Comments on: Stick With What Got You There

By: Timnothhelfer

Timnothhelfer — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 00:56:22 +0000

The chase is contrived competition and drama….as desperate as swapping crews or coaches.
The real drama and changes will come with the next TV contract as the groves of money trees die en mass……PANIC and betrayal.

By: Stephen_P83

Stephen_P83 — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 17:59:11 +0000

George, I halfway agree with you this time. I don’t think it’s ever acceptable for a driver to blame his crew for any sort of failure in a race. That sort of thing seriously bothers me and I’m annoyed to hear that someone changed an entire crew. I don’t see the point in doing that.

What I do believe is acceptable is swapping out a single crew member at a time. Especially during the chase when the other teams are locked out of a win anyway. For example, if I’m a team owner and one of my two cars is placed 2nd in standings and the other is 12th, I want to put my effort onto the car with a chance of winning the championship. Let’s say car two had a front tire changer who is .5 seconds faster on average always. I would have no problem with an individual swap then because at the end of the day both crews are part of my team. If Dario wins the championship, it’s a title for the Target Chip Gannassi team. Racing is a team sport, but I see the team as the whole team not the individual car. If it’s down to the wire and only one car has a chance to win, it’s better for the team to put your effort into the car that can give the team a championship.

By: Ron Ford

Ron Ford — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 17:25:11 +0000

Sean, I don’t follow Nascar closely so your post was interesting to me, but my favorite part was “copasetic dude”.

By: JohnMc

JohnMc — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 17:14:06 +0000

It is a team sport and that was what Al Unser told me when I asked him about his fourth Indy 500 win. Team Sport. So, if Harvick were to win the Cup Championship, who gets the crew rings? Everyone? I think if I were the original crew I wouldn’t wear it.

By the way, George, I haven’t subscribed to the Tennessean in years and I don’t miss it.

By: Sean

Sean — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 16:11:16 +0000

Switching pit crews and/or crew chiefs is definitely more of a NASCAR phenomenon than in any other form of racing. Every few years, Richard Childress and Jack Roush switch either their pit crews or crew chiefs or usually both sometime mid-season when their teams are struggling to try to revitalize them. In my opinion, it rarely works, as teams really go up and down based on the quality of their cars more than the subtle differences in the quality of their crews. This is really more about Kevin Harvick being an egomaniac and whining about his pit crew not being fast enough. Clint Bowyer is a more copasetic dude and he gets along with anybody for the most part, so really it’s Bowyer who is being hurt by this if anyone… At least it’s better than when a few years ago Denny Hamlin had his pit crew completely fired because they made a mistake (but it was okay for him to make some really stupid driving errors at about the same time). The most notorious pit crew trade was that at Dale Earnhardt, Inc. as they started their downfall before Junior’s departure. His team members went to Michael Waltrip’s team and vice versa; both teams started their descent into suck that eventually resulted in Junior leaving for Hendrick and sucking even more. For the most part, Rick Hendrick and Joe Gibbs haven’t taken to this strategy of swapping team members around haphazardly, which may be part of the reason why they consistently remain the top two teams in recent years…

By: Ron Ford

Ron Ford — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:21:46 +0000

Color me old fashioned George, but like you I enjoy sittin’ around the ol’ wood stove reading the morning newspaper. No pop-ups, no Bing. The paper also comes in handy for swatting mosquitos or admonishing the dog who will snatch my breakfast quicker than a Penske pit stop. What’s not to like?

After that ritual I will read the Crimson Cast interview that you are so shamelessly plugging. (I suppose next you’ll get an agent)

Regarding the tin-top news, I also believe in what they say down there in the hoots and hollers of Tennessee…………..”Dance with the girl what brung ya”. In the unlikely event that Harvick should win the chase, it should make for a very awkward celebration.