If you were Rick Hendrick, would you fire Casey Mears or even Kyle Busch if you could hire Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to drive one of your Cup cars, especially if he brought Budweiser along for the ride?
(Note: My answer is a definitive "HELL YES". I think it is a no-brainer. I just want to see what all of the Jr. fans and Hendrick fans have to say.)
(PS: I know, I know, but before all you flamers lose sight of the question by pointing out that I got the Punk Brothers mixed up, I will just say that it is partially Anhauser Busch's fault. I really would like to see what folks think about Jr. driving for one of the most powerful NASCAR teams out there.)
2007-05-11 16:16:00 · 29 answers · asked by OldSchool 3 in Sports ➔ Auto Racing ➔ NASCAR
NO HE WILL DRIVE THE 24 BUD CAR NEXT YEAR GORDONS OUT AFTER THIS YEAR HIS WIFE IS MAKING HIM RETIRE TO BE A DAD
2007-05-11 18:47:42 · answer #1 · answered by gregs111 6 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Fire Busch. I mean they all have great frienships but I think that Casey Mears would have to stay but then again he is kind of knew and they could kick him out but then again he signed a new contract and that would get messy and Gordon has a lifetime contract and so does Johnson right about now and Kyle Busch's contract may be coming due here soon and he hasn't won and I think Budweiser would look cool on the #5 or #25 car and get rid of Kyle Busch please because he is such a bad driver and seriously he doens't even race like a teammate but I think that would be weird to see JR. race for Hendrick because of the Jr. and Gordon type of hate/love rival thing. I would lvoe to see how Jr. fans react though. That would cool.
2007-05-15 11:29:51 · answer #2 · answered by coolliz2444 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hell no, for Jr. I really don't think so because his driving is not all that great. Two wins in the last 2 years. He brings in a lot of $$$ to Budweiser, but Hendricks team doesn't need him. They got Jeff, Jimmie, Kyle and I would keep Mears. To the person who said fire #24 needs a reality check. When Jr wins a race or even a championship, then maybe he can be called a great race but until than Jr fans, you can kiss my !@$
2007-05-15 04:23:01 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You didn't mix up the Busch brothers and if I were Hendricks I wouldn't fire either of them for Jr. Kyle is a better driver than Dale, and Casey is not there to compete, he is there to share information with the other teams, that's the only reason guys like him Riggs, and McMurray have jobs. The teams use their testing sessions, etc. to benefit the other teams in their stable. Hendricks has two of the best in Jeff and Jimmie, and Kyle is soon to be, Dale has raced forever and is how old? like 32 or something, Kyle is much younger. And what has Dale done in his career? Not much, the guy had a legend for a father and that's about the extent of his greatness as a driver. I guess he might consider dumpin Mears and gettin an older loser to help the other teams, in that case, then Junior's the guy.
2007-05-12 04:06:47 · answer #4 · answered by Not a bubble gum chevy fan 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If it were up to me I would fire Casey Mears. The only way I would let Kyle go is if there was a team, like DEI, Evernham, or Robert Yates Racing willing to pay his contract and then some. I think Casey is an average driver. However, as a Hendrick fan I would not want Jr. in that #25. I would move the whole #5 team to the #25. The #25 team has really gone downhill since Ricky Hendrick died in the Hendrick plane crash. If you put Jr. in the #5 with Tony Eury Jr. and Tony Eury Sr. there, they'll have a great shot to win over the next several years.
2007-05-12 04:06:10 · answer #5 · answered by SteboSTC 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I know Rick Hendrick has history with Rick Mears but from a business standpoint I think you would have to get rid of Casey. I Don't think that will happen because Jr would be the 3rd or 4th team at HMS, but I would welcome him. I think he'd probably get better results than Kyle even though Shrub has more driving ability. Jr seems to have more patience than Kyle and I think with great equipment and a good team Jr could bring it to the finish line more consistently than the 5 car (right now). Kyle does have enough potential to where you'd want to hold onto him for awhile and let him develop as a driver. I like the 48 team and think that they could all work together effectively and be able to share good information with each other. Jeff, Jimmie and Jr drafting together at the superspeedways would be pretty formidable.
2007-05-12 03:40:22 · answer #6 · answered by Tregosteevo 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mears would be gone in a heartbeat. The first race back I would go with the same paint sceam that was on the 25 car back when Budweiser first came aboard with Hendrick.
Joe N. showed that car could run when he was driving it before Vickers got in it.
The only issue here would be, how do you control all the egos of Jeff, Jimmie, Kyle and Jr? It may to much even for a powerhouse like Hendrick.
It's really going to be fun on how all this unfolds.
2007-05-11 16:27:30 · answer #7 · answered by Slam The Wall 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
From a personal aspect, I'd get rid of Kyle.
But, if I were really in Rick Hendrick's shoes, I would not. Rick has complete faith in Casey Mears. Rick originally wanted to hire Casey, not Brian Vickers. But, Ricky' chose to move his driver (BV) up from the Busch series. And, whether you like him or not, Kyle Busch can drive as race car (although he seems to suffer from Tony Stewart's problem by letting his temper get the best of him at times). I think Rick has a very strong line-up with his current roster. If the 25 didn't get wrecked with-in the first 10 laps of every race, they'd be up front, too. They have been good at rallying back for semi-decent finished with a wrecked car.
Plus, Jr may be more trouble than he's worth. Not from a personal stand point or a driving ability stand point, but because all of the attention and commitments he has.
I think Jr will most likely end up at JGR because RCR will be too much of a distraction. Plus, he is adamant about driving the 3 when he is finishing his career.
2007-05-11 17:43:29 · answer #8 · answered by jaynarie 6 · 1⤊ 3⤋
As loyal of a person as Rick Hendrick is, it's hard to imagine him getting rid of Busch or Mears because Dale Jr. is now a free agent. But at the same time, Mr. Hendrick is an extremely smart business man and he may have to set his personal feelings aside and let his business experience take over. Not only is Junior the most popular driver, the sponsorship that he brings is phenomenal just like all of the Hendrick sponsorships. HMS would be Junior's best chance to win races and that championship. Not to mention, Budweiser used to sponsor that #25 car right before Junior got it.
2007-05-11 17:26:06 · answer #9 · answered by bubastiss 3 · 3⤊ 2⤋
no rick hendricks doesnt operate like that you cant get rid of your new drivers right after you hire them hendricks is in for the long run i believe there are ways to get around the 4 car rule if hendricks and earnhart came to an agreement they would find away like a sattelite team maybe ginn racing or jr motorsports with hendricks as a silent partner i think that would be best with his sister handleing the buissness side
go #24 drive for five
2007-05-12 00:42:50 · answer #10 · answered by simone219 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Hendrick doesn't want Jr, well, maybe as a novelty act or something.
HMS is about drivers with REAL talent, oh sure Jr can sell more T-shirts than anybody else, but that will only get you so far.
Besides little Jr has to be the Star of a team and if he goes to HMS he'll be 4th in line, 3rd at best and his fragile ego couldn't handle that.
He'll go to RCR, then after a couple of years of blaming Richard for him not winning a Championship. He'll go back to DEI and run it into the ground, like Kyle Petty did with Petty Enterprises
2007-05-11 19:58:01 · answer #11 · answered by scrachy24 3 · 2⤊ 2⤋