Who Gets the 48?

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SpeedPagan said:
I don't see Larson jumping ship from Chip Gannassi, it would be a lateral move at best. Is there anyone from Jr. Motorsports that's ready to move up into the cup series?
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Unless Noah Gragson wins 5+ races, no. Justin Allgaier in the 48 would be kinda cool, but he's a Xfinity veteran & doesn't look like he's moving up. I see a very slim chance of Hemric getting it if he can win 3-5 races.

I see Ross Chastain, Erik Jones, Matt DiBennedetto, Kyle Larson as candidates.
 
AuzGrams said:
I see Ross Chastain, Erik Jones, Matt DiBennedetto, Kyle Larson as candidates.
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Burrito will be finishing his first year at Wood Bros / Penske. I don't see him jumping ship after one year unless the performance is abysmal, and if it is, I doubt Hendrick would offer him the seat.

Larson isn't leaving Chip any time soon.
 
I think a lot of who gets the 48 depends on if Ally decides to stay. Yeah I know they're supposedly signed, but I'd imagine there has to be a clause if JJ is no longer in the car. If Ally doesn't stick around I think the car might be open to who brings the most money
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Burrito will be finishing his first year at Wood Bros / Penske. I don't see him jumping ship after one year unless the performance is abysmal, and if it is, I doubt Hendrick would offer him the seat.

Larson isn't leaving Chip any time soon.
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Your reasoning is why I can't get on board with the Larson and DiBenedetto train of thought. Larson is granted whatever freedoms he asks to have at CGR. I doubt Hendrick would offer him that extra time on track in a car that isn't his own.

DiBenedetto has the best shot of making strides in his own career right now. Going to the 48 a season later would be a sideways shift at best. HMS still has work to do in order to regain their former glory. I believe they are getting there, but I don't see why DiBenedetto would move over before they've even reached their heyday or before even giving this alliance with Penske a fair shake. He will do better than Menard did, and perhaps match (if not beat) Ryan Blaney's past accomplishments in the 21.
 
Pick the highest average finisher of 5 or 6 of the highest profile pro late and super late model races of the year, do this every year for the same seat in the car.

No more buying rides, no more cup seats for grand kids - nieces -nephews etc, no more children of hardware store owners etc

Give the fans a true blue collar hero
 
Bigpaulie1979 said:
No more buying rides, no more cup seats for grand kids - nieces -nephews etc, no more children of hardware store owners etc

Give the fans a true blue collar hero
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As nice as that sounds, the team still need to pick someone who can attract sponsors and be the spokesperson for the brand, because they are. Talent is just a small equation of getting a ride in Cup, the other is money.
 
It's pretty unrealistic to think that all of a sudden a magic wand waves and boom a rich kid gets a cup ride. Almost all of them no matter what their economic state have been working at driving race cars every since they could walk. If a fan is looking for a blue collar driver(s) they shouldn't have to look very far. All 4 in the final race came from humble beginnings.
 
StandOnIt said:
It's pretty unrealistic to think that all of a sudden a magic wand waves and boom a rich kid gets a cup ride. Almost all of them no matter what their economic state have been working at driving race cars every since they could walk. If a fan is looking for a blue collar driver(they) shouldn't have to look very far. All 4 in the final race came from humble beginnings.
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I think the fans who want a "blue collar driver" are looking for the next Dale Sr.
 
AuzGrams said:
Depends how long the Menards sponsorship / support lasts.
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I think it will be good for a few years. Don't forget Menard's is a sponsor
of Team Penske and supports WB's as part of their deal. That can change as far as WB goes but they will remain a part of Team Penske due to the business dealings with Roger Penske.
 
I still don't understand why everyone is on the Larson bandwagon. IMO he will never be a top 5 driver in any car. Last year he was still trying to drive like he was on dirt. Some people just can't cross the line back and forth like Tony used to. Tony was a lousy driver in the summer hot months.
 
SpeedPagan said:
I think the fans who want a "blue collar driver" are looking for the next Dale Sr.
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Yeah but. Sr's dad raced, made a living at it until he passed, so Sr had car(s) tools and know how many other drivers didn't have..see how ridiculous this gets with just what constitutes a blue collar driver? Yeah for sure there are some with silvers spoons, but by the same token almost all of them have to have talent besides to get into any of Nascar's top series.
 
SpeedPagan said:
I'm surprised no one asked Jeff Gordon about all of this. Doesn't he still own half of the 48 car?
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They have. Jeff basically said they are focused on getting Jimmie back to victory lane, and not thinking about who will replace him yet. Although I'm sure they are already discussing it internally, even if they don't plan on having formal talks with any potential replacement until several weeks into 2020.

I believe Jeff is still part owner of the 48, and will definitely have a say in the next driver. He's a big part of HMS and I'm sure his input will be a huge factor in Rick's decision. I think Ally will be on board with whoever Rick/Jeff/Jimmie endorse.
 
Team Penske said:
I still don't understand why everyone is on the Larson bandwagon. IMO he will never be a top 5 driver in any car. Last year he was still trying to drive like he was on dirt. Some people just can't cross the line back and forth like Tony used to. Tony was a lousy driver in the summer hot months.
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There are 40 cars. They can't all have top 5 drivers in them, and top 5 drivers are rarely interested in moving, especially not to a top 15 car.
 
Team Penske said:
I still don't understand why everyone is on the Larson bandwagon. IMO he will never be a top 5 driver in any car. Last year he was still trying to drive like he was on dirt. Some people just can't cross the line back and forth like Tony used to. Tony was a lousy driver in the summer hot months.
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My memory might be wrong but Tony was usually quiet until the summer months hit. I remember him saying he liked the tracks hot and slick
 
StandOnIt said:
Yeah but. Sr's dad raced, made a living at it until he passed, so Sr had car(s) tools and know how many other drivers didn't have..see how ridiculous this gets with just what constitutes a blue collar driver? Yeah for sure there are some with silvers spoons, but by the same token almost all of them have to have talent besides to get into any of Nascar's top series.
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The whole idea of how blue collar Dale Sr was amuses me. You’re right he had his dad to sort of pave the way as an entry into the sport and Dale took it from there. But the whole idea of “blue collar” like what blue collar person you know had enough land to hunt and live on, own a Busch Series team, own multiple Cup entries, own a Chevy Dealership, a Lear jet and have a yacht that is almost big enough to be a small cruise ship like Sr had? Sr made a lot of money capitalizing off the idea of “blue collar” driver.
 
Team Penske said:
I still don't understand why everyone is on the Larson bandwagon. IMO he will never be a top 5 driver in any car. Last year he was still trying to drive like he was on dirt. Some people just can't cross the line back and forth like Tony used to. Tony was a lousy driver in the summer hot months.
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That's funny because I always remember "Tony heats up when the weather heats up"

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wi_racefan said:
That's funny because I always remember "Tony heats up when the weather heats up"

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This is so true, glad I wasn’t the only one to remember. I always thought Smoke was tough in June, July, August and September. Seems like he always won that August Watkins Glen race
 
wi_racefan said:
That's funny because I always remember "Tony heats up when the weather heats up"

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I never followed the schedule however I'll bet some on here is smart enough to follow a schedule and see when Tony did most of his winning.
 
Team Penske said:
I never followed the schedule however I'll bet some on here is smart enough to follow a schedule and see when Tony did most of his winning.
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I may have got one number off at some point since I came up a win short and just threw it where I thought it went but this is the breakdown.
Feburary-0
March-3
April-1
May-2
June-8
July-9
August-7
September-5
October- 8
November-6
 
kkfan91 said:
I may have got one number off at some point since I came up a win short and just threw it where I thought it went but this is the breakdown.
Feburary-0
March-3
April-1
May-2
June-8
July-9
August-7
September-5
October- 8
November-6
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Thanks for the info. Looks like my memory reversed the facts and Tony did
do most of his winning in the hot months. Sucks getting old.
 
Team Penske said:
I still don't understand why everyone is on the Larson bandwagon. IMO he will never be a top 5 driver in any car. Last year he was still trying to drive like he was on dirt. Some people just can't cross the line back and forth like Tony used to. Tony was a lousy driver in the summer hot months.
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What? Tony was notorious for picking it up in the summer. 2005?

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jaqua19 said:
What? Tony was notorious for picking it up in the summer. 2005?

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24 of his 49 wins came in June, July and August. That leaves 7 other months for the other 25. Lousy in the summer for sure!
 
DiBenedetto is interesting if the speed in the 21 isn't close to what Blaney had or if the sponsorship becomes questionable, then I could see him jumping ship for the opportunity. It is the Hendrick 48 car after all.

Erik I'm not sure if he fits HMS well or not, but he is stuck in an impossible situation behind 3 hall-of-fame driver's with an incoming goldenboy pressuring his development years. I think he will need a multi-win year with a deep run into the playoffs for Gibbs to try to re-sign him.
 
Turtle84 said:
DiBenedetto is interesting if the speed in the 21 isn't close to what Blaney had or if the sponsorship becomes questionable, then I could see him jumping ship for the opportunity. It is the Hendrick 48 car after all.

Erik I'm not sure if he fits HMS well or not, but he is stuck in an impossible situation behind 3 hall-of-fame driver's with an incoming goldenboy pressuring his development years. I think he will need a multi-win year with a deep run into the playoffs for Gibbs to try to re-sign him.
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Gees, he hasn't done squat yet in the 21 yet and he had better do so. I sure as hell wouldn't consider him in the 48 unless he does something. But he does fit the PR of Hendrick so that's one plus, but you have to be able to drive better than what they have now,and they have a pretty stout bunch as it is.
 
StandOnIt said:
Gees, he hasn't done squat yet in the 21 yet and he had better do so. I sure as hell wouldn't consider him in the 48 unless he does something. But he does fit the PR of Hendrick so that's one plus, but you have to be able to drive better than what they have now,and they have a pretty stout bunch as it is.
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Umm he's shown plenty of skill in inferior equipment already. What I'm saying is, it's more about him finding the right car and team that will maximize his potential at this point.
 
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. You could sort of say the same thing about the Jones boy. The only difference there is that you get the feeling he is just a seat holder until Bell gets called home to the mothership. If Jones feels unappreciated at TRD/Gibbs, he may be willing to explore greener pastures.
 
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. You could sort of say the same thing about the Jones boy. The only difference there is that you get the feeling he is just a seat holder until Bell gets called home to the mothership. If Jones feels unappreciated at TRD/Gibbs, he may be willing to explore greener pastures.
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Until then he is family.
 
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