Team by Team at the Break

Revman

Revman

Denny beat your favorite driver....again!
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Alright, let's rate the teams.....Here's my assessment:

1. Penske Racing--Hands down have qualifying handled, and cars are fast. Both drivers in Chase.
2. Hendrick--Dale fast and in Chase. Jeff fast and headed for a win. JJ is JJ--not great now, but will be okay.
Kasey Kahne--not great at all.
3. SHR-- Delana's wife fastest car all year, but somewhat unreliable--in Chase with 2 wins. Kurt in Chase,
but inconsistent. Tony a mess. Danica---Well, Danica.
4. JGR--As fast as the Penske Fords at times but not as fast as Hendrick. Kyle in. Matt consistent, but not at
the front really. Denny kind of a mess. They really haven't been the fastest team at any point.
5. RCR--Austin--Pretty consistent. Leads. Newman--Where have you been? Menard--Menard.
6. MWR--Clint and Brian have been consistently fast, but no finishes to show for it. Clint should have at least
one win, possibly two. In terms of outright speed, might be the fastest Toyotas on the track.
7. RFR--Carl in, but that's it. Biff with short run speed--nothing over the course of a run. Stenhouse--
Danica Effect.

Thought about tallying points to give a more objective analysis, but points are kind of screwed with the emphasis on winning these days. Chose to risk the flaming (no, not on this board LOL) and go with a more subject assessment.

Whatcha got?
 
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Penske has been on it right from Daytona and will likely cool down at some point but should be GTG when the Chase starts.

If fans whining could get a driver wins, #24 would have 8 of them.

JGR needs to catch up. They seem lost at this point.

I believe that Larson is leadng ROTY standings.

MWR is getting better.

RFR needs to make some changes and must be realizing by now that they've put too much money into 2 drivers.
 
#17D500winner said:
Penske has been on it right from Daytona and will likely cool down at some point but should be GTG when the Chase starts.

If fans whining could get a driver wins, #24 would have 8 of them.

JGR needs to catch up. They seem lost at this point.

I believe that Larson is leadng ROTY standings.

MWR is getting better.

RFR needs to make some changes and must be realizing by now that they've put too much money into 2 drivers.
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Agreed, and ROTY error corrected. Thanks. When you look at it from the standpoint of who should win on race day, it is hard to pick JGR the way they have been running. Penske? Yes. Hendrick? Yes. Even SHR? Possible. But JGR has not been a slam dunk on any weekend. Matt says that they are getting better, but I thought Darlington was ugly. Kyle is beside himself. Never, ever in it. It isn't pretty. Penske impresses the hell out of me, and Hendrick is still the class of the field. Forgot to mention CGR because they are forgettable from a winning perspective although Larson impresses. MWR is looking okay--impressive given the well documented struggles (thank you TRD).
 
Revman said:
Alright, let's rate the teams.....Here's my assessment:

1. Penske Racing--Hands down have qualifying handled, and cars are fast. Both drivers in Chase.
2. Hendrick--Dale fast and in Chase. Jeff fast and headed for a win. JJ is JJ--not great now, but will be okay.
Kasey Kahne--not great at all.
3. SHR-- Delana's wife fastest car all year, but somewhat unreliable--in Chase with 2 wins. Kurt in Chase,
but inconsistent. Tony a mess. Danica---Well, Danica.
4. JGR--As fast as the Penske Fords at times but not as fast as Hendrick. Kyle in. Matt consistent, but not at
the front really. Denny kind of a mess. They really haven't been the fastest team at any point.
5. RCR--Austin--Pretty consistent. Leads. Newman--Where have you been? Menard--Menard.
6. MWR--Clint and Brian have been consistently fast, but no finishes to show for it. Clint should have at least
one win, possibly two. In terms of outright speed, might be the fastest Toyotas on the track.
7. RFR--Carl in, but that's it. Biff with short run speed--nothing over the course of a run. Stenhouse--
Danica Effect.

Thought about tallying points to give a more objective analysis, but points are kind of screwed with the emphasis on winning these days. Chose to risk the flaming (no, not on this board LOL) and go with a more subject assessment.

Whatcha got?
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I agree with all of this but I'd put Ganassi probably in front of JGR or tied with them. Kyle has the win but Ganassi cars have both shown speed almost every week and one of them is a rookie.
 
SlicedBread22 said:
I agree with all of this but I'd put Ganassi probably in front of JGR or tied with them. Kyle has the win but Ganassi cars have both shown speed almost every week and one of them is a rookie.
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I wouldn't go that far. Really, I wouldn't. I am disappointed with JGR's performance--no question, but I don't think that CGR is their equal. Not even close.
 
Revman said:
I wouldn't go that far. Really, I wouldn't. I am disappointed with JGR's performance--no question, but I don't think that CGR is their equal. Not even close.
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If you look at results I'd say they are but I guess when you look at laps led and things like that JGR does seem to have more speed.
 
mreed said:
1. HMS/SHR

...everyone else.
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Meh... imo for the teasm to be doing so good you cant have Kasey (who?), Tony, and Danica( :rolleyes: ) running so poorly.. That's why Penske IMO (and others) is #1.. the whole team is competitive every week every time they hit the track. Sure its only 2 cars but they're front runners... so just as big of a threat. Theyre the only team that has all their drivers in the chase so while HMS and SHR wondering how to get Kasey and Tony a win Penske will be planning their tests at all the chase cut off races. (Albeit slight..) Advantage Penske.
 
SlicedBread22 said:
If you look at results I'd say they are but I guess when you look at laps led and things like that JGR does seem to have more speed.
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Yeah, and I'm really frustrated with JGR right now so I am more than willing to go hard ass on them, but I feel they have more speed than CGR. I mean, if I told you we were going racing right now, and you had to put all of your money on it, would you put it down on CGR? Naw. JGR isn't at that level IMO.
 
SlicedBread22 said:
Meh... imo for the teasm to be doing so good you cant have Kasey (who?), Tony, and Danica( :rolleyes: ) running so poorly.. That's why Penske IMO (and others) is #1.. the whole team is competitive every week every time they hit the track. Theyre the only team that has all their drivers in the chase so while HMS and SHR wondering how to get Kasey and Tony a win Penske will be planning their tests at all the chase cut off races. (Albeit slight) Advantage Penske.
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Head to head. I am taking Penske right now. No question. If the Chase started tomorrow, I would be worried about Joey. No way I would say that at the beginning of the year. No way. I think he is a major force right now. Might even think of him as the favorite.
 
Revman said:
Head to head. I am taking Penske right now. No question. If the Chase started tomorrow, I would be worried about Joey. No way I would say that at the beginning of the year. No way. I think he is a major force right now. Might even think of him as the favorite.
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See I sometimes think that but Im trying not to get ahead of myself and remain humble lol... one race at a time... last night showed that. I do expect him to win some more but it comes down to being good at exactly the right time. My expectations for this season were and remain 3 wins. Im ecstatic that he has developed to look like one of the favorites but theres a long way to go. I hope he can keep it up. My confidence in my driver is at an all time high, and even better is that I believe in his crew.. he's got a very smart crew chief in Todd Gordon and they work together very well as well as with Brad and Paul. They keep saying the reason theyre so good is because of the team work and how equal they all are... any week the only difference in the cars is the paint scheme and probably in race adjustments.
 
I think Penske is definitely top dog at this point. I'm a little surprised that HMS has been winless since the Daytona 500, but they've run well. SHR has two cars in the Chase, but unless they find some consistency I think they'll be a non-factor once it starts. JGR is running just OK, they seem to have taken a big step back from last year. RFR seems to be about where they've been the last couple years. Most improved team has to be Ganassi.
 
[quote="SlicedBread22, post: 761363, member: 7141" Theyre the only team that has all their drivers in the chase [/quote]
Yeah all 2 of them. That and $4.95 will get you a coffee at Starstrucks..If Jr hadn't run out of gas Kez would be still outside looking in. SHR has 2 legit wins
 
ToyYoda said:
I think Penske is definitely top dog at this point. I'm a little surprised that HMS has been winless since the Daytona 500, but they've run well. SHR has two cars in the Chase, but unless they find some consistency I think they'll be a non-factor once it starts. JGR is running just OK, they seem to have taken a big step back from last year. RFR seems to be about where they've been the last couple years. Most improved team has to be Ganassi.
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I agree, but JGR was never in the hunt last night. If you are a player, you have to be in the hunt every week IMO.
 
Bobw said:
[quote="SlicedBread22, post: 761363, member: 7141" Theyre the only team that has all their drivers in the chase
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Yeah all 2 of them. That and $4.95 will get you a coffee at Starstrucks..If Jr hadn't run out of gas Kez would be still outside looking in. SHR has 2 legit wins[/quote]

You put Kez and Joey against Delana's wife and Kurt on a race weekend, I would take Kez and Joey from Practice to Victory Lane every single time right now.
 
Seems to me that JGR has 2 drivers ahead of Penkse in the points so it's not all gloom and doom for them.
 
#17D500winner said:
Seems to me that JGR has 2 drivers ahead of Penkse in the points so it's not all gloom and doom for them.
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Agreed. I think JGR has shifted their focus from speed to reliability this year. Last year they were crazy fast, but popping motors left and right. This year they're not quite as fast, but the motors have been a lot more durable. I think JGR will be fine in the long run.
 
Revman said:
Yeah all 2 of them. That and $4.95 will get you a coffee at Starstrucks..If Jr hadn't run out of gas Kez would be still outside looking in. SHR has 2 legit wins
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You put Kez and Joey against Delana's wife and Kurt on a race weekend, I would take Kez and Joey from Practice to Victory Lane every single time right now.[/quote]
It may only be two of them but that makes it even more impressive imo that theyre running so well compared to so many teams with more cars and drivers and crew chiefs working together. I think only having two cars to worry about is also somewhat of an advantage. Two wins and the whole team is in the chase.. last week before Joeys win they were discussing where to test... they were going to go test somewhere Joey is good to get an advantage toward getting him a win... but he got the win and now they can use their 4 tests for the chase cut off tracks and Homestead... or maybe twice at Homestead and then Dover and Phoenix or something like that. Like I said it may be slight, but its an advantage for later on... on top of the fact that they are the team to beat now. Even a slight advantage could end up being huge in this sport.
 
SlicedBread22 said:
You mean the race where they reset the points for the final time and don't award bonus points? lol :p
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I mean that points are nothing to you because #22 isn't leading them. If he were, we'd never hear the end of it :D
 
Roush is the 7th best team. At the very best. One could even argue they are only 8th.

I never thought I would be saying that.
 
TooSweet said:
Roush is the 7th best team. At the very best. One could even argue they are only 8th.

I never thought I would be saying that.
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I think I'd put them around 5th. I'd say Penske, HMS, JGR, and SHR are ahead of them, but not really anybody else.
 
SlicedBread22 said:
Meh... imo for the teasm to be doing so good you cant have Kasey (who?), Tony, and Danica( :rolleyes: ) running so poorly.. That's why Penske IMO (and others) is #1.. the whole team is competitive every week every time they hit the track. Sure its only 2 cars but they're front runners... so just as big of a threat. Theyre the only team that has all their drivers in the chase so while HMS and SHR wondering how to get Kasey and Tony a win Penske will be planning their tests at all the chase cut off races. (Albeit slight..) Advantage Penske.
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So, even though there are 3 HMS teams and 1 SHR team ahead of both Penske teams in the point standings, you believe Penske is the best team right now.
Until a Penske team in front of all HMS/SHR teams in the point standings I don't see a legitimate claim that Penske is the best team right now. The stats don't show it.

And to answer your question about what do points mean, they are pretty accurate indication of how good any given team are so far this year.
 
mreed said:
So, even though there are 3 HMS teams and 1 SHR team ahead of both Penske teams in the point standings, you believe Penske is the best team right now.
Until a Penske team in front of all HMS/SHR teams in the point standings I don't see a legitimate claim that Penske is the best team right now. The stats don't show it.

And to answer your question about what do points mean, they are pretty accurate indication of how good any given team are so far this year.
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Simple... have you seen a race this year yet that both of them haven't been one of the best cars in? I haven't ... almost everyone else has had issues with speed at some point. Im sure its changed now but last week Joey had the highest average power rating. Which to me is a much better indication of how a team is running. The finishes don't always tell the story. That's why looking at just the points to figure out which team is doing the best isn't quite accurate. Look at starting position, fast laps, average running position, quality passes and all that other fun stuff, then you factor in the finishes. Obviously the finishes are the most important but r u going to tell me that because Harvick finished outside the top 35 in 5 of the last 6 races that he's not at least one of the top 3 threats in the garage right now? I mean he IS sitting back in 22nd in points after all....
 
Power ratings? Dont you mean, Power Rangers?

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tumblr_m3b8vsN6jy1rv5nplo1_400.gif
 
SlicedBread22 said:
Simple... have you seen a race this year yet that both of them haven't been one of the best cars in? I haven't ... almost everyone else has had issues with speed at some point. Im sure its changed now but last week Joey had the highest average power rating. Which to me is a much better indication of how a team is running. The finishes don't always tell the story. That's why looking at just the points to figure out which team is doing the best isn't quite accurate. Look at starting position, fast laps, average running position, quality passes and all that other fun stuff, then you factor in the finishes. Obviously the finishes are the most important but r u going to tell me that because Harvick finished outside the top 35 in 5 of the last 6 races that he's not at least one of the top 3 threats in the garage right now? I mean he IS sitting back in 22nd in points after all....
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Penske only has 2 cars. Every week so far, atleast 2 out of the 4 HMS guys have been in contention. Therefore with your logic they are just as good as the Penske team week in and week out. If Penske ran a full team, he'd have the same results as HMS.
 
Between Jimmie, Gordon and Jr. they all could/should have had at least 1 or 2 wins a piece by now.

They've been that good all year long. Before too long Gordon and Jimmie will finally get theirs.

Only guy you can throw out the window is Kahne. The guy who's supposedly second best in that organization. lol
 
That makes me feel so much better , to see Penske leading the pack. I had both of them in the pool this weekend and got dick all . So , you're sayin , it's not just me , I could have picked worse.
 
SlicedBread22 said:
Simple... have you seen a race this year yet that both of them haven't been one of the best cars in? I haven't ...
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Yea, like the 22 was one of the best cars at Darlingtion.

I guess if team leads 30 laps at the start, then fades to 10th-ish for the remainder of the race makes them "one of the best cars" in the race. :cool:
 
mreed said:
Yea, like the 22 was one of the best cars at Darlingtion.

I guess if team leads 30 laps at the start, then fades to 10th-ish for the remainder of the race makes them "one of the best cars" in the race. :cool:
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Lol one bad run gets him around 10th before the problem... still pretty good compared to the bad runs of SHR
 
Revman said:
Alright, let's rate the teams.....Here's my assessment:

1. Penske Racing--Hands down have qualifying handled, and cars are fast. Both drivers in Chase.
2. Hendrick--Dale fast and in Chase. Jeff fast and headed for a win. JJ is JJ--not great now, but will be okay.
Kasey Kahne--not great at all.
3. SHR-- Delana's wife fastest car all year, but somewhat unreliable--in Chase with 2 wins. Kurt in Chase,
but inconsistent. Tony a mess. Danica---Well, Danica.
4. JGR--As fast as the Penske Fords at times but not as fast as Hendrick. Kyle in. Matt consistent, but not at
the front really. Denny kind of a mess. They really haven't been the fastest team at any point.
5. RCR--Austin--Pretty consistent. Leads. Newman--Where have you been? Menard--Menard.
6. MWR--Clint and Brian have been consistently fast, but no finishes to show for it. Clint should have at least
one win, possibly two. In terms of outright speed, might be the fastest Toyotas on the track.
7. RFR--Carl in, but that's it. Biff with short run speed--nothing over the course of a run. Stenhouse--
Danica Effect.

Thought about tallying points to give a more objective analysis, but points are kind of screwed with the emphasis on winning these days. Chose to risk the flaming (no, not on this board LOL) and go with a more subject assessment.

Whatcha got?
Click to expand...

I think this is pretty dead on but I'd put SHR and Penske 1a and 1b. RCR has pulled a disappearing act and JGR has been very average compared to their dominance last year. I still think Kenseth has a run in him before we get to summer. (Yes, I'm incredibly biased.) I thought Bowyer was going to win at Texas before some bad luck late. He was rolling through the field for about 300 miles.
 
The most impressive team of the year to me has been Daugherty Racing and Allmendinger. Top 20 in points. That Fontana run was awesome.
 
1. Penske
2. SHR
3. Hendrick
4. JGR
4. Ganassi
5. Roush
6. RCR

Honestly tho.... the top 4 are under a blanket
 
ChexOrWrex said:
Penske only has 2 cars. Every week so far, atleast 2 out of the 4 HMS guys have been in contention. Therefore with your logic they are just as good as the Penske team week in and week out. If Penske ran a full team, he'd have the same results as HMS.
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That is a good point... but imo its part of the reason theyre top. They only have to worry about two cars. One the flip side they have less human resources so for them to be ahead of the game or even on par is pretty impressive. I do think like wrangler said the top 3 are under a blanket... any of them can win any week.
 
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