The Rise of the "Young Guns"

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DaleJrfan1983

Guest
I don't know if anyone has brought this topic up yet so I'll ask anyway. Does anyone find this a little fishy- It seemed like as soon as Dale Senior went to the race track in the sky all the "Young Guns" took over the spot light and the veterens faded away. When Dale Sr was still here all the veterens and him dominated the circuit along with a few young guys such as Jeff Gordon. Now it's all Dale Jr, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon, you know what I'm talking about.
 
I would not call Jeff a young gun. He is a 4x champ.

But i do get what your saying, and i have noticed that to.
 
Actually, Dale SR. was in a decline for a few years before his sad death. When J. Gordon came on strong in the mid thru late 90's the Earnhardt era was effectively over. Every era has to end----just as Jeff's is doing as we speak. The rest of the veterans suffered at Jeff's hands too up until '99, when the racing universe shifted and new superstars started coming along. Now Jeff has---and will---suffer at their hands.

Ryan, Kurt, Matt, Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Stewart and Harvick are the main 7 guys that will grab the wins and titles for the next few years.
 
You old devil! I owe ya one...I was gonna bump it, but you know how modest I am! :lol: (Even when my boys are running 100% and hold the top seven positions in points! :p)
 
Originally posted by 97forever@Mar 31 2004, 01:51 PM
You old devil! I owe ya one...I was gonna bump it, but you know how modest I am! :lol: (Even when my boys are running 100% and hold the top seven positions in points! :p)
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Hey, even I was impressed with that one, and you don't impress me much. Even though you're always right. :lol:
 
I love how everyone is spelling doom for Jeff Gordon (and the rest of the "old timers"). Good lord, In '03 Jeff finished ahead of Harvick, Newman, Stewart and Busch. In '02 he finished ahead of Johnson, Newman, Kenseth and Jr. Were it not for the wondercar of Hillenberg, Jeff would still be firmly in the top ten (as it stands he's only 6 points out of the top ten). So I wouldn't say he's suffering just yet.

At least Kenseth and Stewart have won championships, everyone else is till looking for that 1st one. I think it's simply a matter of overexposure of these young guys by NASCAR in it's bid to skew their audience to a younger demographic that's giving the impression that they are dominating. Heck, will these guys be considered washed up when the latest crop of rookies starts to perform well? I don't think so.
 
But as long as he is finishing behind an average of three of the seven per year then how does that mean he is beating them all? He will still win, still be a force, but it will take the collapse of those seven guys for him to ever be what he once was. Not to be bashing or hurtful at all, I just think Jeff's best years are behind him.

Jeff came along at a time when ONE driver really was top dog on the circuit: Earnhardt. Yeah, Martin and Jarrett and Labonte were good---but always just a notch behind for a variety of reasons. Now that the competition is a LOT tougher, Jeff is a lot more mortal, even occasionally desperate and mistake prone. The truth is it was easier in '98 for him to beat middle aged or older guys like Mark and Dale and DJ and Rusty.

But beating Newman, Busch and Johnson week in and week out is going to be a helluva lot tougher.
 
Originally posted by DaleJrfan1983@Mar 31 2004, 11:08 AM
I don't know if anyone has brought this topic up yet so I'll ask anyway. Does anyone find this a little fishy- It seemed like as soon as Dale Senior went to the race track in the sky all the "Young Guns" took over the spot light and the veterens faded away. When Dale Sr was still here all the veterens and him dominated the circuit along with a few young guys such as Jeff Gordon. Now it's all Dale Jr, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon, you know what I'm talking about.
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I'm not a car guy or anything but NASCAR has made a lot of changes to the cars that have made it more easier for the more younger guys to just come in, pick up and drive, I dont know what I'm saying, I just woke up here.
 
Originally posted by Happy29+Mar 31 2004, 02:49 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Happy29 @ Mar 31 2004, 02:49 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--DaleJrfan1983@Mar 31 2004, 11:08 AM
I don't know if anyone has brought this topic up yet so I'll ask anyway. Does anyone find this a little fishy- It seemed like as soon as Dale Senior went to the race track in the sky all the "Young Guns" took over the spot light and the veterens faded away. When Dale Sr was still here all the veterens and him dominated the circuit along with a few young guys such as Jeff Gordon. Now it's all Dale Jr, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon, you know what I'm talking about.
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I'm not a car guy or anything but NASCAR has made a lot of changes to the cars that have made it more easier for the more younger guys to just come in, pick up and drive, I dont know what I'm saying, I just woke up here. [/b][/quote]
:blink:

just woke up?
 
Has anyone ever thought that if Alan Kulwicki and Davey Allison had lived, Jeff probably wouldnt have even been a formidable force? I dont mean to be offensive here, but I'm just thinking out loud
 
personally DE SR. was not in a decline and I guarantee if he were still alive he's still be a threat for the win and the cup title and teachin them young guns a lesson or two
 
I agree with steveluvs3, Dale SR wasn't in a decline. He had great moments until the end of his career. I guess I kinda think of Jeff Gordon as a semi-young gun because he was one when Dale SR was around. I was a big fan of Dale SR then, I wasn't too thrilled about Gordon back then. Now all's good, Gordon is alright in my book. The change of technology could be a factor in the rise of the young guns. The veterans might be so used to the old ways that the young guys have an edge with the new stuff since they don't know the old ways. Think there will be a time when Dale Jr. will drive the #3 car? I saw a forum talking about Robby Gordon driving a #3 car at Taladaga. ;) Hopefully it isn't true or it's an April fools joke. The only guy I can see driving a #3 car right now would be Jr. It just doesn't seem right for someone else to drive with that #.
 
Trust me, if Robby Gordon ever drove the 3, (I like Robby but I just dont see him driving the 3) the United States would collapse as a nation, possums would be able to fly and shoot MP5s and the Roman Empire would be reigning hell on the meditteranean again.

Personally I dont see anyone that will want to drive the 3 in NASCAR for the forseeable future, possibly 5 or 6 years.
 
Sheesh, that topic was one of the many April fools jokes on here today. I think I've fallen for two so far. Better get off before I fall for another! :lol:
 
Originally posted by TeamHendrick@Mar 31 2004, 04:36 PM
I love how everyone is spelling doom for Jeff Gordon (and the rest of the "old timers"). Good lord, In '03 Jeff finished ahead of Harvick, Newman, Stewart and Busch. In '02 he finished ahead of Johnson, Newman, Kenseth and Jr. Were it not for the wondercar of Hillenberg, Jeff would still be firmly in the top ten (as it stands he's only 6 points out of the top ten). So I wouldn't say he's suffering just yet.

At least Kenseth and Stewart have won championships, everyone else is till looking for that 1st one. I think it's simply a matter of overexposure of these young guys by NASCAR in it's bid to skew their audience to a younger demographic that's giving the impression that they are dominating. Heck, will these guys be considered washed up when the latest crop of rookies starts to perform well? I don't think so.
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agreed.
Jeff Gordon also led the curcuit in laps led category last year with 1,639 laps led,IMHO He must not be running all that poorly ;) He also had an average start of 8.6 last season,not too shabby :lol: His average finish would have been better but for being punted several times last summer that took Him effectively out of contention for the Title chase ;)
I bet Jeff also has helped advance Jimmie Johnson's learning curve at this level ;)
 
Too say that DE sr was in decline is a judgement call. He was still as capable of winning races as ANYONE out there. But...I remember a time when he WOULDN'T have been happy blocking Sterling Marlin around Daytona and would've been showing the 8 & 15 was his bumper looked like.
 
Dale SR appeared to be in a bit of a slump in 97. but came right back to form in 99 & 2000.
I am proud to say I never gave up on him.
I have followed this sport since 89, and it seems to me that back then the rookies were not exactly in high dollar equipment. Then along came Jeff Gordon, Hendrick put him in top notch equipment and the rest is history. I believe car owners took notice and started doing the same.
 
Originally posted by racer8@Apr 2 2004, 11:29 AM
Dale SR appeared to be in a bit of a slump in 97. but came right back to form in 99 & 2000.
I am proud to say I never gave up on him.
I have followed this sport since 89, and it seems to me that back then the rookies were not exactly in high dollar equipment. Then along came Jeff Gordon, Hendrick put him in top notch equipment and the rest is history. I believe car owners took notice and started doing the same.
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I think there is a lot of truth to this....

It also kind of ties in to the field fillers as well...it seems as if the fillers are the real 'rookies' of the sport nowadays. It would be interesting to see how some rookies and fillers would compete in equal equipment. I'm sure there would be a couple suprises!
 
Off topic:

Don't forget to turn your clocks ahead one hour at midnight this Saturday for daylight savings time.
 
Originally posted by Happy29@Apr 1 2004, 10:25 PM
Trust me, if Robby Gordon ever drove the 3, (I like Robby but I just dont see him driving the 3) the United States would collapse as a nation, possums would be able to fly and shoot MP5s and the Roman Empire would be reigning hell on the meditteranean again.

Personally I dont see anyone that will want to drive the 3 in NASCAR for the forseeable future, possibly 5 or 6 years.
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IMO they ought to retire the #3, I don't think dale jr. is interested in the #, he acts more proud that he is runnin his grandfathers #
 
I was and still an a Dale Sr fan. (Forever The Man, Forever A Fan) But i dont belive he was blocking, I truly belive that if he had the car he would of passed both the #8 and #15.
 
Originally posted by Lap3Forever@Apr 2 2004, 07:38 PM
I was and still an a Dale Sr fan. (Forever The Man, Forever A Fan) But i dont belive he was blocking, I truly belive that if he had the car he would of passed both the #8 and #15.
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There have been a multitude of theories but this is a first for this view point. Care to share your thoughts on what caused the fatal accident if Dale was not blocking???
 
I believe if he had a car good enough to win he would have gone for it. maybe since he didn't he merely made sure no one else could. I still remember thinking to my self that day that I'd never seen him drive that way ( actually I was jumpin up and down screamin he's blocking, he's blocking ). normally he would try to hook up with anyone else and go to the front.
Just my opinion
 
Yep I've sorta notice the trend also on the "younger" drivers.
 
Originally posted by steveluvs3+Apr 2 2004, 07:07 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (steveluvs3 @ Apr 2 2004, 07:07 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--Happy29@Apr 1 2004, 10:25 PM
Trust me, if Robby Gordon ever drove the 3, (I like Robby but I just dont see him driving the 3) the United States would collapse as a nation, possums would be able to fly and shoot MP5s and the Roman Empire would be reigning hell on the meditteranean again.

Personally I dont see anyone that will want to drive the 3 in NASCAR for the forseeable future, possibly 5 or 6 years.
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IMO they ought to retire the #3, I don't think dale jr. is interested in the #, he acts more proud that he is runnin his grandfathers # [/b][/quote]
The #8 has become JR's #. Everyone see's it as his #. If he drove the #3 it would always be SR's # He would never get out of daddy's shadow. :cheers:
 
that and the 3 is owned by Richard Childress Racing, the rights to the number. Dale Jr. would have to work his way out of his contract with Dale Earnhardt Inc. to drive it.

Nevertheless, I think Richard is committed to bringing back the number however, for right now, like Davey Allison's famed #28, it'll probably stay on the sidelines.
 
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