Hendrick steals William Byron

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jasn88cubs said:
Kyle Busch should kick him out for the rest of the year
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Why should he do that? I'd guess that Master Byron has a signed agreement with KBM for this season and that the agreement comes with dollars that flow to the team.

Good move for HMS and the kid. Nice to see.
 
What a steal for Hendrick and Chevy. They needed a young prospect to compete with TRD and they got a damn good one.

Byron reminds me of Jimmie Johnson, without the off road background. Just a natural behind the wheel. Smooth, great car control, and bad to the bone fast.

Byron will succeed Dale Jr. in the 88/25 car whenever Dale decides to step away.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
I would bet on "Dale Jr retires at the end of 2017 season" before I bet on "Hendrick fires Kasey Kahne".
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This.

They were looking for someone to succeed Dale and they found him. Byron is a lock for the 88 when Jr. retires (hopefully a couple seasons from now;))

As far as Kasey goes, I'd imagine they go the veteran route in looking to replace him. They also have Bowman who has some talent but needs seat time. He honestly should be running the 88 right now instead of Gordon but that's either here nor there.
 
JBone88 said:
This.

They were looking for someone to succeed Dale and they found him. Byron is a lock for the 88 when Jr. retires (hopefully a couple seasons from now;))

As far as Kasey goes, I'd imagine they go the veteran route in looking to replace him. They also have Bowman who has some talent but needs seat time. He honestly should be running the 88 right now instead of Gordon but that's either here nor there.
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Jimmie Johnson's 40. Stands to reason he won't be in the 48 too much longer himself. He might stay on as the veteran presence for some time.

I'd like to see Bowman move up.
 
I wouldn't categorize this as a "steal" for HMS. He drove for JRM in some late model races before he was driving the KBM truck. It's a natural fit for all parties.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
I'm shocked Kasey Kahne has lasted this long. They thought he would win championships in that car.
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Agree Kahne has shown he is just average at best. And not to mention that 5 car is a bad number should of used the 25
 
PhillyAndroids said:
Agree Kahne has shown he is just average at best. And not to mention that 5 car is a bad number should of used the 25
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When Kahne went to Hendrick, people were saying he was the best driver in the stable and would win championships. For years and years, he was labeled as "underrated". Honestlly, I'm shocked he hasn't won more races, and I have never really thought much of Kasey Kahne.

And people think this guy can win the championship. Against Kyle Busch who is the best driver in the best car with the best team behind him.
 
Toyota essentially choosing Christopher Bell over William Byron is a HUGE mistake. Everybody (me included) thought Bell was the next big thing then William Byron came in with less experience and has absolutely ran circles around him. Bell is feeling the pressure too, overdriving and making stupid mistakes every week to try to match his productivity. You can't teach what Byron has: smooth, consistent, doesn't panick, and the pressure doesn't get to him. Not to mention he doesn't make rookie mistakes. Very rare qualities in a race car driver, and he's only 18.
 
Allenbaba said:
TRD legitimately had no plans for him (nor fought to keep him).
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Thank you. NASCAR Radio in all of its idiocy has been trying to make this a Hendrick screwed Toyota deal.
 
It's like the draft in stick and ball sports. All of these guys could pan out or none of em . We're still waiting for a lot of previous picks to mature.
 
29-4 said:
It doesn't take a genius to see that losing an up-and-coming potential star could be harmful to their racing program.
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And it doesn't take a genius to see that they have a roomful of those.

As Rick Hendrick once said: "There's no room at the inn."
 
Nice for Byron. The kid has talent.
HMS had to get something going. They have three Cup teams that are going to be needing drivers soon.
 
29-4 said:
It doesn't take a genius to see that losing an up-and-coming potential star could be harmful to their racing program.
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I am sure that they are in the war room addressing the crisis as we speak. Losing a couple of these guys was inevitable given that Chevy and Ford are chasing their asses to get caught up to the Toyota development model. Being the first in means that you get to choose. They did.
 
29-4 said:
It doesn't take a genius to see that losing an up-and-coming potential star could be harmful to their racing program.
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I don't think it'll be too harmful. HMS once let an up and coming driver named Keselowski take a walk, and they're still OK.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
When Kahne went to Hendrick, people were saying he was the best driver in the stable and would win championships. For years and years, he was labeled as "underrated". Honestlly, I'm shocked he hasn't won more races, and I have never really thought much of Kasey Kahne.

And people think this guy can win the championship. Against Kyle Busch who is the best driver in the best car with the best team behind him.
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Kasey has always been the weak link at HMS. Now that he's getting older those teenage girls are buying less merchandise. That was his only draw as a driver.
 
I have to admit that I thought Kasey Kahne would do much better with HMS.
Based on his previous accomplishments it just seemed like some big numbers and great years would be inevitable.

But he has performed progressivly worse at HMS, and it is deeper than just not winning for almost two years. He has not even able to make the chase the last few years in the HMS cars. He hasn't even led a lap this year.

I think it is time for him and HMS to try go seperate ways.

http://www.racing-reference.info/driver/Kasey_Kahne
 
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