Who Gets the 48?

Well, you know how the old story goes, nobody will stab you in the back or rob you blind like family............
 
I do think if Jones gets the knife he will end up on a team somewhere, probably not as good as he has it now, but he is young and talented. Who knows he might pull off a Logano like blooming if gets the family's walking papers.
 
Formerjackman said:
Kind of a catch 22 if you want Matty D in the 48. (I would be fine with that). If he performs well in the 21, why would they want to get rid of him? If he does poorly in the 21, why would you want him? I would say the only way he gets to the 48 is if some non-performance issue like a lack of sponsorship or a desire by Penske to put somebody else in that car crops up.
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I see what you mean by catch 22, depends on definition of "performs well" though, if he's cranking out top15s with an occasional top10 and that's all the car has to give, sure Wood Brothers/Penske would want to keep him since he's getting the most out of their car, at the same time MattyD could decide that being at Hendrick 48 is a once in a lifetime opportunity that gives him more sponsorship security and a steady chance at winning races long-term.

If DiBen does poorly, it may be a lack of funding lack of speed "non-performance" non-driver issue. That is not always easy to quantify what is more responsible, but in that case he would still be desired by Hendrick if they think he's stuck in underwhelming equipment.

Also, I think it depends how early they decide to start talks with someone, past season performance may weigh more than this upcoming season if they're already identifying who Ally may want to represent them. With the transition to the new car, that may be the larger factor.
 
StandOnIt said:
I do think if Jones gets the knife he will end up on a team somewhere, probably not as good as he has it now, but he is young and talented. Who knows he might pull off a Logano like blooming if gets the family's walking papers.
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I could see this as well, statistically speaking and career trajectory wise he is very similar to Logano (Jones still only 23), it took Logano 6 seasons to fully breakout with a multi-win season. Just not sure HMS is the place for Jones, but maybe.
 
Turtle84 said:
I could see this as well, statistically speaking and career trajectory wise he is very similar to Logano (Jones still only 23), it took Logano 6 seasons to fully breakout with a multi-win season. Just not sure HMS is the place for Jones, but maybe.
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I agree, he does not fit the mold at present. I think he would be an excellent candidate for replacing Kurt in the #1 in 2021. After KB and DH, Larson would be a good team mate.
 
Team Penske said:
I agree, he does not fit the mold at present. I think he would be an excellent candidate for replacing Kurt in the #1 in 2021. After KB and DH, Larson would be a good team mate.
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I think that would be a good pairing. Believe Kurt signed thru 2 years at least though so would have to be 2022, doesn't seem like he's ready to go anytime soon. Was thinking maybe SHR Harvick Bowyer Almirola if something happens with them. Would be a guy Tony likes.
 
AuzGrams said:
Agreed. Bubba put some good runs together in the 2nd half of the season with a car that has far less funding than what Smirlthfield brought to the table with Almriola.
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Agreed, but Bubba looks to have one more shot and it is going to be hard to expect him to do much more than the status quo even with better cars. Plus side though Brian Moffitt seems excited with whatever the announcement is that is coming in January. But BW best be on best behavior this year or he may well be out after 2020.
 
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