Is it time for HMS to panic?

ChexOrWrex

ChexOrWrex

Ya gotta wanna
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Being this far off the mark at Martinsville - is it too early to worry about performance?
 
Probably. But I expected more out of these boys so far.

Bowman and Elliott came on the last 100 laps. But still a ways to go. Need to find more speed at the beginning of runs. It would be nice if they unloaded fast for a change.

Jimmie isn’t what he once was. It’s becoming more and more obvious. They still shouldn’t be this off.

Byron is a rookie.

Lots of season left. We will see what happens.
 
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On one side, HMS got 2 top 10s, a top 15 and their rookie pulled out a top 20.

On the other side, it’s Martinsville. 0 laps lead. Im sure everyone expected Johnson and Chase to be in the top 5 at some point. Pretty sure Rick might be embarrassed.
 
Yeah, I'm in panic mode. I'm as big a Hendrick fan as anyone, and this is extremely frustrating. I'm not used to this.

They will get it figured out, it's just a matter of when.
 
if Jimmie struggles at Dover then its time to Panic for his team.

As for Chase he has been running good just don't always get the finishes he wants cause of bad luck.

Byron and William are rookies so I don't think the pressure is on them right now they are still learning.
 
Toyota was slow out of the gate last year.

They still have time, but damn they're slow.
 
May is the target month I've had in my head. If Chase isn't competitive there then I'll worry.

Kyle didn't win until what, July last year?
 
Did not the Giibbs team suffer at the beginning of either last year or the year before?

Do not get me wrong, could care less about Hendricks...but nostalgia pulls for JJ
 
Yes it is. These cars are absolutely awful off the truck, they’re improving so much during the race because these teams are good.

But Hendrick is total ****
 
Mispeedway15 said:
But Hendrick is total sh!t
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I wouldnt go that far. They did get two top 10s today.

BUT, Hendrick doesn’t settle for moral victories. They are bad for what they expect.

Im sure they are looking forward to having the week off to hit the books.
 
AdoubleU24 said:
May is the target month I've had in my head. If Chase isn't competitive there then I'll worry.

Kyle didn't win until what, July last year?
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Sorry, I meant to put Dover in my post as the place for CE. Add Jimmie to that too. If neither are fast there then we gots some problems.
 
I think all the chevy teams have a long way to go. I don't see them being competitive until Daytona in July and possibly later than that. It took Toyota about three quarters of a year to finally start being competitive on a consistent basis.
The real surprise is Ford. What did they figure out and how can the other manufacturers steal it?
 
it certainly is time for extreme concern, but maybe not panic if you’re pro-HMS. Chase and the team made huge gains in playoffs last year, and arguably should have won 2 or 3 of those races. I expected them to ride that momentum into 2018. Sure the Camaro is a wildcard, but you’d think Chevy’s flagship team would get the best engineering help from Chevy (fair or not) and have the best grip on it off the bat. It just hasn’t been there. They’re unloading slow and not progressing well. Is it the Camaro? Is it the new ride height rules? Combination of both and finding the “feel” each driver like likes? I dunno. But to completely crap the bed save for late rallies by the 88 and 9 today at a track that HMS has historically owned should raise eyebrows.
 
Chase's pit crew buried him back in the pack twice today. Pretty hard to call out the right adjustments when you are back in the pack all day. Bowman to my knowledge didn't have that problem, but both of them managed to get better as the day went on and both finished in the top 10. Byron's first time at Martinsville and he gets a top 20. Elliott got crashed out at Daytona and Vegas. No luck so far this year, but he isn't doing terrible IMO, he keeps the fenders on it and gets what he can out of the car. Bowman had a good day, and Byron will get better when he comes back to some of the tracks the second time, he always has done that in every series he has been in. Johnson has Texas coming up.
 
StandOnIt said:
Chase's pit crew buried him back in the pack twice today. Pretty hard to call out the right adjustments when you are back in the pack all day. Bowman to my knowledge didn't have that problem, but both of them managed to get better as the day went on and both finished in the top 10. Byron's first time at Martinsville and he gets a top 20. Elliott got crashed out at Daytona and Vegas. No luck so far this year, but he isn't doing terrible IMO, he keeps the fenders on it and gets what he can out of the car. Bowman had a good day, and Byron will get better when he comes back to some of the tracks the second time, he always has done that in every series he has been in. Johnson has Texas coming up.
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Agree with a lot of this. You really do have to take a closer look in this sport, there's so many variables. On the surface it's pretty easy to say yes, hit the panic button. If you break it down piece by piece though you can find some positives.
 
HMS usually has at least one car running in the top 5, and consistently leading laps. They aren't there yet this year. For a team with their resources and ability, yeah it's very concerning. I'll admit I'm spoiled by their success so maybe my standards are too high, but clearly something ain't right. I'm confident they will turn it around but hopefully it's sooner rather than later.
 
Too early to panic.

Its only six races into the season, Chevy in general is off to a slow start. Give them time to right their ship.
 
Not yet ..... remember Toyota struggled about halfway through the Season before they broke through and eventually a Toyota driver went on to win the Title
 
Between Chase, Byron, and Bowman I realistically think one win between the three of them is likely...all of them were rushed up too fast and it shows. Of course when you post that on this forum you're called a hater...now it seems people are waking up that "rookie fever" doesn't mean they'll be racking up the wins.


I am very very concerned about Jimmie. Starting to wonder if the dynasty is over.
 
If HMS panics, their supporters will have reason to follow suit.

That won’t happen.
 
I think there needs to be a shake up with crew chiefs or at least engineers. I think Alan Gustafson and Darian Grubb should swap teams.
 
Speedbowl14 said:
Between Chase, Byron, and Bowman I realistically think one win between the three of them is likely...all of them were rushed up too fast and it shows. Of course when you post that on this forum you're called a hater...now it seems people are waking up that "rookie fever" doesn't mean they'll be racking up the wins.


I am very very concerned about Jimmie. Starting to wonder if the dynasty is over.
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Just curious, what have you seen out of CE to suggest he was rushed up too quickly? He won an Xfin championship as a rookie and finished 2nd his sophomore year, and has now finished 10th and 5th in points his first 2 years in cup. He's put up some pretty impressive top 10 and top 5 numbers considering where HMS has been performance wise. He takes care of his stuff and keeps a good head on his shoulders. Not sure what more you can ask besides having a single win. Seems like that would change the world for some here.

I can tell you from listening to his radio every week, he's absolutely getting the most out of his cars this year.

As far as swapping CC's like someone else mentioned. No way. It's not Alan's fault he hasn't won, it's timing, circumstance, and mistakes. They've had plenty of fast cars and have great chemistry. It's harder to win right now in this sport than it has ever been, and to do it you have to be better than the 4,18, 78, 2, 22, 11 on a given Sunday. That's asking a lot for a 3rd year driver. He's in position often though. You don't screw that up for some CC experiment.
 
I am not worried about HMS. However once they do get the Camaro up front, I
think the Fords will fall even further back. Brad and Joey ran OK today until the other cars
got a few adjustments made and then they couldn't make top 5.
 
A lot of personnel turnover plus a new car is going to result in growing pains. Maybe they improve a little throughout the year but I don't really think they're going to challenge. TRD, SHR, and Penske have their stuff pretty sorted right now.
 
AdoubleU24 said:
Just curious, what have you seen out of CE to suggest he was rushed up too quickly? He won an Xfin championship as a rookie and finished 2nd his sophomore year, and has now finished 10th and 5th in points his first 2 years in cup. He's put up some pretty impressive top 10 and top 5 numbers considering where HMS has been performance wise. He takes care of his stuff and keeps a good head on his shoulders. Not sure what more you can ask besides having a single win. Seems like that would change the world for some here.

I can tell you from listening to his radio every week, he's absolutely getting the most out of his cars this year.

As far as swapping CC's like someone else mentioned. No way. It's not Alan's fault he hasn't won, it's timing, circumstance, and mistakes. They've had plenty of fast cars and have great chemistry. It's harder to win right now in this sport than it has ever been, and to do it you have to be better than the 4,18, 78, 2, 22, 11 on a given Sunday. That's asking a lot for a 3rd year driver. He's in position often though. You don't screw that up for some CC experiment.
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Lot of truth in this, like you I listen each week. Beginning the race the car was junk and remained that way until the last stop, whatever Alan did made the car a top 5 car, having taken the lucky dog he started at the rear and still finished 9th passing 7 lead lap cars and running times equal with Bowyer.
Alan is better than Darian IMO, I do not envy Byrons position and thankful Chase has Alan.
 
A well run business should not panic. I see Hendrick as a well run business. I did not expect Bowman or Byron to win this year. They have been running where I expected. Chase isn't getting the fiinishes, but he will. I am surprized about JJ. Maybe all the talk about him retiring is playing mind games with him.
 
Team Penske said:
I am not worried about HMS. However once they do get the Camaro up front, I think the Fords will fall even further back. Brad and Joey ran OK today until the other cars got a few adjustments made and then they couldn't make top 5.
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Further back than 1st, 3rd and 5th?
 
Spotter22 said:
Its more then just the new car. You can run a shoe box for a body at Martinsville, its whats underneath thats lacking right now.
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This is why I was hovering over the panic button. The 1.5 and 2.0 mile cars sent out west were already built before any feedback from Atlanta. Phoenix the 9 was illegal and still not in the same zip code as the 4 or 18, and Martinsville should have been a really good run with a chance to win based on last year. Let's see what they figure out. I think NASCAR took whatever Allan found away, and combined with the new ride height rules, the setup notebook from past couple years doesn't seem to be valid any longer.
 
1. New car
2. Two unproven drivers
3. A non-race winner
4. A legend

The debriefs are not what they were. Thus, performance isn't either. This will take time. I think that point #2 is the most crucial. What are the new kids bringing to the debrief in terms of development? Last year, JGR struggled with the same kind of issue. This will take time.
 
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