Filed under: Carl Edwards, David Reutimann, Jeff Gordon, Sprint Cup, NASCAR
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Filed under: Jamie McMurray, Sprint Cup, NASCAR
Filed under: Jamie McMurray, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Sprint Cup, Indianapolis 500, NASCAR
Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Darlington Raceway, Sprint Cup
Bass Pro Shops and Kasey Kahne don’t seemingly have a lot in common, but with the season now in full swing the two are about to have a very similar decision to make: do they stay where they’re at or look for greener pastures elsewhere.
It’s well known Kahne and Bass Pro are in contract years, and given the tension they’ve had with their respective organizations in the past their futures might seem clear; but with recent success and transition both could make surprise moves.
For Bass Pro the transition from DEI to EGR was less than a happy one. It was quite apparent last year that they weren’t putting much into their long standing deal. Even worse, when Martin Truex Jr. left, EGR had to do a lot of convincing to get the company to sign off on Jamie McMurray.
In just a matter of a couple of months though Bass Pro went from skepticism of their new driver, to celebrating with him in victory lane at the Daytona 500. As a sponsor do you stick with the current iteration of a team you’ve been with for years or go elsewhere? Arguably McMurray isn’t the best representative of the company, but if he continues to perform is there any reason for them to move on?
For Kasey Kahne the decision to leave Richard Petty Motorsports is equally murky. He joined Evernham Motorsports in 2004 and in that time racked up 11 wins, including two last year. Since 2004 though, the organization has gone through two mergers and all but lost Ray Evernham’s guidance.
In September, Kahne was among those publicly and privately questioning who was in charge at RPM.
“There are not a lot of answers out there right now. I don’t know if it’s because we’re in the middle of a lot of things, we just don’t have a person in that position. I think Robbie Loomis is supposedly going to be that guy, but I don’t think that he is yet. Is it Foster? You can’t get anything out of Foster. So it’s hard to say who that is, and I think that’s because we’re in a lot of different things right now. But when you’re in things, you still need to keep your team and your guys, your company behind you knowing what’s going on, and we don’t have that. Hopefully, we’ll get it soon. The sooner we get that, the better everybody will be.”
Since that time though Kahne seems like a guy much happier with and much more sure of his situation. That said as one of the sport’s most popular and talented drivers, does he stick with a team that needs him more than he needs them? If Kahne enters free agency he’s sure to be the hottest driver on the market. He’ll likely be able to write his own ticket.
Certainly continued success is going to be important for all parties involved to consider staying where they’re at, but if that does happen is there a reason to move on? And how much success do Kahne and McMurray need to have?
No matter what happens from here on out, I think both have to consider the options available to them. Either one may choose to stay where they’re at, but with plenty of teams looking for sponsors and the likelihood of any number of available seats, Kahne and Bass Pro would be crazy to not see who’s interested.
So what do you think? Will Kahne and Bass Pro stay put? What will it take for their respective teams to keep them? If they do move on where do you think they’ll they go?
Filed under: Jamie McMurray, Daytona Int'l Speedway, Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing
First, before I get into the meat of this post, I want to congratulate Jamie McMurray and his Earnhardt Ganassi crew. Jamie drove his butt off and the team did a heck of a job to bring home the 2010 Daytona 500.
Now, after tonight’s race I got to thinking about what it means for the season to win the Daytona 500. After doing a little research, I’m wondering if winning the 500 might be becoming a bit of a, dare I say, curse?
I went back and looked at the seasons for the previous ten Daytona 500 winners. They winners are, in chronological order: Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Michael Waltrip, Ward Burton, Michael Waltrip, and Dale Jarrett. This list stretches back to the 2000 season.
Over the previous ten seasons, only once has a driver that won the 500 gone on to win that season’s championship (Johnson, ‘06). And since 2000, only four times has a driver that won the 500 gone on to a top ten points finish. Two drivers, Burton and Waltrip, finished outside the top 20 in points.
Winning the 500 hasn’t meant that the particular driver hasn’t had success, as many have gone on to win many more races (see Dale Jr, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson). But it certainly hasn’t boded well for any championship hopes.
If you’ll remember last season, Kenseth jumped out early and won the 500 and again the next weekend at California. His team then began a 34 week slide that would see them miss the Chase and finish 14th in the points.
In 2008, Ryan Newman won the season opener, and then failed to reach victory lane again. He finished 17th in the points that year, and hasn’t won a race since. The ‘08 season would also be the last straw for Newman at long time home Penske Racing, as he moved on to Stewart-Haas for 2009.
Going back to 2007, Kevin Harvick was the Daytona 500 winner, and he too has not won a points paying race since.
Looking over the stats, I’m not sure we can quite call this a curse just yet, but the numbers don’t lie. Daytona 500 winners have not fared well following their big win.
I also think this brings up an interesting question, and it’s one in which I’d like to get some feedback from you on. If you could only pick one, would you rather win the Daytona 500 or a Sprint Cup Championship? Let that roll around, and let me know your thoughts.
Well the race took a long time to decide a winner. Between the red flags for fixing pot holes and the wrecks it was still a great race. NASCAR has made the right call replacing the green/white/checkered finish. Congrats to Jamie McMurray for running a great race and Dale Earnhardt Jr coming from nowhere to finish second.
It was a great finish between Dale Jr and Jamie.
Jamie McMurray Wins the Daytona 500 : AwesomeWreckage.com ~ Nascar Fan Forum