Silly Season 2020

wi_racefan said:
He's got a Daytona 500 victory he can ride on that alone for at least another 5 years. Long how long it kept Trevor around.

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Thats not what I meant, Dillon will have his toughest competition to date.
 
If Hemric was smart he & his backers would find a way to get a ride at JGR in NXS in any way possible.

I guess the 00 could be open possibly.
 
LewTheShoe said:
I gotta agree with @superchuck500... tough deal, but not grimy. Three into two doesn't go. A choice had to be made. In the NFL, a typical 7th round draft pick is an outstanding football player who still gets cut before Labor Day.

Daniel Hemric seems like a good guy with a gritty, blue collar story. I hope he lands on his feet and proves to the world that he deserves to be a professional race car driver... a la Ross Chastain or Matt DiBenedetto.
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Well said. Hemric got the short end of the stick here only because RCR is desperate for some possible top tier talent to improve their race team, and Reddick could just be that, and he brings more additional funding than Hemric does.
 
AuzGrams said:
If Hemric was smart he & his backers would find a way to get a ride at JGR in NXS in any way possible.

I guess the 00 could be open possibly.
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Assuming Hemric could get a JGR Xfinity ride, where does he go from there? Does JGR (read: Toyota) already have more talented drivers than they can field cars for? Why be in a pipeline that's going nowhere?
 
True seat swap demotion Hemric into the 2 Reddick into the 8. Reddick does better than AD next year... AD into the 2 Hemric into the 3. Voila.
 
Turtle84 said:
True seat swap demotion Hemric into the 2 Reddick into the 8. Reddick does better than AD next year... AD into the 2 Hemric into the 3. Voila.
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I don't see Richard moving Austin out of the #3 unless or until Austin says he's ready to get out, and I don't think anyone else is interested in luring him away. If All Hat does get out, Ty will likely get the first shot at it.

'Cause Pop-Pop.
 
JGR xfinity is spoken for
If your Daniel hemric are you really going to swap rides with Tyler Reddick at this point? Talk about feeling like a piece of s*** LOL

The only way I see him going to a Xfinity is with a major team besides those two and he brings a significant amount of sponsorship.

Otherwise I think we will see him in one of the front row or go fas cars
 
Daniel's a high character guy, he can drive very well and he has financial backing.

He'll land on his feet somewhere look at this tidbit Stern dropped earlier today:
 
LewTheShoe said:
What is Hemric's financial backing? (Serious question.)
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He did have Blue Gate Bank behind him a couple of years ago. I'm trying to sift through his old stuff, I guess I'm wrong. I'm not sure, but he did have Blue Gate follow him from BKR to RCR. Then South Point sponsored all of Hemric's races in 2018.

Oh Blue Gate was sold is now under Poppy Bank: (Now it makes sense, Poppy was on the car at Homestead in 2017.)
https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/aiqgf8wg0pnmtpl91ht80a2

Not sure then anymore.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Assuming Hemric could get a JGR Xfinity ride, where does he go from there? Does JGR (read: Toyota) already have more talented drivers than they can field cars for? Why be in a pipeline that's going nowhere?
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Worked out for Ryan Preece did it not? I'm not saying you're off base but last I checked none of the Toyota drivers are ready for Xfinity.
 
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Charlie Spencer said:
I don't see Richard moving Austin out of the #3 unless or until Austin says he's ready to get out, and I don't think anyone else is interested in luring him away. If All Hat does get out, Ty will likely get the first shot at it.

'Cause Pop-Pop.
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Me either. I should have put disclaimer on that last sentence, that was my wish list in fairness, since Hemric isn't getting a fair shot at Cup.

Austin has 2 crown jewels under his belt in the past 3 years, he's safe. It will be interesting to see if Reddick takes him up a notch improving their program.
 
Fordracing7 said:
JGR xfinity is spoken for
If your Daniel hemric are you really going to swap rides with Tyler Reddick at this point? Talk about feeling like a piece of s*** LOL

The only way I see him going to a Xfinity is with a major team besides those two and he brings a significant amount of sponsorship.

Otherwise I think we will see him in one of the front row or go fas cars
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It would be a shot to the ego. But, considering his current accomplishments, going into the 2 car in Xfinity to have a shot at winning multiple races seems like a superior option to turning laps in a Cup car with no chance imo.

It would keep his name hot in the media for future Cup ride openings. And winning goes a long way on confidence. I like that option.
 
What's Hemric's options really?

-the JTG Daugherty ride Buescher is leaving
-the Front Row ride Ragan is leaving
-any of the backmarker rides
-go back to Xfinity

Not sure any of the Cup options have a high probability.
 
Privateer said:
What's Hemric's options really?

-the JTG Daugherty ride Buescher is leaving
-the Front Row ride Ragan is leaving
-any of the backmarker rides
-go back to Xfinity

Not sure any of the Cup options have a high probability.
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Like I alluded with Preece & winning with JGR, the JTG car isn't terrible.
 
Privateer said:
What's Hemric's options really?

-the JTG Daugherty ride Buescher is leaving
-the Front Row ride Ragan is leaving
-any of the backmarker rides
-go back to Xfinity

Not sure any of the Cup options have a high probability.
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It’s confirmed Buescher is leaving the 37? I hadn’t seen this
 
Unsubstantiated rumor I saw on twitter was Hemric has talked to SHR about the 00 in Xfinity, which would lend credence to the Custer to the 32 rumors from awhile back.
 
kkfan91 said:
Unsubstantiated rumor I saw on twitter was Hemric has talked to SHR about the 00 in Xfinity, which would lend credence to the Custer to the 32 rumors from awhile back.
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I really hope they get some additional support from SHR in that instance. Even still I would think it's a short term ride until one of the SHR cars open up.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Assuming Hemric could get a JGR Xfinity ride, where does he go from there? Does JGR (read: Toyota) already have more talented drivers than they can field cars for? Why be in a pipeline that's going nowhere?
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Who is taking the JGR—-20 car?
 
Revman said:
Politely waiting for rants about Richard Childress cutting drivers as they are developing because that is just awful stuff to do.
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Owner points:

20. #37 JTG Daugherty 573
21. #3 Childress 510 (more than 1 race win behind the #37)
22. #95 Leavine 502
23. #17 Roush 500
24. #13 Germain 462 (almost 3 race wins behind the #37)
25. #8 Childress 393 (more than 4 race wins behind the #37, more than 1 race win behind the Childress-affiliated #13)

Even discounting the 30th on back backmarkers, there's a massive dropoff in quality from midfield at the moment. The 8 car could have a huge improvement from their performance this year, and still be...24th.
 
Privateer said:
Owner points:

20. #37 JTG Daugherty 573
21. #3 Childress 510 (more than 1 race win behind the #37)
22. #95 Leavine 502
23. #17 Roush 500
24. #13 Germain 462 (almost 3 race wins behind the #37)
25. #8 Childress 393 (more than 4 race wins behind the #37, more than 1 race win behind the Childress-affiliated #13)

Even discounting the 30th on back backmarkers, there's a massive dropoff in quality from midfield at the moment. The 8 car could have a huge improvement from their performance this year, and still be...24th.
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That showcases Buescher getting the most out of his equipment, as usual. Trapped in the 37 unable to unleash his full potential. He needs to make a move eventually.

The 8 car has more speed in it than 25th, just too many large number finishes for Hemric, I had higher hopes on his rookie season but it's understandable. Reddick should easily improve on those numbers.
 
NascarUnderdogs said:
probably 1 of those 2 truck guys who really dont deserve to move up yet
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Chastain and Moffitt are the only 2 truck guy's ready to move up.

I imagine that's probably Hemric's direct competition for a ride in Xfinity if he's looking to drop back.
 
Revman said:
Politely waiting for rants about Richard Childress cutting drivers as they are developing because that is just awful stuff to do.
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You have a valid point.

For the record, over the last ten races, Hemrick and DiBenedetto both have average starts of 18th, give or take a tenth. Hemrick's average finish is 24.7, down -6.5 positions from where he started, earning 129 points. DiBenedetto's average finish is 12.1, up 6.8, 255 points.

Their records may explain why there's more fan frustration over one than the other. Italian Stallion is actually developing.
 
Revman said:
Politely waiting for rants about Richard Childress cutting drivers as they are developing because that is just awful stuff to do.
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I don't like the move, I mean he's now 3/4ths through his rookie season and gets chopped. It sucks, badly. I hate this move, but Reddick's performance has spoken volumes. Hemric has not been given a fair shake IMO, but like Bell his (Reddick's) potential is tantalizing.

Too many drivers, not enough seats. I don't like either move, but its business at the end of the day. RC is doing somethings to move the needle for his team, again. JGR has four solidified drivers and is an established, top-flight team atm.

Matt D was a marytr because well, Bell has been with Toyota since I can remember. Lose him and let him walk to Chevy or Ford, hell no. Same thing with Reddick, considering Roush would have been interested in him if RC did not give him the promotion.
 
There's not much room at the top, which is why it is the top.

More Teams does NOT mean more good Teams -- and I don't agree with the blanket opinion that more cars in the field make better racing.

NASCAR jockeys know this going into racing. They have beaten out other competitors to climb into a Cup ride. Not a surprise, yet there seems to be a common whining coming out of R-F about these poor jockeys getting moved around.

16 Teams in the bloated Playoff Field -- that's more opportunity than should be allowed to race for the Championship in this format, but NASCAR must like to reward sponsors with Playoff Participation Trophies (or whatever) for the first 2 rounds, while yelling into the mic for 2 1/2 months of their Chase tournament. So here we are.

JGR -- 4
Penske -- 3
HMS -- 3
SHR -- 3
CGR -- 2
RFR -- 1
RCR -- 0
the rest...
 
Yeah ... bad, bad TRD.

How dare they bring money and human resources to the fight? No-one has ever done that before.
 
All I'm saying is that TRD could have MUCH MORE easily afforded to keep Matt D. in the fold than Childress could keep Hemric, and when I said resources, what I was referring to the ability for Toyota to do B to B deals that end up costing them somewhat less actual money than somebody like Childress has at his disposal. Who is HE going to leverage, a wine bottle manufacturer?
 
Data analytics guru David Smith weighs in on Tyler Reddick's promotion to the Cup Series, and delivers a strong endorsement of RCR's decision to move Reddick into the 8 car. He finds Reddick's break-out performance in 2019 a more convincing indicator of future potential than his lackluster 2018 stats... even while winning the Xfinity championship.

When Smith was writing for his own small independent website (Motorsports Analytics), he earned a reputation for pointed, data driven commentary both positive and negative. One never got the sense that he would temper his comments to avoid ruffling feathers. Since moving on staff at The Athletic, his approach thankfully remains the same. His Tyler Reddick "transaction analysis" is worth a read, in the quote box below.

Easy decision: Tyler Reddick checks off every box for an RCR program seeking a new identity

By David Smith for The Athletic, Sept 19, 2019

Let’s get two things straight. First, absolutely no one at Richard Childress Racing thought Daniel Hemric in his rookie season would fare better in their cars than a Ryan Newman a year and change removed from his prime. Second, Hemric’s 2019 season, despite yesterday’s news, was not a failure. These two notions are more than tangentially connected.

For those not paying close attention, life has been tough lately for those clocking in at RCR. Between 2017 and 2018, the operation consolidated its NASCAR Cup Series program from three teams to two. Between 2017 and this year, it closed three of its four Xfinity Series teams. The dwindling revenue sources forced tough decisions, such as layoffs, and one of those — perhaps the smartest — was to let Newman, a playoff-ready driver, walk out the shop doors at the end of last season, only to avoid having his multimillion-dollar salary on the payroll. Hemric’s six-figure pay this season provided some much-needed relief on the accounting ledgers, simultaneously allowing RCR to make more focused investments in equipment.

RCR’s competition department, led in tandem by Andy Petree and Eric Warren, has been trying to implement an engineering-first mindset for what seems like eons, and the slow-burn turn is only now paying off — in the Xfinity Series with Tyler Reddick, a five-time race winner this season occupying the third-fastest car in the series.

Hemric, whose 0.115 Production in Equal Equipment Rating (PEER) ranks 33rd among 43 Cup drivers with at least six starts, represented a low-risk bet from the get-go. If all else failed, he served as an affordable stopgap while RCR rebuilt behind the scenes; had he performed well, they would’ve accidentally uncovered a superstar. Such a hedge came to light on Tuesday when the organization’s official statement alluded to an option for 2020 in Hemric’s contract that was not exercised. Had they believed Hemric was the second coming of Kevin Harvick, or had there been any demand for his services outside of RCR’s walls when they initially promoted him, that contract option wouldn’t have existed. RCR was prepared for this eventuality.

What those inside RCR’s Welcome, N.C. headquarters likely didn’t expect was the emergence of Reddick, whose 4.385 PEER leads all Xfinity Series regulars.

Reddick won the Xfinity championship in 2018 for JR Motorsports, seemingly out of nowhere. His 0.864 PEER for the season ranked 20th, worse than drivers like Spencer Gallagher (1.895), Jeremy Clements (1.068) and Ryan Sieg (0.924), and his surplus passing fell in the red, a minus-1.32 percent mark yielding a loss of 41 positions beyond what was expected from a driver with his average running position. He was, at 22, a favorite of those believing the eye test; his John Wick assault on an unsuspecting field in last year’s caution-free season finale at Homestead was a win for those buying into his natural talent but left questions about his ability to hit his skill potential every weekend.

His camp, led by grandfather Benny Brown, the head of a country music record label, was aggressive last year in pursuing Cup Series rides. When none came to light, RCR provided the next-best option and a potential Cup ride in waiting, right at the time its speed was peaking — Hemric’s No. 21 car ranked as the fastest of the 2018 Xfinity Series playoffs. With sponsorship via business leverage, Reddick purchased his spot at RCR and quickly minimized the buy-a-ride label with his airtight performance. The inefficient passing of last year is gone; he is the second-most efficient mover after Christopher Bell, having secured 110 positions more than expected from someone with his average running position.

That level of reliability in traffic is a trait that helped the likes of Kyle Larson (ranked as the most efficient passer among Xfinity Series regulars in 2013), Erik Jones (ranked second in 2015) and Chase Elliott (ranked fourth in 2014 and first in 2015) assimilate quickly to the Cup Series. Hemric ranked sixth in Xfinity Series surplus passing value in 2018 but was 27 years old while doing it. Reddick is four years younger, signifying more upside, and has a pathway to funding that Hemric lacked. Despite Hemric’s marked improvement following a sluggish start to the regular season — a minus-1.250 PEER through the first eight races — to a 0.694 rating in the 18 races that followed, a hair better than Ricky Stenhouse’s current valuation, the odds of him keeping his ride were stacked against him. This became clear with his owner’s hyperbole following Reddick’s win in Las Vegas.

“I tell you who (Reddick) reminds me of,” said Richard Childress. “I raced against him — it’s Cale Yarborough. Watch out.”

Childress’s comment could become infamous — the late Robert Yates once said of David Gilliland, “We’ve found our Dale Earnhardt” — but the enthusiasm of a car owner in search of a keystone, an identity around which to build for the first time since Harvick’s 13-year tenure ended in 2013, is palpable. For as much deliberate effort being placed onto the cars rolling out of the shop, the organization deserves a chance to better gauge its status within the industry.

Reddick clearly provides this, and this should be a happy occurrence for likely crew chief Luke Lambert.

At first blush, Lambert’s singular Cup Series victory in 251 attempts looks like a dismal record, but when viewing his efforts from 30,000 feet, his impact becomes clear for all to see. He took over as crew chief for a late-career Jeff Burton 20 races into the 2011 season and secured all five of Burton’s top-10 finishes that year. He led Elliott Sadler to the best Xfinity Series season of his career, with four wins, in 2012. He came within one position of winning the Cup Series championship with Ryan Newman in 2014. Even now, Hemric’s 17.2-place average finish is in line with Newman’s 17.1-place average two seasons ago.

He rose to fame as a sound strategist, having secured Burton the most positions through green-flag pit cycles in 2013 and Newman the third-most positions in 2014 and seventh most in 2015. Since then, he’s employed a rifle approach to radical pit strategy, from which one decision brought Newman a 2017 victory in Phoenix. While this certainly kept him viable and employed, it’s somewhat disappointing given his background; he is a college-trained engineer who entered the NASCAR workforce hoping to produce fast cars and good results. It’s been three years since RCR had a car rank better than 18th in Central Speed and Reddick will arguably become the best driver with which Lambert has ever worked. If Lambert is indeed atop the pitbox for RCR’s new hire, we’ll finally have a better understanding of his ability beyond gaming pit cycles.

Rarely in NASCAR do we see a personnel decision check off each and every box, but Reddick is, resoundingly, a better option than Hemric given where RCR is as an organization. There’s everything to be gained, and Reddick, thanks to this revelatory 2019 season, has the profile to accomplish such lofty goals.

Unfortunately for Hemric, who probably is one of the 38 best stock car drivers in the world, a single argument for keeping him in this specific ride does not exist. As the season reaches its culmination, there is still time for him to secure a new job, one likely a step down with similar guarantees afforded to him.

https://theathletic.com/1221789/201...ox-for-an-rcr-program-seeking-a-new-identity/
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