Who Drives The 88 In 2017 (if Junior Retires This Year)?

AdoubleU24 said:
Xfinity points leader and has driven smart all year. Plus the JRM to Hendrick ties. I think it makes sense for a year despite his past.
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It does but if Newman is available he's in that seat hands down.
 
cheesepuffs said:
And what if number 7 is this year or next year and then he decides he hit the magic number and since the last one took longer than the first six that he wants to just spend the rest of his days being a dad?
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What if he does? This entire discussion was started on a bigger 'What if' than that one.
 
You guys got it all wrong. Here's what's going to happen. Ricks going to get the #9 from Petty and Bill is going to come out of retirement with a contract that reads "As long as you want to drive." Rick is then going to get the 99 from Jack for Chase. The 9and the 99, father and son, a marketing powerhouse.
 
I'd like to see Newman in the 88. I always like him and I miss the days when he was on the pole every week. Still, I think Rick will miss those marketing dollars, and Danica would be the pick.
 
That team will never be number 25 again. The 88 is has more clout and is more marketable today due to Dale. Too many people don't think of the Foldgers days, or the Bud days. They think of the GMAC/Ditech/National Guard days when the car ran like complete garbage.
 
cheesepuffs said:
That team will never be number 25 again. The 88 is has more clout and is more marketable today due to Dale. Too many people don't think of the Foldgers days, or the Bud days. They think of the GMAC/Ditech/National Guard days when the car ran like complete garbage.
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I believe the clout will go away when Jr. leaves.
 
cheesepuffs said:
That team will never be number 25 again. The 88 is has more clout and is more marketable today due to Dale. Too many people don't think of the Foldgers days, or the Bud days. They think of the GMAC/Ditech/National Guard days when the car ran like complete garbage.
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You make a good point but I hope you're wrong. When I think of the 25 I immediately think of HMS. I would love to see a Hendrick 25 car win on a regular basis, which nobody has seen in about 30 years. And you could argue that the car was more successful in the "garbage" days than the winless Budweiser years. The 88 is Dale's thing, let it stay that way.

At the end of the day it's just a number so I'm really not concerned about it.
 
Bowtie3 said:
Newman has had a lot more success than Sadler. He is a Daytona 500 winner after all.

I agree with Newman on a two tear deal, then turn it over to Byron if he keeps the path he's on now.
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Ok so let's say Newman gets a 2 year deal, makes it through to the final round of the chase in year 2, hits it right and wins the championship, do you cut him loose? Newman is very consistent, if he almost did it at RCR, he could definitely do it in HMS equipment.
 
CalTenn said:
Ok so let's say Newman gets a 2 year deal, makes it through to the final round of the chase in year 2, hits it right and wins the championship, do you cut him loose? Newman is very consistent, if he almost did it at RCR, he could definitely do it in HMS equipment.
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In this scenario it would be under the assumption Kahne would already be replaced. I still think yes Newman would be gone he would be 40.
 
Chris Buescher doesn't fit the HMS mold, plus IMO he isn't high dollar marketable.
 
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CalTenn said:
Ok so let's say Newman gets a 2 year deal, makes it through to the final round of the chase in year 2, hits it right and wins the championship, do you cut him loose? Newman is very consistent, if he almost did it at RCR, he could definitely do it in HMS equipment.
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He may retire if that were to happen.
 
DaBiff1618 said:
Now we're grading drivers based on looks. Time to delete this thread lol
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I wasn't grading him (this time). I just noticed a degree of resemble to another photo seen here frequently.

Besides, the time to euthanize this broke-leg mule was long before then.
 
I'm amazed that some folks think contracts are important. No team, sponsor , owner, or crew chief wants to work with a driver who doesn't want to be there. Just the rumor that a driver might be looking elsewhere is a season ending morale killer for a race team .
 
ted@economy said:
I'm amazed that some folks think contracts are important. No team, sponsor , owner, or crew chief wants to work with a driver who doesn't want to be there. Just the rumor that a driver might be looking elsewhere is a season ending morale killer for a race team .
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When was the last time a Cup driver's contract was broken?
 
The 5 car should go back to Kellogg's colors, that looked awesome ( yeah a nascar only term-awesome). I really believe JR will be back but for how long? Any minor bump on his melon and he's done. When and if the time comes, Rick will surprise us all with a instant championship contender. Then Jr will field a couple of cars and need a few more drivers. this could have a snowball effect.
 
Would Rick really have a group of young guys in 2018 Larson, Byron and Elliott. A few weeks ago we were talking about how crappy JRM/HMS is at developing drivers or choosing old guys over young ones. I don't think Chip lets Larson go. It's amazing how Byron coming back changed the perception of HMS future
 
Of course he would. His cash cow JG is gone, JJ is fading, Kahne is an absolute bust except for the mid 40s housewife demo.

On the positive side Jr while on his way out still has unlimited marketing potential. But overall Hendrix needs to restock his stable and will have no problem doing so.
 
Someone with a better memory than me , will weigh in and correct me , but I think that it's likely Rick will surprise us by bringing in an established driver , like he did with Terry LaBonte . He might want to take his time with developing young talent . He's been burned before and he may not want to have too many kids at once. I think he may try and be conservative . We'll see.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
There's a thought. If the team continues, renumber it back to the #25.
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Agreed, I still would not be surprised to see jr move JR Motorsports to cup as a satellite to Hendrick after he's done driving. Let those cars use the 8 and the 88.
 
sloggie said:
Sponsors paying for Jr will settle for Jeff Gordon. They won't settle for some unknown kid
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The Hendrick web site has the driver schedule for the rest of the year. Gordon will drive Darlington, Richmond, Dover, and M'ville; Bowman will drive the other eight including Talladega.

I'm sure Jeff is missing Talladega because he had a previous commitment (or found one as quick as he could :D ).
 
Don’t remember where I heard it but it was something about promising his wife he’d Rain-X their tropical fish on the 23rd of next month.
 
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