What happens when Junior retires?

cheesepuffs

cheesepuffs

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Where do the Dale Jr fans go when he calls it quits from Cup racing? Do the fans just stop watching the sport altogether, or it is Jeffery's lucky day?
 
I think a decent number of them will flock towards the Dillon brothers and Elliott. Not all of them will stick around, but a decent number will. Just as some Gordon fans stopped following this year, but the remaining ones adopted guys like Blaney and Elliott.

At least there won't be as much litter on the track after the Talladega "races".
 
There's so much talent out there plus the new influx constantly coming up, if they stick around, they'll find drivers and teams to root for. Hopefully we weed out the ****heads though.
 
I predict a huge drop in ratings and interest. let not forget tony is retiring, jeff is gone, There are a number of other drivers who are getting older. in 5-7 years the sport will be very very different. add to that most of the new drivers came from money which I think will mean most races will be won by fewer guys.
 
hidesert cowboy said:
I predict a huge drop in ratings and interest. let not forget tony is retiring, jeff is gone, There are a number of other drivers who are getting older. in 5-7 years the sport will be very very different. add to that most of the new drivers came from money which I think will mean most races will be won by fewer guys.
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They can't drop much lower. You can already see the changing of the guard. It's gonna be the new Gillette(R) Young Guns in about two years.. The issue isn't the aging drivers, it's the aging owners.. I guess this is all a topic for another thread though.
 
DUN24 said:
They can't drop much lower. You can already see the changing of the guard. The issue isn't the aging drivers, it's the aging owners.. I guess this is all a topic for another thread though.
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Aging owners? A new buyer will take over those charters.
 
Clutch said:
Aging owners? A new buyer will take over those charters.
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Yeah but does that equate to the same operation? Does whatever HMS or JGR becomes remain as top notch as it is now?

(there's probably a charter thread somewhere that explains how it'll all be rosey)
 
DUN24 said:
Yeah but does that equate to the same operation? Does whatever HMS or JGR becomes remain as top notch as it is now?

(there's probably a charter thread somewhere that explains how it'll all be rosey)
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Guess we'll find out.
I'm also guessing family will inherit/ takeover charters
 
DUN24 said:
They can't drop much lower. You can already see the changing of the guard. It's gonna be the new Gillette(R) Young Guns in about two years.. The issue isn't the aging drivers, it's the aging owners.. I guess this is all a topic for another thread though.
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I think many of the older owners aren't much more than figureheads these days. No doubt these organizations already have succession plans in place as well. Look at Team Penske - Tim Cindric is involved in all of the operations from NASCAR to IndyCar to V8 Supercars. I don't think these teams will skip a beat.
 
I don't think there will be much of a difference. So much young talent coming up I think Jr fans can find someone else to root for. Alot of Gordon fans now root for Chase. I think it's possible Jr will bring JRM to cup when or right before he retires and he has a eye for young talent
 
FLRacingFan said:
I think many of the older owners aren't much more than figureheads these days. No doubt these organizations already have succession plans in place as well. Look at Team Penske - Tim Cindric is involved in all of the operations from NASCAR to IndyCar to V8 Supercars. I don't think these teams will skip a beat.
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True true.


Clutch said:
Guess we'll find out.
I'm also guessing family will inherit/ takeover charters
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Yup.
 
I think the same will happen when Jr retires that did when the King retired, or Rusty, or Elliott, or Gordon, or Gant, and so on when NASCAR 's most popular drivers have retired, NASCAR will continue on without Jr.
I guess the one downside to him retiring is we will no longer get the Jr Nationwide reports during the races, sure am going to miss those:)sarcasm:)
 
hidesert cowboy said:
add to that most of the new drivers came from money which I think will mean most races will be won by fewer guys.
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I'm confused, maybe you can explain this... (a) the part about "from money" and (b) how that means fewer winners.

DUN24 said:
The issue isn't the aging drivers, it's the aging owners.
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I think the issue is *both* the drivers and the owners. Following on behind the retirements of Gordon and Stewart will come Biffle, Kenseth, Johnson, Harvick, Junior, and McMurray within a couple of years, IMO. That is a dramatic change in the driver line up.

I'm sure there are some owner transition plans, but remember this... The next top tier team that transitions to a new owner via sale or inheritance, and remains a top tier team under the new owner, will be the first team to ever have done it. It's not easy to pull off. (There was a carefully planned transition at Nascar. Some folks say that didn't work out too well.)

PS: on second thought, you would have to say Petty Enterprises did make a successful transition.

Clutch said:
Guess we'll find out.
I'm also guessing family will inherit/ takeover charters
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The charters are the property of the race teams, just like welders, pipe benders, seven-post shakers, coffee machines, and sponsorship contracts. If a team owner passes away, his heirs will either operate the team or sell it. I don't think we can blindly assume the team will automatically remain as successful as it was before.

FLRacingFan said:
I think many of the older owners aren't much more than figureheads these days.
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LOL...

FL: "Richard, you are nothing but a figurehead."

Richard Childress: "Austin, hold my watch."

Seriously, I think it is dangerous to under-estimate the ongoing contributions to their race teams of the inspiration, guidance, and leadership of guys like Roger Penske, Joe Gibbs, Rick Hendrick, and the others. Just my opinion.
 
Junior needs to win a championship before he bows out!!

Some big names will soon be retiring for sure but some good young drivers are coming through as well. How exciting are Chase, Austin and Ryan Blaney? They have long careers ahead of them. Just speculating but has anyone ever considered that it isn't always downhill from here - the sport could become better!!
 
I can understand why Junior fans would think that his retirement will be significant . Those of us who have been long time Nascar fans have lost drivers every year since we started watching . Only one driver had any impact on the fan base that I recall
 
Some day soon Kahne will be the old man in the garage.
 
Brad will become my farovite when Jr retires. Then after Brad retires them Chase will become my farovite. I'm set for the next 20 years
 
Life goes on and NASCAR will have new faces.

Guys like Larson, Elliott, Ty and Austin Dillon, and Blaney will be the new "faces" of the sport.

It will be a bummer when he retires, but if fans of the sport really love it they will stick around.
 
Hearin' he's gonna get a Bob Cat from Untied Rentals 'n go lookin' for Sam Hornish........
 
LewTheShoe said:
LOL...

FL: "Richard, you are nothing but a figurehead."

Richard Childress: "Austin, hold my watch."

Seriously, I think it is dangerous to under-estimate the ongoing contributions to their race teams of the inspiration, guidance, and leadership of guys like Roger Penske, Joe Gibbs, Rick Hendrick, and the others. Just my opinion.
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Childress seems to be one of the few guys still very involved with a lot of the day-to-day happenings.
 
I don't see much difference than when Bill Elliott and Richard Petty retired. The fans will go on to another and there won't be much of a downside. Petty's operation made the transition but it still hasn't been able to break into a good middle team operation. Close but not quite there. I'm betting that Rick, Penske and RCR have transition plans whether to family or just placing the team on the market. A lot of top teams have come and gone and somebody has always come along to pick up their place. Nascar just needs to figure out a format for racing that gets some of the fans back.
 
I'd like to hear from some of the forum's big JR fans regarding this. @dpkimmel2001 @TexasRaceLady Have either of you pondered who you might root for next? I know as a Gordon fan I kinda just always assumed I'd root for whoever got placed in the 24. got fortunate in that it ended up being Chase.
 
AdoubleU24 said:
I'd like to hear from some of the forum's big JR fans regarding this. @dpkimmel2001 @TexasRaceLady Have either of you pondered who you might root for next? I know as a Gordon fan I kinda just always assumed I'd root for whoever got placed in the 24. got fortunate in that it ended up being Chase.
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Until he decides to retire I don't really give it much thought. While he's my favorite to root for, I like a lot of drivers/teams. I'd probably just continue rooting for those I like. The days of specific merchandise purchases would be over but my fandom for the sport won't be.
 
cheesepuffs said:
Where do the Dale Jr fans go when he calls it quits from Cup racing? Do the fans just stop watching the sport altogether, or it is Jeffery's lucky day?
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I'm afraid Jeffrey will need more than a lucky day.

A lucky decade might get it done but probably not.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Until he decides to retire I don't really give it much thought. While he's my favorite to root for, I like a lot of drivers/teams. I'd probably just continue rooting for those I like. The days of specific merchandise purchases would be over but my fandom for the sport won't be.
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Since my guy retired last year I'm doing just that. I'm rooting for Chase Elliott but others also.
 
Ok, I have a long ways to go before I confront the problem, but I thought I'd give my thoughts on it now.

Probably in the minority on this forum, but I'm more a fan of the #2 race team over team Penske and over Brad. Obviously I like all three though. I wasn't really a fan when Rusty Wallace was still around, but when I go back and watch replays of the 90's I always cheer for the deuce. Not because I am particularly a fan of Rusty, since I was so young at the time and never really saw him on TV, but just because I love the car no matter who's driving. In the same way I'll always love my Vikings, no matter who's quarterbacking the team (historically someone awful). I won't start rooting for the Broncos if Teddy Bridgewater is traded there or retires.

Anyways, that's a long-winded way of saying I'm fine watching and buying gear for a loooooong time. Sorry Junior fans.
 
I think they'll all go to Chase Elliott, who is setting up to be the most popular driver of all time. He is Bill's son, is driving Jeff's car and is Junior's protege. He's getting most of their fans.
 
It all depends on who takes over the 88 when Jr Retires. JRM isn't much help here unfortunately and I don't see it being Jeffrey. Also assuming Hendrick would want another young gun in there like they did with Chase and not just sign another established veteran. Maybe they will poach one of the surplus Joe Gibbs drivers. Can you imagine the **** fit that would ensue if Suarez took over the 88?
 
The return'll be beyond exciting. Look for the thing on the pole in the Daytona opener.
 
cheesepuffs said:
Where do the Dale Jr fans go when he calls it quits from Cup racing? Do the fans just stop watching the sport altogether, or it is Jeffery's lucky day?
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You could ask the same question about Johnson or Harvick or Stewart or Kenseth or any driver who has a reasonable following and is approaching or over 40. The answer is the same for all of them. Some of them who are strictly fans of that driver but not of racing in general will leave. Others will find new drivers to support.

Drivers have retired before, and will continue to do so.
 
I've been in search of someone I can believe in since Erin “The Real Deal” Crocker left. I had such high hopes, such confidence....... All gone. Dreams never fulfilled.
 
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