Earnhardt, Jr.

[Claws]

ohhh ok .. I was thinking you ( one if the bigger nascar fans on this site) never heard of issac , because you listed him with jack smith. And to be honest ive never heard of jack smith lol.

lol

[Mayor Qumiby]

So here's a question...

After jrs contract is up (does anyone have any idea how long he's under contract?) and hendrick dosnt resign him what happens???

Do you think he brings his team into cup?

Or does he sign with another team, if so who?

I could see mwr as a plausable landing spot. I know how mikey is pretty close with Dale plus whereever he goes will increase that teams merchandise sales..

The only thing is that I dunno if jr would drive a camry.

Your thoughts?

[Bobby]

Childress.

His HMS deal runs through 2012, and Hendrick is a co-owner of JR Motorsports now.

[Claws]

So here's a question...

After jrs contract is up (does anyone have any idea how long he's under contract?) and hendrick dosnt resign him what happens???

Do you think he brings his team into cup?

Or does he sign with another team, if so who?

I could see mwr as a plausable landing spot. I know how mikey is pretty close with Dale plus whereever he goes will increase that teams merchandise sales..

The only thing is that I dunno if jr would drive a camry.

Your thoughts?

Those are interesting ideas to say the least. i'm not sure when his deal is up but if he doesn't start winning i don't see another owner just throwing money at him. I know i wouldn't if i were an owner. Only one off the top of my head who might just hand him a ride is Childress and we all know how come.

Kinda funny seeing Tony drive that Camry for that year and then damn buying his own company!! lol I dunno if Jr would drive for Toyota or not.

As for his own team, that's the most logical to me. I don't see him working well with anyone unless he's in charge. I like the guy, i really do, but i think he's got a pretty inflated sense of his skills. When it's been widely reported that 3 cars in HMS run similar setups and 1 doesn't and then JJ and JG flat say that Jr likes to do their own thing over there, that's not good.

I can't imagine Rick tolerating that much longer. I just don't see it. No amount of shirt sales can be worth Jr (18) wins telling two FOUR time CHAMPS that their setups ain't that good! haha

[Squirrel]

I dont see JR lasting past this season if he doesnt pick it up. I also dont see him going to Childress if Harvick leaves after this season he will need a real talented driver to take over the 29. I see it as this for next season.

Kahne to HMS

Harvick to Stewart-Haas

Jr JGR

RCR Denny Hamlin

[theyhateme45]

Who would Hendrick replace him with?? What type of contract did Brad K sign?? I would like to see him back with the team full time.

[Squirrel]

Who would Hendrick replace him with?? What type of contract did Brad K sign?? I would like to see him back with the team full time.

Kasey Kahne.

[Tweeder]

Those are interesting ideas to say the least. i'm not sure when his deal is up but if he doesn't start winning i don't see another owner just throwing money at him. I know i wouldn't if i were an owner. Only one off the top of my head who might just hand him a ride is Childress and we all know how come.

Kinda funny seeing Tony drive that Camry for that year and then damn buying his own company!! lol I dunno if Jr would drive for Toyota or not.

As for his own team, that's the most logical to me. I don't see him working well with anyone unless he's in charge. I like the guy, i really do, but i think he's got a pretty inflated sense of his skills. When it's been widely reported that 3 cars in HMS run similar setups and 1 doesn't and then JJ and JG flat say that Jr likes to do their own thing over there, that's not good.

I can't imagine Rick tolerating that much longer. I just don't see it. No amount of shirt sales can be worth Jr (18) wins telling two FOUR time CHAMPS that their setups ain't that good! haha

Eury Jr liked to do his own thing, hence the change in that position to somebody that is more "team" oriented, there is a reason why JR won 15 of 18 under Eury Sr and then went all to hell under Eury Jr......If JR keeps up the bad running then it will be proven that he is the one breaking/mishandling the equipment then no matter what he and Hendrick will go separate ways

[Claws]

Eury Jr liked to do his own thing, hence the change in that position to somebody that is more "team" oriented, there is a reason why JR won 15 of 18 under Eury Sr and then went all to hell under Eury Jr......If JR keeps up the bad running then it will be proven that he is the one breaking/mishandling the equipment then no matter what he and Hendrick will go separate ways

I agree with that for sure.

And I love the KK to HMS idea for sure from Squirrel. I think there's more to that than we know.

[Claws]

SI.com's Cory McCartney takes a spin around the racing world for the most intriguing stories in and out of the garage.

Green Flags

*We can't begin to imagine just how much it would mean to NASCAR to have Dale Earnhardt Jr. be relevant again. For CEO Brian France, who has called Junior "the franchise," it's a marketing dream, the sport's equivalent to when the Lakers and Celtics renewed their historic rivalry in the 2008 NBA Finals. The Crown Prince of NASCAR, he of the No. 4 ranking in Forbes' list of sports' biggest earners, being a force on the track instead of just the Most Popular Driver voting (he's won seven straight) leads to bigger attendance, high TV ratings, and ultimately, more advertising dollars.

But as much as watching Junior charge from 10th to second on the final green-white-checkered finish evoked a gutsy, reckless abandonment reserved for weaving your way through traffic in Grand Theft Auto, it shouldn't be enough to fully claim that Little E is back to his 2003-04 form. Overall, he had an unquestionably great Speedweeks, as he claimed the outside pole for the 500 and finished second in the race, but can we just leave it at that? The Daytona showing was clearly what Rick Hendrick wanted as he aligned the No. 88 team with Mark Martin's crew after a putrid '09 season and this is surely a confidence-builder, but saying Junior has signaled a turnaround after a restrictor-plate race, where he has 15 career top-fives and seven wins, is like watching four-time champ Jimmie Johnson's DNF in the opener and saying his season is officially over.

Along with America being swept up in Danicamania, there really isn't a more alluring storyline for the sport than having Dale Jr. in Victory Lane (which is a sad indictment of fans' feelings for J.J.'s dominance) ... but let's take a deep breath until after Fontana, where he has an average finish of 22.1, Las Vegas (17.8 average) and Atlanta (one top five in the last six races). If he's still running as well as he did at Daytona in four weeks, then it will be time to start supplying members of Junior Nation with paper bags to breathe into to control their convulsing. I'm buying.

* As long as we're on the topic of sweeping generalizations from Daytona, here's one: Jack Roush and Richard Petty had to have left Daytona Beach as two men exultant in their team's new marriage.

The sharing of technology between Roush Fenway Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports delivered Roush three top 10s with Greg Biffle (third), Matt Kenseth (eight) and Carl Edwards (ninth), not to mention David Ragan, who led two laps but finished 16th, meanwhile Petty's A.J. Allmendinger and Elliott Sadler combined to lead 20 laps, and Kasey Kahne won one of the Duels. It's a collective performance made all the more impressive when you consider teams weren't allowed to test at NASCAR tracks during the offseason.

As much as this was a boon for RPM, which has looked like a complete mess of late and could still lose the free-agent to be Kahne regardless of what happens this season, it's an even bigger boost for Roush Fenway. It won the first two races last year with Kenseth, only to fade as it found Victory Lane once more with a driver who's no longer on team in 500 winner Jamie McMurray. The intermediate tracks like Fontana, Las Vegas and Atlanta have been the bread and butter for Roush Fenway's teams and this alliance appears to have made RFR's big three all the more dangerous across the board. It's too early to say if Roush Fenway is ready to go head-to-head with Hendrick, but it's clearly a positive start.

Pit Stops

1: McMurray's career Cup wins away from restrictor-plate tracks

12: Average finish of Daytona 500 winner at Fontana since the race was moved up in the schedule

24.4: McMurray's average finish in his last seven races at Auto Club Speedway

Fontana Pick

Now that the Great American Event is in the books, it's time for our first true test of the 2010 season. The safe pick would be Johnson, who has won three of the last six trips to L.A. and has finished no worse than ninth in that span. But I'm going with Edwards, whose average finish of 6.6 in 10 starts at the track is second only to J.J.'s 5.8 In 11 starts, Edwards has 10 finishes of seventh or better, including a win in '08. For a driver badly in need of a return to Victory Lane after last season's debacle, Fontana is the perfect remedy.

Photo Finish

Before the Daytona 500, the title of Best Known Pothole clearly belonged to the one from the GEICO commercials with its feminine Southern twang and apologetic nature, but now that designation resides with the one that led to two red-flag delays that totaled 2 hours, 24 minutes. So how does the GEICO pothole feel about losing her crown? Luckily, she's all too willing to sound off on her cousin "Sue Ellen," stealing the spotlight and lets us in on the fact that the bane of the 500 has always "been a bit of a troublemaker."

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/cory_mccartney/02/18/racing-fan.jpg/index.html#ixzz0g0JOgjKY

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[Tweeder]

I agree with that for sure.

And I love the KK to HMS idea for sure from Squirrel. I think there's more to that than we know.

Well there is a reason why JR had little problems under the setup that Eury Sr gave him from 98-2004, then after Eury Jr he started qualifying horrible, setups were bad, and late race chances were garbage.....There was a rumor at a certain point that JR was purposely blowing engines because he was so frustrated of running poorly and bad setups. I am not trying to put all the blame on Eury Jr, because there has to be some kind of communication between driver and crew chief but Eury Jr and JR never really saw eye to eye from setups to late changes to the car all the way to football teams (Skins and the Cowboys)

[Claws]

Well there is a reason why JR had little problems under the setup that Eury Sr gave him from 98-2004, then after Eury Jr he started qualifying horrible, setups were bad, and late race chances were garbage.....There was a rumor at a certain point that JR was purposely blowing engines because he was so frustrated of running poorly and bad setups. I am not trying to put all the blame on Eury Jr, because there has to be some kind of communication between driver and crew chief but Eury Jr and JR never really saw eye to eye from setups to late changes to the car all the way to football teams (Skins and the Cowboys)

I'd heard some of that too about Jr blowing poo up on purpose. Although i wouldn't put anything past him. I mean, how trivial can it be when you're working on the Premier Circuit in racing to act like that?

I hadn't put too much thought into Sr vs Jr in the crew chief role but that makes a lotta sense. It was doing good until Jr took over the reins as CC and after that it went downhill. That's just the facts. I'd never noticed that.

Sooner or later though, Junebug has to accept some of the responsibility for running so poor. Setup or not, get in it and wheel it. His finishes the last couple seasons are terrible. Especially considering the equipment. I can't put all that on Eury Jr.

Even with a terrible car, bring it home 15th? That's not asking too much considering what you're working with.

[Mayor Qumiby]

I have a question about my fanasty team.... my line up was A)jpm, B1)brad keselowski, B2)JR, and C)allmindinger..... I had two of my drivers get top tens, jpm and jr but i was only given credit for 1 top ten..and jrs top 5 wasnt even credited...how come??

is it because of how i had my b drivers set up, should i have had jr as b1 and keselowski and b2?

[Happy Panther]

NASCAR needs Dale Earnhardt Jr, its most popular driver, to be successful in the worst way. I predict that he will magically (wink wink) be in the top five all year long....

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/news/story?id=4891496

Maybe this year