2015 NASCAR Thread - And then there was 1

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jahgee
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GTPorsche
Please be Ricky Stenhouse.

Edit: Looking at the driver/team charts, he's the only one that stands out as fitting into this kind of scenario. The others that are new (<3 years) to their teams aren't doing anything substantially bad (Ku. Busch, Edwards, Kenseth, Newman, Danica, Truex Jr.) to the point that their teams would want them gone.
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Patrick's not substantially bad? I don't know if I'm just living in a parallel universe, but what I see is terrible results after terrible results while teammates Harvick and Busch are running up front almost all the time. Consistency is good, I get it, but I doubt "consistency" means barely scrapping top 20's in a team like SHR.
 
Yeah, Brickyard races have never been the most exciting.

Now a wider multi-groove track like Michigan might be better.
 
RVDNuT374
Get your pillows ready now, everybody's favorite aero package returns with no improvements: http://nascartalk.nbcsports.com/2015/08/11/brad-keselowski-heat-exhaustion-parts-failures-major-concerns-at-michigan-with-return-of-high-drag-package/?utm_network=facebook&utm_post=4060533&utm_source=FB - NBC Sports&utm_tags=srm[nascar,article]
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In theory, I saw this rules package being a disaster at Indy (which it was) but more fitting for a place like Michigan. On second thought, I'm less certain about cars being able to slingshot one another.
Ganon83
I've heard that a driver new to his team (Joined sometime over the past 3 years) will be leaving at the end of the season in spite of having a multi-year deal to stay. The owner is tired of them and wants to replace them with a free agent with Cup experience. The only tip I can say is that it's NOT Kasey Kahne.
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Ganon83
Pocono was "The last straw"
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Ganon83
Nobody has even said the name of the guy yet, by the way.
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Since you said Pocono and someone already mentioned Stenhouse, I'll go with Sam Hornish Jr.
 
outlaw4rc
Since you said Pocono and someone already mentioned Stenhouse, I'll go with Sam Hornish Jr.
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I see your Sam Hornish Jr. and I'll raise you a Brian Vickers. (then again this could be more small team nonsense and we all could just be gossipping idiots :dunce:)
 
AMPMROCKETFANN
I see your Sam Hornish Jr. and I'll raise you a Brian Vickers. (then again this could be more small team nonsense and we all could just be gossipping idiots :dunce:)
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Isn't he more or less a moot point though given he seems to have a health issue that's seems uncurable?
 
I will honestly be surprised if its not Stenhouse. He fits the description right on.
 
Jack must evidently care more about having his cars go for tri-wrecktas than he does care about going for wins these days.
 
I see y'all don't know what a smiley face means. Let me make it a bit easier:
It's a former IRL and Indy 500 champion
 
Ganon83
I see y'all don't know what a smiley face means. Let me make it a bit easier:
It's a former IRL and Indy 500 champion
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I figured that the smiley meant that it was Hornish.
 
Supposedly Petty didn't want Hornish to begin with, he hired him as a favor to Penske, who they started an alliance with this year.
Once you know that and compare Sam's performance to his teammate Almirola, it isn't that surprising.
 
That's kind of a shame if its true, I think. 9 car until recently has had more performance issues than just Hornish.

It's starting to make me think though, who was the last Xfinity call-up to find success? I may be forgetting someone, but it seems like a lot of drivers from the past few years haven't worked out in cup.

It's actually making me think the Xfinity series is even MORE unhealthy than I already thought.
 
revolt015
That's kind of a shame if its true, I think. 9 car until recently has had more performance issues than just Hornish.

It's starting to make me think though, who was the last Xfinity call-up to find success? I may be forgetting someone, but it seems like a lot of drivers from the past few years haven't worked out in cup.

It's actually making me think the Xfinity series is even MORE unhealthy than I already thought.
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In 2014, Ambrose had a 19.99 average finish and finished 23rd in points.
Hornish has averaged a 24.7 average and is currently 25th in points after being in the late 20s for most of the season.
Just to compare, Almirola had a 21.4 average last year and a 18.5 this year, same points postion (16th)
 
That's a shame about Hornish if true. Petty had high praise for him last year when Sam was announced the new driver of the #9 car.

"Sam is a really good fit for RPM and will be a great addition to the team," Petty said in a statement. "He's a family man who fits well with our core values and he will be a great ambassador for our partners. Sam's also proven that he can win races and compete for a championship. He came into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with a steep learning curve from open wheel racing, but has shown in the Nationwide Series that he is a winner. We feel that he can get the No. 9 team to Victory Lane and compete in 'The Chase' for us."
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I think it is a bit unfair to compare Hornish performance this year to Ambrose & Almirola's performance last year.
 
Ganon83
In 2014, Ambrose had a 19.99 average finish and finished 23rd in points.
Hornish has averaged a 24.7 average and is currently 25th in points after being in the late 20s for most of the season.
Just to compare, Almirola had a 21.4 average last year and a 18.5 this year, same points postion (16th)
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Well, to explain my "9 car had more issues" thing, I never really thought all that much of Blickensderfer as a crew chief. I honestly believe he was holding that team back the years he was with Ambrose.

To that end, Hornish seemed to start performing somewhat better after the crew chief change, but he still isn't really competing with Almirola, you're right.
 
TBH it's Sam's 1st season in Cup since 2008. I think it would be fair to give him another season to show something. My opinion though.
 
I was surprised when Sam got the ride in the first place considering he really hasn't amounted to much since making the switch from IndyCar.

revolt015
It's starting to make me think though, who was the last Xfinity call-up to find success? I may be forgetting someone, but it seems like a lot of drivers from the past few years haven't worked out in cup.

It's actually making me think the Xfinity series is even MORE unhealthy than I already thought.
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I don't think the problem is with the driver talent in the Xfinity series, it's the lack of top rides in the Cup series. Pretty much, the drivers in the Xfinity series right now are all about 5 years too early as that is probably when the current crop of top drivers will start retiring.
 
Michelin
TBH it's Sam's 1st season in Cup since 2008. I think it would be fair to give him another season to show something. My opinion though.
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He had been racing Xfinity/Nationwide in the time between so it's not like he's jumped in to the deep end.
 
GTPorsche
He had been racing Xfinity/Nationwide in the time between so it's not like he's jumped in to the deep end.
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Yeah, but at the same time cars changed (new gen, less downforce, less HP car) so it's like his new to the series, right?
 
He also had 20 starts in 2012 for Penske and those cars weren't much different from the current ones.
 

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