2021 Silly Season

I was 12 when MW2 dropped and I talked mad **** back then, but I never said the n word, just saying...
 
Is this news? Seriously, is it news to anyone that Jimmie Johnson reaffirms his decision to retire from cup racing after the 2020 season?

But while he says that he still has his eye on more racing, specifically IndyCar and sports cars, the parts of the 2020 season lost to the pandemic have not changed his mind about this year's farewell plans.

"It's only cemented my decision in making 2020 my last full-time year in Cup. But I still have some plans to race, and hopefully I'm going to have some time to gear up to make some decisions soon on what I can do in '21 and beyond."
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www.espn.com

JJ on NASCAR's return: 'Nutty, to say the least'

Jimmie Johnson has been hunkered down during the coronavirus pandemic, logging virtual practice laps for what should be an unpredictable first race back for NASCAR.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 
No, Tommy lives near Ontario.

I think they still have dial-up. No WiFi, obv.
 
I like that the car appears to be rendered in Iracing
 
EXCELLENT news. It's a shame it's only a one year deal, but under the current circumstances, it's probably unrealistic to expect much more, especially with a no long term sponsorship deal in place. On the bright side, hungry drivers have a little more incentive to up their game. Hopefully someday soon when somebody asks who the best HMS driver is, the answer will be ALL of them. :)
 
I think they had to sign Alex. With JJ stepping away you didn't want to have to fill 2 seats. Not to mention what two top notch drivers would you go after if you didn't sign him?

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I think he's legit. Last year he straight up beat Larson at Kansas and has shown he can drive
 
When people are saying they're "sold" on Bowman we're talking a guy who can notch 1-2 wins a year kinda deal, right? We're not saying him and Elliot are gonna be replicating the Johnson/Gordon dominance of the 00s? Because I don't see that. I see Bowman more as a Kurt Busch-caliber driver...count on him to get an annual win and anything more than that is a bonus.

I see Byron also getting to this point as well.
 
Speedbowl14 said:
When people are saying they're "sold" on Bowman we're talking a guy who can notch 1-2 wins a year kinda deal, right? We're not saying him and Elliot are gonna be replicating the Johnson/Gordon dominance of the 00s? Because I don't see that. I see Bowman more as a Kurt Busch-caliber driver...count on him to get an annual win and anything more than that is a bonus.

I see Byron also getting to this point as well.
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Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and most importantly Rick Hendrick is sold on Bowman...and that isn't a bad group of followers to have in your corner. I think we have only seen a fraction of what Bowman can do. The thing I really like about Bowman is that he is learning how to take care of a race car when he has to but yet he is not afraid to push the limits and drive aggressively if he has to, and he is a smart driver and knows what the car is doing and can give important feed back. When he first landed a Cup ride I made a few posts here that said to watch him he was going to be good. I never had any doubts he could drive the cars, but what I was concerned about was that I knew he was a pretty shy kid and I didn't know if he would get intimidated...but he has came out of his shell and showed that he isn't afraid to push back when he has to.
 
Speedbowl14 said:
When people are saying they're "sold" on Bowman we're talking a guy who can notch 1-2 wins a year kinda deal, right? We're not saying him and Elliot are gonna be replicating the Johnson/Gordon dominance of the 00s? Because I don't see that. I see Bowman more as a Kurt Busch-caliber driver...count on him to get an annual win and anything more than that is a bonus.

I see Byron also getting to this point as well.
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A question for your question.

Why are so many interested in seeing a driver dominate the field for a long period of time? I remember hearing a lot of bellyaching back in the mid 90s' and into the 00s with their respected times of dominance.

I'm having fun watching the young guys find a way of getting to that level. Not to mention with the elimination system now, its tough to see folks repeat. The previous generation may not have had the availability of technology, but things such as more tire testing, private tests, pre-season tests, etc. More physical work was done in terms of getting young driver acclimated. Due to the cost cutting, testing is becoming harder to come by.

Guys may have simulators, but its nowhere near close to actual track testing.
 
It didn't take Alex long to show his value. Top finishing HMS driver with a really solid 2nd place finish. Even IF his ceiling is a couple of wins a year and a playoff berth, I'll take that every day. With his win earlier this year, he has a two year win streak going and he is already pretty much assured of his third playoff straight berth in three real attempts. Sit down for a second and look at how few current drivers can actually say that.........
 
Bowman is 27 which is still really young. I think perspective has been skewed by a lot of guy coming up at 20 - 22 but a lot of the best drivers really didn't start winning regularly till their late 20s.

I think Bowman could have a HoF career he's improved a lot since signing with Hendrick. Isn't a big name yet but 3-4 wins this year and that will change.

Also when Brad goes to the 48 I think it will be a perfect fit for the young Hendrick drivers.
 
ahhculdee said:
I still think Bowyer retires, and Larson takes over the 14.
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While I love seeing clint out on the track i honestly think it would be better for the sport to have him in the booth. They need his personality calling the race.

Larson in the 14 us going to be tough even if gene says he'll put his name in the car for the whole season. Like I said before they receive a lot of support from Ford so you need Ford to buy into it and I see that as the hardest sale

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wi_racefan said:
While I love seeing clint out on the track i honestly think it would be better for the sport to have him in the booth. They need his personality calling the race.

Larson in the 14 us going to be tough even if gene says he'll put his name in the car for the whole season. Like I said before they receive a lot of support from Ford so you need Ford to buy into it and I see that as the hardest sale

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Tony and Gene will make it happen. They don't care about controversy or making a splash as they as they have proven in the past.
 
I don't see where Larson is that good that people will go out of their way to have Larson in a car unless they are 30th or worse cars. Nascar still has to clear him and that may be a battle in itself.
 
wi_racefan said:
While I love seeing clint out on the track i honestly think it would be better for the sport to have him in the booth. They need his personality calling the race.
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I will preface this by saying I've never been much of a Bowyer fan in the first place, but Fox has moved fully into the Michael Waltrip mode of shoving him down our throats to the point you just want him to go away. No matter what NASCAR racing broadcast you turn on, you can't get away from him. I-Racing, real racing, pre-race, weekday shows, he's EVERYWHERE. He gets way more camera time than any of the drivers that are actually producing results on the track.
 
ahhculdee said:
Tony and Gene will make it happen. They don't care about controversy or making a splash as they as they have proven in the past.
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No but they still are in this to make money...and Larson will not attract a top-notch corporate sponsor.

And you can't say they aren't trying to make money because Danica was on that team purely as a sponsor-revenue device for her time there.
 
aunty dive said:
Does this mean Bubba will finally get a decent cool suit?
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Probably not, but all of the positive news coming his way for his stance and his driving has been great all season.

Best of both worlds. Maybe, it will lead to more to back him. He's done a great job with what he has and his growth behind the wheel has been great to see.
 
Kiante said:
No surprise:
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Well there's a lot to digest with this one.

First of all RPM comes out and says they want Bubba back, but nobody is really sure if he wants to be back. If something better comes along I would fully expect him to leave for greener pastures.

Second while Bubba is doing good and I think he deserves the ride and it appears all parties are satisfied with each others performance I think RPM taking him out of the car for a "white" person in this political climate would be one of the worst things they could do from a PR standpoint.

Personally I'd love to see him in something top notch and see what he can do with it (HMS, SHR, JGR).

I just don't get what some big corporations see or don't see in Bubba that he can't get more money behind him.

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Lol it has nothing to do with race. I can't really think of anyone better than Bubba that would deign to drive for RPM. He's way outperforming his car.

I'd love to see him in the 14 if Clint goes into the booth next year.
 
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