2026 Silly Season

Spire is looking pretty good right now, strong runs from McDowell and Hocevar. Sure, Haley might be lagging by comparison, but that's still above several other full-timers in Cup.
 
kckolbe said:
Spire is looking pretty good right now, strong runs from McDowell and Hocevar. Sure, Haley might be lagging by comparison, but that's still above several other full-timers in Cup.
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McDowell picked a fine time to jump. His old team is almost charter less and in hot water and he is on pretty steady ground with Spire.
 
StandOnIt said:
McDowell picked a fine time to jump. His old team is almost charter less and in hot water and he is on pretty steady ground with Spire.
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Well, I'm not knocking FRM. McDowell said that he wanted long term stability, and FRM said they couldn't offer that, which is looking VERY true. They were planning a pretty big gamble, after all. And, to be fair, I really like FRM's drivers. With so many aging and borderline Cup drivers filling seats in 2026, FRM could be looking VERY good next year if they can survive all of this.

And legally, I really think they have more than a solid case. So yeah, good on McDowell, good on Spire, but no shade on FRM either, because there is real potential there. So much potential that I think they picked a bad time to pick a fight with NASCAR, but I get it.
 
kckolbe said:
Well, I'm not knocking FRM. McDowell said that he wanted long term stability, and FRM said they couldn't offer that, which is looking VERY true. They were planning a pretty big gamble, after all. And, to be fair, I really like FRM's drivers. With so many aging and borderline Cup drivers filling seats in 2026, FRM could be looking VERY good next year if they can survive all of this.

And legally, I really think they have more than a solid case. So yeah, good on McDowell, good on Spire, but no shade on FRM either, because there is real potential there. So much potential that I think they picked a bad time to pick a fight with NASCAR, but I get it.
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3 drivers soon to be without charters and their fates rest on the court system at present. I can't see FRM looking good with the possibility of being charter less for next year. If I was a driver for them I would be looking around, seeing what is available.
 
StandOnIt said:
3 drivers soon to be without charters and their fates rest on the court system at present. I can't see FRM looking good with the possibility of being charter less for next year. If I was a driver for them I would be looking around, seeing what is available.
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The 45 could be available in that situation. ;)
 
hmmm298 said:
The 45 could be available in that situation. ;)
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....and I think the risk of losing the 45 is very real. I think Tyler is clear that he would be fine in the short term, but if they end up losing this deal, what does his long term future look like? Not as good as it should for a driver of his caliber. He has a growing family. The future matters to him. If MJ or Denny have been negligent in keeping Tyler in the loop on everything, this might get tricky.
 
Revman said:
....and I think the risk of losing the 45 is very real. I think Tyler is clear that he would be fine in the short term, but if they end up losing this deal, what does his long term future look like? Not as good as it should for a driver of his caliber. He has a growing family. The future matters to him. If MJ or Denny have been negligent in keeping Tyler in the loop on everything, this might get tricky.
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I agree, and I think that's the biggest reason Hamlin isn't under contract next season. If Reddick opts out, Gibbs could snatch him up and put him in the 11, leaving Hamlin to fill the 45.
 
Daytripper said:
Why? I dislike Denny but I don't want him to retire, I wanna beat him. And he is still winning, why would he retire?
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To go out on top. Not that I want him too, and he's never truly been on "top" anyway. I want him to go to 23 and finish up DW style. ;) ;) :p:lurk::punkrocke
 
Charlie Spencer said:
<Charlie starts counting on his fingers how many years ago that was, gets confused when he needs two hands>

I wonder why Denny's team doesn't tell him his pit road RPM limit is 200 less than it really is.
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So that’s why you were flicking your toenails. You’re supposed to use your hands to count.
 
Terrible performance stats.

No speed and no indication there ever will be.
 
hmmm298 said:
I want him to go to 23 and finish up DW style.
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I hope to never see a driver inflict that much humiliation on himself ever again. I acknowledge when you've worked toward one goal your entire life, and only that one goal, it can be very difficult to walk away and find something else to do. There's more to retirement planning than just financial security.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
I hope to never see a driver inflict that much humiliation on himself ever again. I acknowledge when you've worked toward one goal your entire life, and only that one goal, it can be very difficult to walk away and find something else to do. There's more to retirement planning than just financial security.
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I think DW had more in the tank than he showed on the track. His run with DEI had flashes of the old DW.

His equipment was dog **** by the late 90s and Travis Carter’s stuff wasn’t much better.
 
I really thought Josh Williams do better when he got to Kaulig but its never come together
 
Naitch said:
I think DW had more in the tank than he showed on the track. His run with DEI had flashes of the old DW.
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Driving for DEI also relieved him of the pressure of running his own team. He could drive without all the administrative distractions. Most of the owner-drivers of DW's era were managing their teams hands-on by themselves while driving for themselves. Like many craftsmen, being a great driver or chef or carpenter or programmer doesn't mean you're an even adequate manager or administrator. Nowadays the Tonys and Dennys hire people for the daily ops and administrative paperwork.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Driving for DEI also relieved him of the pressure of running his own team. He could drive without all the administrative distractions. Most of the owner-drivers of DW's era were managing their teams hands-on by themselves while driving for themselves. Like many craftsmen, being a great driver or chef or carpenter or programmer doesn't mean you're an even adequate manager or administrator. Nowadays the Tonys and Dennys hire people for the daily ops and administrative paperwork.
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Ricky Rudd and Bill Elliott were also good examples of this. When Rudd went to Yates, he looked like a championship contender again.

Dale Sr. was smart to have Teresa running the day to day at DEI.
 
Naitch said:
Ricky Rudd and Bill Elliott were also good examples of this. When Rudd went to Yates, he looked like a championship contender again.

Dale Sr. was smart to have Teresa running the day to day at DEI.
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Yeah, and Jr. apparently learned from that. He leaves the work to Kelley while he's in the booth, visiting tracks, and generally representing the sport. Indeed, he's arguably had a more significant impact on the sport as an owner, historian, and public face than he did driving.
 
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