Well Dale Jr. is off to a great start with his new team!

Junior takes the bud shootout!

http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/...dtjr/index.html

that was a great race and it is nice to see Jr back in victory lane!!!!

Car was fast. Needed a good push to get out front a couple times, but once it was out there it was hard to catch.

JR has enough class that he will not mention Teresa and the split, but inside he is most likley flipping her the bird.

The rest of the Hendric team is most likley going to give JR the respect his is due.

Great race and lets hope this will be JR's break out year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1


The, Governor / Dan Logan

i dont think ive seen him so happy..he look a hundred time happier then he was at dei...that was a great race between my 2 driver jr and smoke

I agree with everything everyone said. We thought maybe it was Teresa on the cell phone in victory lane and they were sharing the moment. I'm sure she is very proud and happy for him.

It concerned me though that his team-mate's BACKUP cars were just as fast as his though...But not too much...It's a new team and we don't generally expect such an awesome start from a new team. I think Dale DROVE that car to the win...I honestly don't think it was as fast as other cars, but he wanted it and he refused to lose just like his dad always did.

I DID like the C.O.T. racing at Daytona. Very competitive.



Mike

Those backup cars have seen the track though. But how many are going to use that car to run the 500? Let alone the motor.

With the new car having so many “template” parts that are NASCAR approved I don’t think there is as much of a difference from a team’s number one car to a backup car. There’s just not that much “massaging” you can do to the car so they are not setup dependent. As even further proof the car that Jimmie was in was a former short track car (raced at Darlington if I remember correctly). That never could have happened with the old cars as they were built for specific tracks, not to a single standard like now.

I was already betting my money on Dale this year. It looks like I am off to a good start!

To add to the Governor's post,

I note that the DEI cars did not fare well in the Shootout.

have a good day,

schinde

Be careful all you Jr. fans, it is awful early to be handing him the Cup already.

He still has a lot to prove. When given the equipment, he has always been good in restrictor plate racing. I'm waiting to see how he does when they race FOR REAL, and not just run around like a parade.

Someone has to be the devil's advocate here.

Ed does that mean I should tear down my altar? Juuuuuuuniiiuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrre!

I'd say JR will deliver FOUR more wins this year (hopefully more). Richmond, Texas, another restrictor plate track, and I think he will win at a track he has not done well at before like California or Michigan.

Juuuuuuuiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnouuuuurrrrrrrrr!! I have always liked little E since the busch series, and was disappointed with his cup career until NOW!! Boy can he drive a racecar! (well, he always could, you'll see what i mean in a minute, keep reading...) The COT has enabled the crew/crew chief to put the car back into the driver's hands, and its mostly up to them to make somehting of the car period, not mostly rely on their crew and the "car" so to speak, don't get me wrong, it helps that the car is good, and your crew is handling adjustments and pitstops well, I just think we're really going to see the men weeded out from the boys. the real DRIVERS will step up inspite of the money or sponsorship status'.

why not hand him the cup right now, I know its not realistic, but he proved that he isn't just Dale Sr's boy, he is Dale Earnhardt (with a happenstance Jr at the end) if you know what I mean, he is his own driver in his own right. I guess this just makes that fact clearer to those who speculate. Besides, it would be great for jr to win his first championship in his first season away from DEI, I think it will help him break away from his father's shadow a little bit more...jmo...

thanks guys,
TRG

I agree. He's definately developed his own unique style (We've seen him run lines at places where no-one even tries to follow), and IMO..He has earned his own name already... Daddy didn't do it all for him, That's what was great about him(Sr.)...Those kids all shared a racecar at the start and EARNED their way up from there....

Mike

Why not hand him the Cup right now, BECAUSE HE HASN'T EARNED IT!!! Not even close!!! Let see if he can even make the Chase, let alone the Championship. He hasn't proven a thing yet this season, besides he can still win an occasional PARADE (Restrictor plate) race. No huge accomplishment there. I do speculate, because there is NO proof that he will be anything like his Father was. And putting that monocur on him only makes it harder for him to try and do it.

There are 43 or more guys out there on a weekly basis that have just as much a chance as he does. It's a long time, 26 races, before we will know if he is even good enough to get into the Chase, and the rest of the races aren't all PARADE races either.

Not a hater, just a realist, and devil's advocate.

I agree with you 10 fold.

I agree this is a great start for lil E, but there is a long road ahead of him yet. Not even this first year. What if yes he does come out wth gun blazing? Then next year comes, can he keep it up every year? I think he is very capable of doing so.

This is my take on it.

No junior is not the best driver in NASCAR, but he is defiantly far from the worst. He will defiantly have a better year then last year, any driver would that went from team X to Hendrick.

I do think the one thing this year will prove is that NASCAR has gotten to where the equipment is more important then the driver. After all that is the only real change for Junior this year, he’s the same driver and same crew chief with new equipment.

Doubters.

Hah.

have a good day,

schinde

jr jr jr jr jr jr 88 88 88 88 88 88. he will go for the 1 2 3 at daytona and do it.

Sorry Ed...

You can't call it a parade anymore.

I LOVE the C.O.T.

Like I said all along when everyone said how much they hated the C.O.T.....It's not how they look, it's how they race!
They are RACING again at Daytona...YeeeeHaaaaa!!!!


Mike

He will also pick up the Busch race win along with the 500.

I don't doubt he'll be in the Chase this year at all. I'm sure he'll even win a couple of races. Too bad I won't dedicate much time to watching this year as I've done in past years. I used to have withdrawl symptoms when there was no cup racing on, now I don't care so much. I'm sure I'll watch the 500, Bristol and Martinsville races but anymore than that I'll probably be fishing every Sunday when the weather is good and at a short track when those Saturday night cup races occur.

Anyone want to place any predictions on who has a better year between Kyle Busch and Junior?

Sorry Mike,

Yes I can, and I do.

The C.O.T. isn't the problem that causes PARADE races, it is that damn restrictor plate. IT is STILL A PARADE, and will be until they get rid of that thing.

They are still all bunched together.

One driver cannot pull away from the others, because he is faster, or has the better set up, like every other race they race (except Talladega).

They will still have the BIG ONE on Sunday, caused by restrictor plate racing.

I personally have no problem with the COT, like most others. My problem lies where it has for a long, long time. Restrictor plate racing.

Congrats to Junior, still has the same amount of points that Matt Schindewolf has right now, zero. I want to see how he does in the REAL races.

Gotta give you that one Ed,

You are definitely right.

I'm just kind of feeling that he has less on his mind now, and can concentrate more on his actual racing, than on the other issues that he had last year, including failing motors at bad times.

Jr. has been a successful racer in his own right, and even if he doesn't go all the way, he nonetheless will be able to redeem himself in many eyes.

So, let us wait and see.

I do have to say though, that I would not mind at all seeing Kenny Schrader or Kyle Petty win this one, especially Kyle. Just feel some kinship with him for some reason or another.

have a good day,

schinde

I saw a lot of passes made with no drafting help.

They have made a huge improvement...

Also, isn't the restrictor plate a lot bigger now with the COT?

Mike

I'am a Junior fan but i agree with Big Ed Daytona means very little he's the best plate driver in Nascar and this year he has help it's what happens at the rest of the tracks that will tell the real story

im biased because im a junior fan, all you "realists", will see he is no joke. .. he finally has the equipment he asked his step mother to provide. i predict he will make the chase and be a force all season. there will be alot of drivers you dont normally see up front this season. the C.O.T. has put the car in the drivers hands now. as for the "parade" must be a wide ass parade. i dont know about you i was on the edge of my seat for most of the shootout, and the duels werent as exciting but they were good too. i dont know how ya' couldnt like two and three wide racing for laps at a time???? i love watching daytona and talladega



the plate is bigger .. its like a .64 of an inch .. they say it equals about 50hp