Jr. fans, who will be your driver next season?

ToyYoda said:
Probably 80-90% of the Junior fans I know are jumping to Chase next season.

It's a shame virtually none of them are sticking with the 88 to root for Bowman as their favorite driver next year.
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If Bowman was smart he would have changed his surname to Gordon, Earnhardt, Yarborough or Pearson as having some kind of pedigree seems quite important to fans these days. I think if Bowman can get off to a good start by winning a pole, getting some top 5's or God forbid win a race before Chase he will pick up some fans but if he settles in to be a Bobby or Terry Labonte people will like him but not buy his merch or join his fan club.
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
JMO but I don't think the retirement of Jeff and Smoke has caused a mass exodus of fans just like I don't think stage racing or Monster has caused an influx of fans. I believe that Nascar's current fan base is made up of diehards that are not going to abandon the series unless something so wacky happens they just can't take it anymore. IMO most of the reason for Nascar's current decline is due to its fans aging out. When well over half of your fan base is over 50 it is only natural that you will lose some each year one way or another.
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I want to clarify, by no means do I think Jr leaving will be the death of NASCAR. There are a few members or members that know people that mentioned they'd probably watch less races without their guy on the track. I think some of these people may be fed up with stages and the playoffs but kept tuned in to keep up with their guy, and now that he's leaving, they have nothing invested anymore.

I definitely should've generalized it to the three big names that left in the past three years. While many fans stayed, surely some left, and with already dropping attendance, views, the possibility of lower merch sales and sponsors bringing less bread to the table, they are surely at least keeping a watchful eye on it.
 
Bowman will be fine on the track. In fact he will be better on the track than Jr. The problem with Bowman will be that he is boring. A guy in the Johnson, Matt K mold that can drive a car, but stirs the emotions of no one.
 
Blister said:
Bowman will be fine on the track. In fact he will be better on the track than Jr. The problem with Bowman will be that he is boring. A guy in the Johnson, Matt K mold that can drive a car, but stirs the emotions of no one.
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JJ stirred some emotions during that 5 year title run haha! He was today's Truex :D:D I haven't seen enough of Bowman to make a judgement on him, but I do agree he will do a good job on the track, as someone who went from a backmarker ride to replacing Dale Jr. he's surely itching to make a name for himself
 
Blister said:
Bowman will be fine on the track. In fact he will be better on the track than Jr. The problem with Bowman will be that he is boring. A guy in the Johnson, Matt K mold that can drive a car, but stirs the emotions of no one.
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I got to disagree and since he got in with HMS I feel he's been more ****y. Now he hasn't raced alot this year so I haven't seen much of him but just what I seen from him after a few Xfinity races last year. That's not a knock on him as its a good thing but doesn't really fit the HMS mold in my opinion.
 
Blister said:
Bowman will be fine on the track. In fact he will be better on the track than Jr. The problem with Bowman will be that he is boring. A guy in the Johnson, Matt K mold that can drive a car, but stirs the emotions of no one.
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To me it is odd the way Nascar fans want their driver to behave when interviewed or living life as unless they are behaving like complete jerks or doing something immoral or illegal I don't care. When I am watching stick and ball I am not thinking about what the guy looks like, his family or how emotional he is I am just looking for the guy to do his job.

I am not being critical of fans that are concerned with how a driver sounds in an interview or how they stir emotions more than I don't understand it. Give me JJ and Matt Kenseth as my drivers everyday over good guys like Kenny Schrader and Kenny Wallace.
 
rowdy3 said:
That's what people from NASCAR, ISC, SMI, fanatics and Lionel are worried about. Jr fans spend the most money on merchandise. If 90% switch to another driver but spend $20 less it adds up. NASCAR and ISC expects some fans to leave. They are hoping it's less than 10%.
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I quit buying his/NASCAR merch long ago. His pending retirement will not have any influence on my spending habits.
 
I've become a big fan of Larson, Elliot, Blaney, and will be of Byron if he gets called to the big leagues (I hope he stays in xfinity for one more year). Also a fan of bowman the showman and will be pulling for him weekly.


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Simple Fan said:
Why? Kid is too talented to be held back in my opinion and I want to see if he continues his trend of winning in something new.
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Too many drivers getting pushed to the big show too fast. David Stremme, Reed Sorensen, Casey Atwood, Scott wimmer, etc etc. Logano got a slow start. Elliot hasn't fired off like everyone expected (although he's done damn well IMO). He's got the sponsorship, I say he's stays out although the most logical thing is for him to move up with the #5 situation.


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Biggreen695 said:
Too many drivers getting pushed to the big show too fast. David Stremme, Reed Sorensen, Casey Atwood, Scott wimmer, etc etc. Logano got a slow start. Elliot hasn't fired off like everyone expected (although he's done damn well IMO). He's got the sponsorship, I say he's stays out although the most logical thing is for him to move up with the #5 situation.


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None of them dominated like Byron has. 2 years in NASCAR and he already has 10 wins. Only logical choice is Byron or else Khane should have stayed.
 
Been an Earnhardt fan since I first got hooked on NASCAR as a 12-yr-old in 1997. With Junior in a race, I want to watch every single lap. Without him in the last half of 2016, I didn't care as much if I missed chunks of the race, but I still followed everything very closely.

I think my new driver may be Byron, especially with news breaking an hour ago that he's going to be in the #5.

I'll still pull for a lot of other drivers, too, like Chase, Larson, Blaney, Truex. I'll also pull for Bowman. Pretty much anyone but JGR and Logano. haha
 
In all honesty I don't know. No one has really clicked with me. Jr. inherited me as a fan, because Spencer and Dale Sr. were my two favorites from the time I became a fan as a kid.
 
Bowman was boring? He got into it with Kenseth multiple times, there just isn't the hype machine because he isn't Earnhardt.
 
I almost started a thread a while back about a fan being without a driver. As most of you know, I was a Tony Stewart fan going back to his sprint days on Thursday Night Thunder. Before that, I was a Kyle Petty fan for a few years after Richard Petty retired. From my avatar, I was going to be a Larson fan. That comment about not signing autographs for $50 rubbed me wrong a bit. I thought I was going to lean toward Erik Jones and still might since he will be in the #20. Consider me still undecided.
 
MRM said:
I almost started a thread a while back about a fan being without a driver. As most of you know, I was a Tony Stewart fan going back to his sprint days on Thursday Night Thunder. Before that, I was a Kyle Petty fan for a few years after Richard Petty retired. From my avatar, I was going to be a Larson fan. That comment about not signing autographs for $50 rubbed me wrong a bit. I thought I was going to lean toward Erik Jones and still might since he will be in the #20. Consider me still undecided.
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I felt the same way about the autograph comment, some things are best left unsaid especially for a rising star. It made him look like his success is giving him a big head to me.
 
Snowman said:
I don't doubt he'll be successful and I'm sure most will be happy if he pulls off a Cinderella story but Chase has just been one of my guys since his days in Xfinity. That's the real reason I'm hitching my horse to the Chase wagon, I was cheering for him as a Cup rookie alongside my main guy Jr. before most of us had heard of Bowman much less see what he could do in a good ride.
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I used to be a Jr. fan. He lost me when he said he would rather lose with his cousin than win with someone else. He has been losing ever since. BUT He brought up a young driver to his JMS and that guy didn't work out so he gave his brother a chance. That was Brad K and I followed him even when he was forced to jump ship and drive a Dodge and now a Ford.
Now I have Blaney as my #2 driver.
 
My interest isn't what it use to be as it is. After this season I'll prob pull for Chase, Bowman, Byron. I really wish Blaney was staying with the wood brothers, but him goin to penske will ruin it a bit for me. Still think he's awsome driver tho.
But......in all honesty I'll always watch the Daytona 500, Southern 500, World 600, the other 3 plate races and short tracks mostly but I'll probably skip half the races next year.
 
So much talent coming through, and the sport is going to "die" because a middle of the road racer is retiring. Lol people are funny.
 
Johnny G said:
My interest isn't what it use to be as it is. After this season I'll prob pull for Chase, Bowman, Byron. I really wish Blaney was staying with the wood brothers, but him goin to penske will ruin it a bit for me. Still think he's awsome driver tho.
But......in all honesty I'll always watch the Daytona 500, Southern 500, World 600, the other 3 plate races and short tracks mostly but I'll probably skip half the races next year.
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This is JMO but the stretch of races after the 600 and up to Darlington can be brutal and we have had some real dogs to watch this year. I don't see all the races but do see the majority but if they are bad I fast forward through a lot of it.
 
Team Penske said:
I used to be a Jr. fan. He lost me when he said he would rather lose with his cousin than win with someone else. He has been losing ever since. BUT He brought up a young driver to his JMS and that guy didn't work out so he gave his brother a chance. That was Brad K and I followed him even when he was forced to jump ship and drive a Dodge and now a Ford.
Now I have Blaney as my #2 driver.
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The Eury Jr years at Hendrick were tough... I followed BK when he was driving the 88 in then the Nationwide series, I admit I thought he had boiled his golden goose for breakfast when he went to Penske rather than wait it out for the 5, but I'm glad I was wrong.
 
I learned after the Bill Elliott days not to put all my eggs in one basket anymore.
Now my fandom is always divided by at least 4 drivers that I stay true to. That seems
to work out pretty good for me.
 
Racing is a unique sport, and so are the reasons why we like certain drivers. For instance, I like Kyle Busch. It might be because we have the same birthday, or it might be because we are both Aoles sometimes. I became a William Byron fan, when he beat Kyle with his own equipment. I see it not so much as you picking a driver, but the driver picks you. I know there is no logic for this, but that is how it happens for me. Your reality may vary.
 
Hotrod said:
I learned after the Bill Elliott days not to put all my eggs in one basket anymore.
Now my fandom is always divided by at least 4 drivers that I stay true to. That seems
to work out pretty good for me.
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I've thought about this off and on since reading it awhile back. I think it's genius. It's like diversifying risk in your investments.

I've had an 3/8/88 sticker on my truck since I started driving. Think I'll replace the 88 with an HMS one next year. I like their whole crop of young guns, but I won't pigeon hole myself to just one. Think I might enjoy the sport a little more that way. No living and dying by a single driver.
 
When Junior is done, I'll be a Keselowski and Blaney fan.

I'll likely pull for Truex, Larson and the young HMS drivers as well.
 
AuzGrams said:
Exactly. Kenseth and Kyle seemed pretty upset.
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Bowman had a couple of one timers from another team yapping at him..nah pay attention to what Jimmie says and does, screw all of them and race. :D tell Kyle, I beat your ass so shut up.
 
lisa said:
I think William Byron is really going to be someone that the other drivers are going to have to reckon with, before its all over.
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I find it interesting that everyone is so hyped about the driver. It is the team that wins. Kurt showed you that he could do better with a poor car 78 than many drivers but it took a whole team and a great CC to get the 78 to the front even with Martin behind the wheel.
JJ has a great team and yet KK driving out of the same shop lost his ride. Team Sport and the team means everything even for the great Kyle Bush.
 
Team Penske said:
I find it interesting that everyone is so hyped about the driver. It is the team that wins. Kurt showed you that he could do better with a poor car 78 than many drivers but it took a whole team and a great CC to get the 78 to the front even with Martin behind the wheel.
JJ has a great team and yet KK driving out of the same shop lost his ride. Team Sport and the team means everything even for the great Kyle Bush.
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Any driver that does well in a lower series is hyped to a degree. Byron has won quickly in everything he's been in and hasn't even been racing his whole life like lots of these guys have been. He seems to have natural talent. In the hunt for the Xfinity championship in his rookie season, almost won a championship in his rookie season at KBM, and a K&N east championship in his rookie season in that series. He's won with different makes, CCs, and crews at different levels and has climbed the ladder pretty quickly. Personally, I feel he deserves to be anticipated in Cup.

I feel this is actually an advantage for Bowman because his expectations are relatively low except for the fact he's at Hendrick Motorsports.
 
I will probably become a Bowman fan, @StandOnIt can agree with me seeing how I was harping about him at BK and TBR for the past four years or so.

I'm also a fan of Cole Whitt, hey I like the underdogs.:D
 
I typically pull for three drivers. Love the 88 car as that was Dale Jarrett's best ride till he retired. I've pulled for Jr as one of the three for many years. My wife loves the guy. He's a real North Carolina kid that we natives can relate to. I also pulled for Carl Edwards till he pulled the plug.

So when Chase was on the scene I added him to my team as I always liked his dad. After Carl retired I gladly went to one of my favorite teams, The Wood Brothers, and Ryan Blaney. I hate he's leaving the Woods car. I just can't yet see pulling for Menard.

I may replace Dale Jr with Almirola as he is from my current home state of Florida and drive the legendary 43 car. But I may also stick with the 88 and see what Bowman can do.

Agree that we need more personality, but really, more macho drivers. Where are the Yarbouroughs or Earnhardt Sr's out there? Guys who love racing but act like and drive like men? Kyle Bush is aggressive and likes the bad guy role, but he's a whiny mouth way too much. Kenneth had no issue putting little Logano into the wall as payback, and didn't blink doing it. That took guts!
 
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