2021 Silly Season

MRM said:
If we can only make one, I'll have to narrow it down. So I'll go with this one.

Kyle Larson will replace Jimmie Johnson at Hendrick for 2021.
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MRM said:
Do I, at least, get half credit on the bold prediction thread? I said Larson would go to the 48. Who knew they would be juggling car numbers? :D
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Actually, your prediction didn't mention car numbers at all.

Johnson leaves Hendrick after the 2020 season and Larson will join Hendrick for the 2021 season.

It sounds to me like that prediction by @MRM has been proven to be true. :cheers:
 
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HMS is set going into the future now. This isn't the household-name, star-studded powerhouse they had with Gordon/Johnson/Junior/Mark Martin at the same time (has there been a more prolific set of teammates, honestly?) but this is a set of high quality young drivers that can settle in nicely.

Larson and Elliott are going to be perennial multi-race winners/championship contenders for years to come, not to mention HMS has the yearly most popular driver for marketing purposes. Bowman is the constant darkhorse who quietly gets the job done and keeps cars clean, no drama there and has Ally locked in now for funding. And Byron paired with his old CC Rudy could really see that team come alive. Chad and Willy didn't seem to mesh, but Rudy Fugle and him know how to win. This is getting the band back together for Byron.
 
On paper HMS looks stacked... They looked stacked at other times in the past but there would always be one or two of their drivers who just seemed to not be ‘doing what the others were’... honestly with alot of big team stables in the last 20 years that has been the case.

Hopefully all four Hendrick guys will fly high... They all have the talent and potential... guess we will see
 
I see a lot of people are high on Larson and I would like to remind you that a driver is only as good as he can work with CC. In the meantime I think I will stay with Bowman as 1 of HMS top drivers.
 
Team Penske said:
I see a lot of people are high on Larson and I would like to remind you that a driver is only as good as he can work with CC. In the meantime I think I will stay with Bowman as 1 of HMS top drivers.
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His old CC, Chad Johnston, was taken off of the box for Kenseth. Johnston was not that good and paired with Johnston threw Larson setups at Kenseth was the last straw for him at CGR.

Cliff Daniels seems like a real neutral guy and judging how loose, but fast JJ was at times for the last year in a half. The issue is putting races together for Daniels, but I think Daniel's with the ability to nail setups is good for Larson. I think this pairing, with time, could be a really good pairing. Not to mention, Daniel's leadership is something else to hear on the radio as well.
 
Another thing to consider is pit stops and in many cases the CC is in charge at the track.
Kyle, Denny and MJ have about the best in the business. Harvick's team has done well this year also. Larson will need a top notch pit crew and I don't see HMS doing that well this year.
 
DIDIT said:
I wouldn't bet the house that he will outperform what he did at Gsnassi, but I would put up the mother in laws suite.
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I think he will be an 8th-12th type of points standings driver and I never foresee him being a legitimate championship contender. Basically a more aggressive version of Paul Menard with pretty good equipment.
 
like i said before for,it will be fun to see how he does against the other hms drivers and the field.good luck to him.
 
RacerrecaR said:
I think he will be an 8th-12th type of points standings driver and I never foresee him being a legitimate championship contender. Basically a more aggressive version of Paul Menard with pretty good equipment.
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That's pitiful. Paul Menard never made an aggressive move in his driving life.
 
FLRacingFan said:
What a surprise:



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4kerkw.jpg
 
The new car could be the saving grace for Bubba and the boys and for most of the smaller teams not be at the whims of a sketchy alliance agreement. Leavine couldn't hold out long enough and the reaper came calling.

 
Well, I'm glad to see the 5 back and I think Kyle will excel in it . But I'm a hopeless nostalgic.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
If I had to guess, this is just a generic team wrap scheme. Once sponsors are announced, each will have their own design. You can already count on DoorDash and Columbia to be onboard.
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Yep, and just imagine other sponsors wanting to lineup and work with Michael Jordan.

I honestly would be surprised if they do bring on board some sort of ‘large’ sponsorship in the coming months.
 
JGR_20 said:
Yep, and just imagine other sponsors wanting to lineup and work with Michael Jordan.

I honestly would be surprised if they do bring on board some sort of ‘large’ sponsorship in the coming months.
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Air Jordan
 
28car said:
What was the reasoning for Kyle getting out of the 5 car?
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Because talent aside, Kyle had TOTALLY worn out his welcome at HMS, and Rick had a chance to put somebody he actually liked in the car, and would bring in a LOT more money too. It's really easy to pick apart that decision more than a decade later, but remember that while everybody knew Kyle had a boatload of potential, he had yet to exhibit enough of it to offset all the negatives, and Jr. was only a couple years removed from a season where he won a LOT of races and was contending for a title. Other than the outright haters, most assumed that as soon as Jr. was free of the dumpster fire DEI was becoming and all the baggage that went with it, he would return to the form he had shown just a couple of years before. Of course it didn't play out that way, but few would have guessed it at the time.
 
JGR_20 said:
I’m sure that 23 will be ‘on it’s own’ and not getting any JGR help

message me about some ocean front property I’m selling in Kentucky
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Maybe I’m drunk on Kool-Aid, but I think a single phone call from MJ to TRD could fix that.
 
Formerjackman said:
Because talent aside, Kyle had TOTALLY worn out his welcome at HMS, and Rick had a chance to put somebody he actually liked in the car, and would bring in a LOT more money too. It's really easy to pick apart that decision more than a decade later, but remember that while everybody knew Kyle had a boatload of potential, he had yet to exhibit enough of it to offset all the negatives, and Jr. was only a couple years removed from a season where he won a LOT of races and was contending for a title. Other than the outright haters, most assumed that as soon as Jr. was free of the dumpster fire DEI was becoming and all the baggage that went with it, he would return to the form he had shown just a couple of years before. Of course it didn't play out that way, but few would have guessed it at the time.
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IMO Dale Jr's biggest mistake was to bring Eury Jr over with him. I really wanted Darian Grubb for Junior's CC. We will never know what a difference that could have made.
 
Pat said:
IMO Dale Jr's biggest mistake was to bring Eury Jr over with him. I really wanted Darian Grubb for Junior's CC. We will never know what a difference that could have made.
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Yeah, the Jr. and Jr. show never really worked, at DEI or HMS. Dale Jr. was never quite the same once Tony Sr. quite being his crew chief. I know this won't sit well with those that love to loath him as a TV analyst, but Dale gives Steve Letarte TONS of credit for salvaging his faltering career and being the first crew chief in his life to truly hold his feet to the fire and make him do what was expected of him to help the team improve. The days of Jr. sitting in the bus playing video games and wandering into the garage area five minutes AFTER practice had started ended the day Steve climbed onto the 88 box.
 
Formerjackman said:
Yeah, the Jr. and Jr. show never really worked, at DEI or HMS. Dale Jr. was never quite the same once Tony Sr. quite being his crew chief. I know this won't sit well with those that love to loath him as a TV analyst, but Dale gives Steve Letarte TONS of credit for salvaging his faltering career and being the first crew chief in his life to truly hold his feet to the fire and make him do what was expected of him to help the team improve. The days of Jr. sitting in the bus playing video games and wandering into the garage area five minutes AFTER practice had started ended the day Steve climbed onto the 88 box.
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I definitely remember watching all of this at the time as a life long Dale Jr fan (well before he got to cup). I remember noticing a huge difference nearly as soon as Sr left as his crew chief and for years wishing he would come back.
I never knew for sure why Eury Sr left, but I do believe Jr was at his absolute best with him and would have been a champion had hesitated, and I agree that he was never the same.
 
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