[vincesanity82]

Seven-time champion Richard Petty says two contenders from the same team isn't good for NASCAR. "It's too cut-and-dried," Petty says. "You've got no competition, and that don't get it done (for) the general public. If it's hard for y'all to write about, it's tough for the fans to get excited about it, too. If one of these drivers happened to have been (an) Earnhardt, it might be different. When you get Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, they're the same. They've just got different names." -- USA Today

Johnson follows mentor Gordon on track to title - USATODAY.com

[NASCAR Gnome]

I have to agree with the King. It's like an all-East Coast or all-West Coast Superbowl or World Series. Those matchups are great for the region but the rest of the country tunes out because they aren't geographically involved. When teammates like the Hendrick boys are dominating as much like they are, it offers no alternative so if you are a Ford or Dodge fan, you're out of luck... likewise if you follow Roush or Penske or Ganassi or DEI or any other team, you're left out twiddling your thumbs because you don't really care who wins! Let's not even talk about the fans of the drivers themselves!

For what it's worth though, what I do like about this whole Chase is the fact that going into the LAST RACE, a champion has not yet been determined! The fact that it's going down to the wire is probably the best scenario NASCAR had hoped for and the fact that it's an all-Hendricks show, well, that probably was not exactly what they wanted to see!

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by vincesanity82

Seven-time champion Richard Petty says two contenders from the same team isn't good for NASCAR. "It's too cut-and-dried," Petty says. "You've got no competition, and that don't get it done (for) the general public. If it's hard for y'all to write about, it's tough for the fans to get excited about it, too. If one of these drivers happened to have been (an) Earnhardt, it might be different. When you get Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, they're the same. They've just got different names." -- USA Today

Johnson follows mentor Gordon on track to title - USATODAY.com

When you have two guys going for a multi-million dollar title and when interviewed, the worst thing one can say about the other is, "He's a day person and I'm a night person." ...


B-O-R-I-N-G

[jehumphreys]

Petty is an idiot. Multi-car teams have been around for some time. Just because JJ and JG aren't the most popular, folks get bent when they win. Maybe some of the other teams like Petty Enterprises should spend more time focusing on their programs. What will happen next year when Hendrick cars end up 1,2,3...? Maybe NASCAR will have to make a new rule regarding winning teammates.

[jks812]

Originally Posted by jehumphreys

Petty is an idiot. Multi-car teams have been around for some time. Just because JJ and JG aren't the most popular, folks get bent when they win. Maybe some of the other teams like Petty Enterprises should spend more time focusing on their programs. What will happen next year when Hendrick cars end up 1,2,3...? Maybe NASCAR will have to make a new rule regarding winning teammates.

For one thing Petty is not an idiot. He wasn't condemning multi car teams. Just sayng how boring it was to watch 2 cars from the same team go after the championship. I happen to agree with him. Since both was from the same team, they neither one raced the other to hard.

[disco stu]

For me, what this point is really about is the fact that "characters" are becoming fewer and fewer.

JJ and JG seem to me to be like two ultra-professional, ultra-dedicated, ultra-mature competitors.

They know how to behave on and off the track.

In other words......a bit on the boring side!!!

I think this has pretty much happened in every sport these days.

Interesting to note, I thought, that one of the "Top 4 memories of 2007" offered for the viewing public to vote on was the Watkins Glen spat between Montoya and Harvick!!!

Which "memory" won btw?

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by disco stu

For me, what this point is really about is the fact that "characters" are becoming fewer and fewer.

JJ and JG seem to me to be like two ultra-professional, ultra-dedicated, ultra-mature competitors.

They know how to behave on and off the track.

In other words......a bit on the boring side!!!

I think this has pretty much happened in every sport these days.

Interesting to note, I thought, that one of the "Top 4 memories of 2007" offered for the viewing public to vote on was the Watkins Glen spat between Montoya and Harvick!!!

Which "memory" won btw?

Dale Jr. to HMS by a wide margin. 71% I think.

[jks812]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

Dale Jr. to HMS by a wide margin. 71% I think.

Kinda sad when with everything that happened this year the so called biggest memory was of a driver going to another team.

[jehumphreys]

I see...Petty just doesn't like the boring Hendrick team (based on his comment about JG & JJ). I'll bet if you asked Gordon if he was "easy" on JJ, he may have a different opinion. I guess Petty just can't remember how boring it was to watch him win week in and week out primarily because most did not have the money nor sponsors to keep up.

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by jks812

Kinda sad when with everything that happened this year the so called biggest memory was of a driver going to another team.

Well this was a high profile driver in a battle with his step mother for some control over his future with his fathers company. The other note of interest is/was that the movement of drivers to other teams generally happens toward the end of the year. This entire story started very early in the season.

I hope all this hype about Jr. proves him a real winner. If not both sides will appear to have egg on their faces.

[jehumphreys]

It was sad to see Jr. have so many dnf's. It's gotta be discouraging for a guy who is, in the public eye, supposed to live up to the name but can't do to circumstances beyond his control. I don't think he'll have the equipment issues next year so I bet he gets back on track...literally.

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by jehumphreys

It was sad to see Jr. have so many dnf's. It's gotta be discouraging for a guy who is, in the public eye, supposed to live up to the name but can't do to circumstances beyond his control. I don't think he'll have the equipment issues next year so I bet he gets back on track...literally.

Just keep in mind that not all engine issues are due to mechanical failures. Jr. has admitted to over revving engines before.

[wingkey1]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

Just keep in mind that not all engine issues are due to mechanical failures. Jr. has admitted to over revving engines before.

Know we're driftin' a little bit here, but --- in addition to the very valid point you make above Jr., from years of "scannering" him sounds/acts/presents himself as FAR, FAR less focused then ANY of the HMS drivers that will be his team mates next year. Were that not enough, whether Euery is on par with any of the other crew chiefs is suspect and will bear watching. A good deal of the Euery/Jr. communications are childish and lost (little agreement or tracking towards what to do) when compared to his new team mates. While he (Jr.) has said the right words around getting the opportunity to find out just what he has (by being with the top team), he is going to have to, as suggested by Theresa, figure out what he wants to dedicate himself to. Gonna be interesting.

[3fanforever]

Originally Posted by jehumphreys

Petty is an idiot.

I've never been a Richard Petty fan, but even I would never say that about him. In this case, he know's what he's talking about. And rather than retype it, I'll just repost what I said in another thread about this:

Originally Posted by 3fanforever

What is seriously lacking in NASCAR today is rivalries like we saw in the good old days, like Richard Petty vs the Allisons, or Richard Petty vs David Pearson, or Cale Yarborough vs the Allisons, or Dale Earnhardt vs Darrell Waltrip, or Darrell Waltrip vs Bobby Allison, or Ford vs Chevrolet.

Anytime an inkling of a rivalry starts today, NASCAR ends it with a trip to the trailer. The only rivalry these days has been by the fans, like DEI fans vs HMS fans, and Junior threw a wrench in that one by going to the dark side.

What makes the Chase between teammates like Gordon and Johnson so boring, is they like each other. They both have apartments in New York City. They hang out together. Gordon is half owner of the 48. There is no rivalry between the two. BORING!

I believe this is what Richard was talking about.

As for JJ and Gordon during yesterday's race, I don't care what any of the "experts" on TV or in the media said or say, or what Brian France thinks, there was never a fight for the championship. Both Gordon and Johnson never battled each other for anything and neither battled to win the race. All Gordon wanted to do was get a top 5 (he said so) and all Johnson wanted to do was keep Gordon in his sights (he said so). If this is Brian France's idea of a championship battle, then he's really in la-la land. My hope for next year, unlike what happened this year, is that whoever is in contention coming into the last race, the two drivers don't like each other, their fans don't like each other, their cars don't like each other, and they duke it out on the track for the win and the championship.

[Quality88]

3ff, that's another thing I have pointed out... there are no true rivalries.