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He
Said, She Said: No New News…
September 7, 2007
Everett Mugg and Debbi Willis - SCR
Toyota Snags JGR, Not to say, “I told you so,” but…:
He Said: You said you would have to see the headlines to buy into the “proposed change” as you put
it. Have you seen the headlines yet? My sources turned out to be right on this one. The worst kept secret of the year was
officially confirmed Wednesday by J.D. Gibbs; Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is changing manufacturers after the 2007 season. This
also confirms that NASCAR is not a sport but a business and like any other business it is all about the dollars. The following
is what J.D. Gibbs had to say:
“I think what I'd
like to say to start off is at JGR, we look at the landscape of our sport. It's really changed a lot over the past few
years. I think you see all the mergers, acquisitions, the partnerships, and really, I think what that says is how difficult
it is to run a business in this sport in this day and age.
“So, I first and
foremost want to say from our standpoint as you look around, I think we kind of figured out, we don't have any other outside
businesses. This is it.”
At a time when General
Motors (GM) is having financial difficulties, Toyota is having record sales. I think we will see GM scaling back on its racing
support as Ford and Dodge have already done. Toyota on the other hand is increasing
its interests in stock car racing. The move takes JGR out of the position of being one of the pack with GM to being the lead
dog with Toyota. It also gives Toyota
a real shot at a Championship.
How will it affect the
chances of Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin to win a championship this year remains to be seen. I think one can safely assume
that JGR will receive no more support of any consequence from GM, nor will JGR be passing on any info back to GM.
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She Said: Ok, ok, you told me so! I humbly bow in concession to this
announcement but still stand by the fact that I prefer to see the headlines before I’d speculate. At a time when everyone’s
jumping every which way, I just wanted to wait and hear it straight from the horse’s mouth. J.D. Gibbs says the decision
wasn’t even made until just this week, so I find it interesting everyone but he knew already what he was going to do.
I guess Kyle (Busch) has taught him who can’t keep a “secret” before he’s even part of the team!
As for how it affects
Stewart and Hamlin, I believe they’ll make the best of whatever they get but if they don’t get something to work
with, Toyota
will definitely know what “type A” personalities really are like! Toyota’s
President of Racing & Development, Jim Aust confirmed my source’s information that Toyota
builds the teams engines when he explained the following:
“Our Costa
Mesa operation is also a build operation. Currently we build the engines for Michael Waltrip Racing
and for Team Red Bull. So there are all sorts of occupations, if you will, that are a part of our operation.
“I think that the
engineering staff is really going to be the key to the overall input that we have and what we can share with Joe Gibbs Racing.”
That “overall input”
appears to be the key to Toyota’s influence. Considering JGR has usually
built their own engines and currently has a strong engine program, I’ll be very curious just how well this little merger
of talents will get along or is this JGR’s way of cutting out an extra expense in their operations? Repeatedly J.D.
Gibbs explained that he has no other businesses like the other teams’ owners do. (He just has a full-time job elsewhere
for part of the racing season.) So is this change more economical than competitive? My very strong guess is, yes.
Will this be effective? My
guess would be, no. Carting engines back and forth from Costa Mesa to the race shop will mean delays and not JGR personnel
learning what happened first hand in order to prevent it again. Therein lays the biggest difference dealing with Toyota
in my personal opinion.
Tony Eury Jr. Follows Dale Earnhardt Jr. to Hendrick Motorsports (HMS)
He Said: Again we have news that is new to no one. Do you suppose there is anyone sitting there in wide mouthed
astonishment saying, “Well golly I did not see that one coming?” You however expressed in an earlier column that
you felt that, while inevitable, it was a bad move for Dale Earnhardt Jr. I think that Eury will benefit from working at HMS,
and his addition will ease the transition for Earnhardt. He, (Eury Jr.), will have the support, knowledge and advice of a
Championship caliber team to lean on when he needs help. What did he have at Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI) after the death of
Dale Earnhardt?
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She Said: Actually I’m more disappointed than even remotely surprised,
as I actually I thought Hendrick’s had more sense than this. I will still stand on my belief that Eury Jr. is not the
crew chief for Dale Jr.’s championship hopes. I don’t doubt for a moment that Eury Jr. will benefit greatly
from this experience. I just don’t feel he’s the caliber of crew chief that deserves the opportunity and it’s
only by the good grace and loving support of his cousin that he will get this opportunity of a lifetime to benefit from. I
hope he thinks of this when he wants to refrain from sharing whatever changes he’s made to the car with his driver just
because he wanted to make changes. As for what did he have at DEI after the death of Dale Earnhardt? For the past 5 years,
he’s had his father, Tony Eury Sr. since he’s still very much alive and been quite able to share his wealth of
experiences.
Dale The Movie:
He Said: What did you think of the movie? As SCR’s resident expert on Dale Earnhardt, did you think they
captured the man, the myth and the legend? What did you think of the performance of the movie’s star, our own friend
and mentor, Bill Schee? Schee, known to NASCAR message board members across the world, was beset by paparazzi and adoring
fans shortly after the original airing. He had to resort to a fake beard and sunglasses to go to the convenience store that
night. Even I had to practically beg to get his press agent to pass my call through to him and he was only able to spare me
a brief interview, hanging up abruptly to take another call, (from the President I think but I can not confirm that.)
Seriously though, I thought
Bill did a good job in summing up what Earnhardt meant to race fans.
She Said: Resident expert on Dale Earnhardt? I’m flattered but
I know you jest! However, since you ask, I was privileged to see the very first showing of the movie back in February in Sarasota, Florida
when it was released in February. I thought it was incredible then and watching it again this week, I still feel the same.
And yes, our man, Bill did a wonderful job expressing what so many of Dale’s fans felt and still feel today.
Yes, seriously, I’m in
total agreement. There’s a hole in the heart of NASCAR where he used to be, and I doubt it’ll ever be filled in.
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Richmond, The End
He Said: Saturday night will see the end of Earnhardt Jr.’s chances for a Championship with DEI. While it
is possible for him to gain the points needed, it is highly unlikely. He will have to win and Harvick will have to finish
close to dead last for Jr. to make the chase. He has won at Richmond before but
it is doubtful that Harvick will tank.
Despite what some fans
think, sometimes NASCAR does something right. Richmond is the perfect place
for the last race leading into the chase. Short tracks are the heart and soul of stock car racing and what better place for
a driver desperate to make the chase to throw it all out on the line? Jr. will not be the only driver throwing it on the line.
Every one of the 12 chase drivers want another win for the bonus points, Toyota
is still looking for its first win in the series and every other driver just wants to win. With the exception of Harvick,
it benefits no driver to drive conservatively and “point race,” so Saturday Night’s race promises to be
a wild one.
She Said: I’m not a fan of the Chase. I’ve said it before
and will probably say it again and again, but it’s just not fair or right. Seasons run in cycles and having it cut off
at 26 races so an elite group can then “Chase the Cup” just seems unfair and nerve-wracking. With that said,
it’s here, and I’ll live with it because it’s all we have. But, I don’t like it.
I agree that most likely Richmond
will finally end the saga of Dale Earnhardt Jr. so we can finally get coverage on the other 42 drivers on the track doing
what they do that’s just like what Junior does- race! However, Earnhardt Jr. could make the Chase by the skin of his
teeth. He likes Richmond, and it’s been good to him in the past, so he could
win. For Junior to make the Chase, he’d have to WIN the race (possible), LEAD the most laps (possible), and Harvick
would have to finish worst than 33rd (unlikely but then anything’s possible with Harvick’s luck lately). So, you
see the very, very slim chance is there. Now, Harvick is also good at Richmond
and scraps with the best on short tracks however, this is the COT. So far this year, the COT is winning for costing Kevin
good finishes. And, if it’s not the COT, there’s always Montoya in the mix. So I’ll be holding my breath
most of Saturday night until I know Harvick is safely assured a finish higher than 33rd. Personally, I’m all for an
all out short-tracking good time at Richmond! Then we can get on with the nail-biting 10 race shootout for a second season
within the season.
Questions, Comments;
Email Everett
or
Email Debbi
The views and opinions in this article are that of the writer(s) and not necessarily that of SCR
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