2022 Silly Season

aunty dive said:
I rate those 3 in the same category as Matt Spaghetti. Non-winners.

There is a way to change categories for these folks.
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That's perfectly fine. I'm just wondering why so many want to slam Matt and give the other three a pass.
 
StandOnIt said:
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Which just kind of makes my point. Tony basically rebuilt Haas from the ground up. Will Brad have the clout and freedom to do that at RF? If you're Roush and Henry, it seems like the ONLY reason you go this route is to HAVE Brad do what Tony did for Haas, and if you're Brad, why go there if you can't, so maybe there is far more here than meets the eye.
 
Formerjackman said:
Which just kind of makes my point. Tony basically rebuilt Haas from the ground up. Will Brad have the clout and freedom to do that at RF? If you're Roush and Henry, it seems like the ONLY reason you go this route is to HAVE Brad do what Tony did for Haas, and if you're Brad, why go there if you can't, so maybe there is far more here than meets the eye.
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That's the hope. I bought that line with Kenseth. I just think Brad is going down the rabbit hole, but yeah I would like to see that organization do better. I'm usually not a nego nellie but I can't get behind this one's odds of doing that
 
Formerjackman said:
That's perfectly fine. I'm just wondering why so many want to slam Matt and give the other three a pass.
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Suarez already got bounced from two rides and I don't recall any tears on social media. Kept his head down and grinded out that season in the 96 car and now he's driving for a total upstart team and getting some good results for them. Reddick is in his second season at the cup level and is healthily ahead of Matt in the standings in whats very likely a worse car. As for Bubba I see more people calling for him to be removed from his ride than I do Matt. He isn't really getting a "pass" from much of anyone. I think you're making that up. Plus his team did not exist last year and NASCAR is moving to new cars next season. We'll have a much clearer picture of just how good Bubba is this time next year.

Bottom line is of the cars that come out of the Penske shop, their points positions are 6th, 8th, 9th, and 17th. If Matt wants to keep his seat then he should at least do better than Blaney's rookie and sophomore campaigns and Paul Menard.
 
Formerjackman said:
Which just kind of makes my point. Tony basically rebuilt Haas from the ground up. Will Brad have the clout and freedom to do that at RF? If you're Roush and Henry, it seems like the ONLY reason you go this route is to HAVE Brad do what Tony did for Haas, and if you're Brad, why go there if you can't, so maybe there is far more here than meets the eye.
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The difference there is Stewart was able to get a lot of support from Hendrick to build up SHR. I don't see where Kez can get that in the Ford camp.
 
StandOnIt said:
More like Kez's swan song as far as I am concerned. He ain't no Roger Penske when it comes to turning around a business. So he gets pissed because Penske only gives him a year contract and probably for less than Kez thinks he is worth, so he goes out and BUYS a ride with these guys?
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I don't agree with your version of who Brad K really is. He has done quite a bit for every organization that he worked for and he did quite good with his truck team. If Ford had backed him like Toyota does KB he would be a #1 team today. Lots of driver are grateful for the start he gave them. Before Brad, Roger Penske's team didn't know how to win a championship IN NASCAR.
 
Team Penske said:
I don't agree with your version of who Brad K really is. He has done quite a bit for every organization that he worked for and he did quite good with his truck team. If Ford had backed him like Toyota does KB he would be a #1 team today. Lots of driver are grateful for the start he gave them. Before Brad, Roger Penske's team didn't know how to win a championship IN NASCAR.
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Time will tell. Roush saying he is going to back down reminds me of an elderly saying I will quit driving when they pry my cold dead hands off of the wheel. Maybe he is to that point maybe not. Ford can or can not support this venture, who knows maybe they orchestrated the move, hell if I know. Brad's inherited a mess IMO and I don't think he is like Stewart that he has the support of a much better team to lean on for help nor the money behind him. Just like his truck team.
 
StandOnIt said:
Time will tell. Roush saying he is going to back down reminds me of an elderly saying I will quit driving when they pry my cold dead hands off of the wheel. Maybe he is to that point maybe not. Ford can or can not support this venture, who knows maybe they orchestrated the move, hell if I know. Brad's inherited a mess IMO and I don't think he is like Stewart that he has the support of a much better team to lean on for help nor the money behind him. Just like his truck team.
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Jack didnt exactly look jovial and youthful up there today. I still cant get over how old he looked, time moves quick!
 
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aunty dive said:
Mr. Roush will be 80 years old next April.

What is he supposed to look like?
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20 and youthful....... I was just remarking that I havent seen him on tv for a bit, thats all. His age snuck up on me. Nothing more nothing less.
 
MRM said:
The difference there is Stewart was able to get a lot of support from Hendrick to build up SHR. I don't see where Kez can get that in the Ford camp.
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Kez is already in the Ford camp and has been for many years. He built a good truck team around Ford and he knows what Penske has as well.
 
StandOnIt said:
Time will tell. Roush saying he is going to back down reminds me of an elderly saying I will quit driving when they pry my cold dead hands off of the wheel. Maybe he is to that point maybe not. Ford can or can not support this venture, who knows maybe they orchestrated the move, hell if I know. Brad's inherited a mess IMO and I don't think he is like Stewart that he has the support of a much better team to lean on for help nor the money behind him. Just like his truck team.
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yea it’s nothing I can back with facts. Just listening to Jack for a few minutes, I heard a guy who is not really ready/even picturing himself stepping down soon. He said he hopes Brad drives atleast 5 years, but even with that thought Jack said he still hopes to be doing his role maybe even beyond that mark… basically Jack doesn’t want to stop
 
JGR_20 said:
yea it’s nothing I can back with facts. Just listening to Jack for a few minutes, I heard a guy who is not really ready/even picturing himself stepping down soon. He said he hopes Brad drives atleast 5 years, but even with that thought Jack said he still hopes to be doing his role maybe even beyond that mark… basically Jack doesn’t want to stop
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I think Jack wants success and would be willing to LISTEN.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
Didn’t you hear? Jeff Gordon is “any driver”.
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.....but something else has also been close to me...video games. Now, I've had the chance to make my own. I'm Jeff Gordon, and THIS is XS Racing.



God I loved that game.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
DewChaser988 said:
If I were Ryan Newman I'd strongly consider retirement at the end of the season unless I want to end up riding around in the back for Rick Ware, Starcom, or Spire for the rest of my career, being that I'm on the wrong side of 40 and there aren't any competitive mid pack rides open
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Newman is at the end of the line as far as his Cup career. Performance just hasn't been there the last two years.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
Didn’t you hear? Jeff Gordon is “any driver”.
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Great driver. Terrible in the booth. Glad he is where his heart is because I was tired of hearing about his heart when he was there.
 
JGR_20 said:
yea it’s nothing I can back with facts. Just listening to Jack for a few minutes, I heard a guy who is not really ready/even picturing himself stepping down soon. He said he hopes Brad drives atleast 5 years, but even with that thought Jack said he still hopes to be doing his role maybe even beyond that mark… basically Jack doesn’t want to stop
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yeah, here he is on record today

"I am passing my baton to him – I am, but I still have one hand on the thing," Roush said. "I’m not going to give it up completely for a while. ... I intend to keep going to the race tracks as I have and be as much of a nuisance and a distraction as I’ve been to the drivers and crew chiefs in the past.

Brad Keselowski moving to Roush Fenway Racing as driver and co-owner in 2022 | FOX Sports

Brad Keselowski and Roush Fenway made it official Tuesday: Co-owner Keselowski will drive the No. 6 in 2022, Bob Pockrass writes.
www.foxsports.com www.foxsports.com
 
A message from Brad Keselowski to SOI and the other non-believers...




When this Roush Fenway deal first leaked out back in the spring, I posted my observation that a lot of people are placing big bets on the new car and the new business model that comes with it. I still believe that. Justin Marks & Pitbull. Michael Jordan & Denny Hamlin. Matt Kaulig. GMS. Maybe Dale Jr. And Brad Keselowski.

But the R-F expert naysayers seem convinced that these new ventures are doomed to fail at the onslaught of big bucks R & D programs at Gibbs, Hendrick, Penske, and Stewart Haas. Time will tell.

What would you think if I postulated that a pretty good driver could strap in a Next Gen car from bottom-feeder Rick Ware Racing, and proceed to win pole position, and lead every lap of the race up to a late caution, and still finish second even after blowing the final restart? Preposterous, you say? Well, it already happened... earlier this year at the Detroit street race in the IndyCar version of a Next Gen spec car. That Dallara spec car is in fact the philosophical model for Nascar's Next Gen spec car.

On the other hand, Nascar has a 70-year history of creative cheating agressive R & D, so maybe the IndyCar parity is impossible in Nascar. If this is the case, I also doubt that Roush Fenway - even with Kez behind the wheel - can keep up with the biggest, richest teams. Time will tell.

Final thought: I'm shaking my head at you guys criticizing Roush Fenway for refusing to release all the contract financial details. Jack Roush gave you his bottom line... Brad is his exit strategy. "Over a period of time Brad will earn his management independence and he will gain a significant position of ownership in the team." Isn't that really all you need to know? BTW, that hints at an earn-in provision over time, which would not be surprising at all IMO.

Brad has come a long way by betting on himself. Now he is doing that again. If the dream doesn't scare you, you're not dreaming big enough!
 
ChexOrWrex said:
The last driver to win in that same car was Blaney in 2017.

Heres his stats at WBR:

2016: 0 wins. 3 top 5s. 9 top 10s.
2017: 1 win. 4 top 5s. 14 top 10s.

Here are Matts to date:

2020: 0 wins. 3 top 5s. 11 top 10s.
2021: 0 wins 2 top 5s. 5 top 10s.

Matt actually had a better first season with WBR and is on a similar track for his second season. The only thing missing is that win. Honestly to toss him from that perspective seems very short sighted.

If anyone with a brain looks at his results compared to “safe” winless drivers today regarding how hot their seat is, it’s mind boggling as to why he got the boot.

Penske is gonna lose out on that affiliate car, IMO.
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You've constructed a case there, have to give you that, but I don't think it is a remotely "mind boggling" result. More like a fait accompli. It doesn't seem difficult to intuit that the ceiling on DiBenedetto is limited. The industry has plenty of brains to assess these matters. It won't be at all surprising if these past two years are the apex of his career, and it won't be a crime against humanity if he is bypassed for equivalent rides in the future.
 
Well it would be one of the stories of the decade IMO if just adding Keselowski to that outfit and they become competitive. Roush / Fenway haven't won a race in 5 or 6 years. I can't help comparing it to what it once was when despite Jack Roush they had winning teams. The wheels fell off a long time ago. Could they get any worse? That's doubtful at least. Brad took a hard road and I hope he is good at dealing with knotheads. Roush /Fenway has been the destination of last chancers for a long time.
 
If there is ever a time to make the leap Keselowski has, it's now. Whether it will work is unknown, but it stands a better chance with many structural advantages the top teams have possessed disappearing. His position within Penske has felt tenuous for a bit, and I don't think it's as simple as he up and quit.
 
gnomesayin said:
If there is ever a time to make the leap Keselowski has, it's now. Whether it will work is unknown, but it stands a better chance with many structural advantages the top teams have possessed disappearing. His position within Penske has felt tenuous for a bit, and I don't think it's as simple as he up and quit.
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yep, I don't think Penske takes a lot of criticism about how to run his show. They don't call him captain for nothing.
 
StandOnIt said:
Well it would be one of the stories of the decade IMO if just adding Keselowski to that outfit and they become competitive. Roush / Fenway haven't won a race in 5 or 6 years. I can't help comparing it to what it once was when despite Jack Roush they had winning teams. The wheels fell off a long time ago. Could they get any worse? That's doubtful at least. Brad took a hard road and I hope he is good at dealing with knotheads. Roush /Fenway has been the destination of last chancers for a long time.
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Jack Roush made one little mistake and that was (cashing in) selling majority to
Fenway group. They put profits ahead of winning and decisions are made in group meetings. That left Jack to work with what they left him and that is mainly tuning engines. Unfortunately for Jack his carb tuning is no longer a part of the set up. Everything is done electronically these days.
Brad is not concerned with that, he is concerned with how the car handles when on the track and the decisions made between himself and the crew chief. I don't think RFR let NoNeck be a part of that even though he has an engineering degree.
 
LewTheShoe said:
What would you think if I postulated that a pretty good driver could strap in a Next Gen car from bottom-feeder Rick Ware Racing, and proceed to win pole position, and lead every lap of the race up to a late caution, and still finish second even after blowing the final restart? Preposterous, you say? Well, it already happened... earlier this year at the Detroit street race in the IndyCar version of a Next Gen spec car. That Dallara spec car is in fact the philosophical model for Nascar's Next Gen spec car.
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I would agree that the spec Indy car has allowed some of the smaller teams to steal a moment every once in awhile, but at the end of the day, the wins and the championship standings are utterly dominated by just three teams. Given that NASCAR has a much larger field of cars and much longer schedule, I think that offers opportunities for the smaller teams, but at the end of the day, it's a Hendrick, JGR, Penske world and everyone else just gets to hang out there. Even SHR has yet to prove that they can field two REALLY competitive cars at the same time.
 
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