The Hendrick connection.

FenderBumper

FenderBumper

The "good old days" ??
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Everyone has noticed how much faster Tony has been since Talladega, but how? Is there a connection to the fact that the last Hendrick car dropped out of contention the previous race at Charolette?

Before Talladega, Tony hadn't led the most laps in any of the chase races, but has led the most laps in 3 of the last 4. He did manage to win 2 fuel mileage races to start the chase, but wasn't doing much on speed. In fact, his average finish before Talladega was 10th. After JJ dropped out, his average finish is 3rd, and he's won 2 races on speed.

The change is very dramatic, especially when you consider that every team brings their best equiptment to the chase. Suddenly, halfway through the chase, SHR cars are the fastest on the track. I think there has been a lot more help from Hendrick since they dropped out of the title chase, which isn't against the rules. Teams help each other all the time.

IMO, Rick saw Tony winning as his only chance of getting a piece of the championship, and it seems he has gone all out for Tony.
 
Nothing wrong with that! Tony IS a paying customer! Plus, HAAS Automation owned a pull-down rig before Mr. Haas went to prison, so it is now SHR property. And if I am not mistaken, HMS uses that rig.
 
VaDirt said:
You do realize, of course, that black helicopter fuel is expensive, right?
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Errr....(speaking softly) VaDirt, where do you see helicopters? Are they here now?

Like I said, nothing sinister, and it's the natural thing to do. Look what Roush did for the Dinger.

Everyone has been wondering what SHR discovered. I think that the only thing they discovered is how much Rick want's a piece of the championship. I think it also shows that, paying customer or not, there are an awful lot of performance secrets over there. The guy cut his finishing average by 70% just like that.
 
Dustin Long researched the frame numbers, and SHR has been using them for some time. I guess it's some setup info Rick let loose, or a miracle happened at SHR at just the right time.
 
Hendrick may have helped with some setup notes, if they did, cool. But I honestly think "most" of it was Tony's determination and hard driving. Just my opinion based on what I saw.
 
KingGlamis said:
Hendrick may have helped with some setup notes, if they did, cool. But I honestly think "most" of it was Tony's determination and hard driving. Just my opinion based on what I saw.
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I've never seen Tony drive easy when he has a fast car, and the past 4 weeks he's had VERY fast cars.
 
Something is going on. Tony has never, ever qualified well. Look at his efforts this past fifteen races.
 
Smoke14 said:
Something is going on. Tony has never, ever qualified well. Look at his efforts this past fifteen races.
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At Chicago and Loudon he qualified poor and won both races. I'll admit 4 of the last 5 races he has qualified good. But still, you can't discount that he is most certainly trying harder now than he probably ever has.

I know the cars play a HUGE role in the outcome of a race but I also think WAY too many fans discount the driver.
 
Soooo then ....will Hendrick be coming to take IT back at the end of the season ? Surly he can't let Tony keep IT for next season.
 
KingGlamis said:
At Chicago and Loudon he qualified poor
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...and wasn't top 10 but Grubb and Tony pulled off 2 fuel mileage wins and STILL had a lousy 10th average finish going.

KingGlamis said:
I know the cars play a HUGE role in the outcome of a race but I also think WAY too many fans discount the driver.
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Which makes me realize how bad Tony's cars have been up until Talladega.
 
FenderBumper said:
...and wasn't top 10 but Grubb and Tony pulled off 2 fuel mileage wins and STILL had a lousy 10th average finish going.



Which makes me realize how bad Tony's cars have been up until Talladega.
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Up until 'dega? He got the pole at Charlotte the week before and finished 8th, that's not bad.

Bottom line we are all speculating. Tony sure took off. Was it equipment, driver, dumb luck, or ??? We don't really know but when he retires he needs to bottle it and sell it to other drivers.

One thing I don't think we have ever seen is a driver saying he doesn't belong in the Chase and then getting this far.
 
Here is how the engine program works.

All the motors are prepared the same. They dyno the motors before each event. The team running the highest in points gets the one with the most horsepower and so on. The only exception being if one of the teams is in danger of dropping out of the top 35, THEY get the most horsepower.
 
zevious said:
Here is how the engine program works.

All the motors are prepared the same. They dyno the motors before each event. The team running the highest in points gets the one with the most horsepower and so on. The only exception being if one of the teams is in danger of dropping out of the top 35, THEY get the most horsepower.
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Yeah but we are talking very small variances in horsepower. It takes a LOT MORE than a 5hp advantage to place well in Cup. It takes the complete package, handling, aero, pit crew, smart decisions by the Crew Chief and a DRIVER willing to put all that other stuff into Victory Lane. Sprinkle that recipe with a dash of luck and that is how races are won. :D
 
KingGlamis said:
Bottom line we are all speculating. Tony sure took off. Was it equipment, driver, dumb luck, or ??? We don't really know but when he retires he needs to bottle it and sell it to other drivers.
.
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pfttt! any fool can see he found a way to put the energizer bunny in his car and slip it by tech (unapproved part).
 
KingGlamis said:
It takes the complete package, handling, aero, pit crew, smart decisions by the Crew Chief and a DRIVER willing to put all that other stuff into Victory Lane. Sprinkle that recipe with a dash of luck and that is how races are won. :D
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You got it!

I firmly beleive Tonys resurgence in The Chase has nothing to do with superior equipment or a hidden little secret. I beleive Tony and his crew had one of "Those Meetings" just before The Chase started and decided to:
Work their Asses off to get better.
Make Risky calls that put them in position.
And Do whatever it takes To Win.

They've done a Incredible job the past 9 races......One More Time Boys!!!
 
Tony won the first two races of the Chase. They struggled badly at Dover, but that's no different than the last couple of years. So it's not that sudden unless you seperate the Chase from the first 26 races. That's where the dramatic turnaround is.
 
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