Johnson in same company as Petty/Earnhardt?

#29
#29
IMO, take Chad Knaus and make him CC for Dale Jr. and see Jr. start winning like JJ. Knaus is a great CC and communication is huge for any driver.
 
#31
#31
AirVol said:
IMO, take Chad Knaus and make him CC for Dale Jr. and see Jr. start winning like JJ. Knaus is a great CC and communication is huge for any driver.
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:lolabove: :lolabove: :lolabove: :lolabove: :lolabove:



Sorry, but that made me laugh. First, for that to work, the communication would have to go both ways. From what I have heard out of Jr. during a race, he doesn't know how to talk with the crew chief and tell him what is wrong with the car and how to fix it. And second, Hendrick has done alot to try to make the fans happy by moving people around to try to help Jr., but he will NEVER move Knaus over to that lost cause. They have tried different crew chiefs, different team members, different everything, with no better results. They took personnel from Martin's crew that helped him win five races last year and gave them to Jr., only to have it cripple Mark's team and give no change to Jr. He is in the best equipment out there with probably the best help money can buy, and he can't do anything with it. Face it, Jr. is out of excuses. But his fans will always find new ones for him.
 
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#33
#33
The biggest difference to me is that Dale, Richard and the guys of that era could turn a wrench. Most of today's drivers can't open the hood.
 
#35
#35
doozer said:
examples?
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its been said Jr's problem is that he can't tell them whats wrong with the car or how to fix it. hell i remember the days when some drivers got out of the car and helped the pit crew.
 
#36
#36
cd12 said:
The biggest difference to me is that Dale, Richard and the guys of that era could turn a wrench. Most of today's drivers can't open the hood.
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There might be fewer mechanically inclined drivers today, but most still started out working on their own stuff. Greg Biffle builds race cars in his spare time. Dale, Sr made Dale, Jr work on cars before he let him drive. The Busch Bros. worked on their cars early on. Mark Martin was a one man show in ASA. Robby Gordon and Jimmie Johnson started out in off road racing where part of the deal is fixing the car on course. Kenseth and Harvick are highly knowledgable. Clint Boyer and Reutimann worked on their Dad's cars and their own. I can go on, but these are just examples.
 
#37
#37
rbroyles said:
There might be fewer mechanically inclined drivers today, but most still started out working on their own stuff. Greg Biffle builds race cars in his spare time. Dale, Sr made Dale, Jr work on cars before he let him drive. The Busch Bros. worked on their cars early on. Mark Martin was a one man show in ASA. Robby Gordon and Jimmie Johnson started out in off road racing where part of the deal is fixing the car on course. Kenseth and Harvick are highly knowledgable. Clint Boyer and Reutimann worked on their Dad's cars and their own. I can go on, but these are just examples.
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Fine examples and I guess my post was extreme. What I meant was all the guys of days gone by worked on their cars especially in the "race what you brought" days. All these guys really have to do is climb in and race which is the biggest difference when comparing them. Do you see any Jr Johnsons,Bud Moores, Richard Childress, Dale Sr. etc who will go on to become sucessful car owners from the names you mentioned? Stewart maybe but I still view him as Hendrick Light right now. I thought Micheal Waltrip was on to something at first but beginning to have my doubts.
 
#39
#39
cd12 said:
its been said Jr's problem is that he can't tell them whats wrong with the car or how to fix it. hell i remember the days when some drivers got out of the car and helped the pit crew.
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Cars were a lot simpler then too. But anything that furthers the idea that Dale Jr. sucks is fine with me.
 
#40
#40
cd12 said:
Fine examples and I guess my post was extreme. What I meant was all the guys of days gone by worked on their cars especially in the "race what you brought" days. All these guys really have to do is climb in and race which is the biggest difference when comparing them. Do you see any Jr Johnsons,Bud Moores, Richard Childress, Dale Sr. etc who will go on to become sucessful car owners from the names you mentioned? Stewart maybe but I still view him as Hendrick Light right now. I thought Micheal Waltrip was on to something at first but beginning to have my doubts.
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Their job title is listed as 'driver'. Their job isn't to work on the car, it's to drive it. That's not their fault.
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#42
#42
doozer said:
Their job title is listed as 'driver'. Their job isn't to work on the car, it's to drive it. That's not their fault.
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Exactly right, however, would you agree that a driver who set up his own car in his formative days has an advantage when it comes to telling his crew chief what his car needs in adjustments both before the race and during.
 
#43
#43
rbroyles said:
Exactly right, however, would you agree that a driver who set up his own car in his formative days has an advantage when it comes to telling his crew chief what his car needs in adjustments both before the race and during.
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i think the biggest advantage is having spent their whole career in a stock car, or even still, a front engine car in general. nobody, with the exception of Tony Stewart, has been able to drive a stock car after coming from an open wheel car, in today's generation.

i don't think you can get to a level like NASCAR without having a strong working knowledge of you car.

i just don't think it can be held against today's driver that he doesn't work on his car. they can't possibility be expected to do both. cars are too advanced.
 
#44
#44
doozer said:
i think the biggest advantage is having spent their whole career in a stock car, or even still, a front engine car in general. nobody, with the exception of Tony Stewart, has been able to drive a stock car after coming from an open wheel car, in today's generation.
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I assume when you say open wheel you mean IRL or /F1. Otherwise I would rate Ryan Newman and Kasey Khane as being able to drive, and their experience was in Sprints and midgets. You don't consider Montoya able to drive?
 
#45
#45
rbroyles said:
I assume when you say open wheel you mean IRL or /F1. Otherwise I would rate Ryan Newman and Kasey Khane as being able to drive, and their experience was in Sprints and midgets. You don't consider Montoya able to drive?
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I don't even remember posting that last night. Had I been of sober mind, I wouldn't have left out Montoya. However, while he's has considerable success in NASCAR, its been nothing like his CART/IRL/F1 success. Still, of the recent open wheel drivers, he's been the best. Sam should be paying attention to Dario.

I also would have said rear engine open wheel drivers. In fact, I think that's why USAC drivers are probably better in NASCAR. The cars are similar so the way they're driven is similar.
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#46
#46
doozer said:
I don't even remember posting that last night. Had I been of sober mind, I wouldn't have left out Montoya. However, while he's has considerable success in NASCAR, its been nothing like his CART/IRL/F1 success. Still, of the recent open wheel drivers, he's been the best. Sam should be paying attention to Dario.

I also would have said rear engine open wheel drivers. In fact, I think that's why USAC drivers are probably better in NASCAR. The cars are similar so the way they're driven is similar.
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Hell I was sober, so I have no excuses.
 
#47
#47
rbroyles said:
Johnson isn't flashy or flamboyant like Busch, not as charismatic as Stewart or anybody for that matter. He just wins, and the 48 team is the best I've seen at race day adjustments and strategy. How many times do they fall deep in the pack only to end up in the top 3 or 5, or win? Yes the team has to be good, but Johnson is part of the team, and the driver has to have the ability to take the car from 20+ position to the front. I get tired of them winning too, but to try to ignore his ability because you don't like him is absurd.
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Some of this sounds like Rick Mears at Indy. Nobody made better adjustments through the race than Mears and his team. He wasn't flashy but was fast when it counted. I'll never forget Mi. Andretti passing him on the outside of turn one - the very definition of flashy from a flashy driver. Mears gave it right back the same way in the same turn and never looked back.
 
#48
#48
volinbham said:
Some of this sounds like Rick Mears at Indy. Nobody made better adjustments through the race than Mears and his team. He wasn't flashy but was fast when it counted. I'll never forget Mi. Andretti passing him on the outside of turn one - the very definition of flashy from a flashy driver. Mears gave it right back the same way in the same turn and never looked back.
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An excellent anallagy, I remember that race, and thinking at the time how Mears said "I can do that too" by the pass. I had the pleasure of meeting Mears at a test session at Mid-Ohio. He was friendly and gracious, unlike Bobby Unser who was at the same session.
 
#49
#49
Is this an Unser trait? heard Al, Bobby and Little Al were pretty much all unapproachable.
 
#50
#50
That was my first 500. I'll never forget that move on Michael. It was right in front of me.

Mears is a class act all the way around. Bobby Unser is the best driver ever. Just ask him. He'll tell you.
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