on a limb and say his #'s over the past 4 years is in big part to DEI as a whole falling behind in the R&D department. Restrictor plate racing is the perfect example, once dominate, now dormant. ( competition has caught up and surrpased )

For commercial, TV, and media, yes, his name has helped but I would imagine that since he hasn't won a championship yet, and comparing to what his father acheived, he might have some pressure to uphold his name. I mean heaven forbid he is labeled a mediocre driver.

With your logic then anyone who doesn't drive for Hendrick is mediocre? Put Jeff Gordon of Jimmie Johnson in Micheal Waltrip's car and see how well they perform. Just making the race with that team ( 55 ) would be considered a victory. You are taking the fact that technology plays a HUGE part in NASCAR.

And you know how to judge a talented driver first hand?