Should J.Gordon shut up about J. Villieuve after Dega?

Question

All the crap Gordon made about JV's first cup race being at Dega and that is was no place to start your first cup race as a rookie.If I'm not mistaken,didn't Gordon make his debut at Atlanta(the 2nd or 3rd fastest track on the circuit)?I didn't see anyone give him any static about being a rookie, and I'm sure he didn't qualify 6th like JV,or for that matter during the pace laps pull out and go to the back so he wouldn't be a factor in case or even cause a problem.JV finished 21st in his 1st race at Dega, and where did Gordon finish his frist race as a rookie?So my advise to Gordon is to shut the F**K UP, and race.

Answer 1

Every driver in the Chase ran their mouths about Jacque. .It's not a place to get your feet wet. Stock cars are not those piece of crap F1 cars. They handle different. Villneuve has never driven stock cars so his chances of effing up is pretty big.

Answer 2

Jeff Gordon said that he has alot of respect for the guy starting to go towards the back and just logging laps and gaining respect for the other drivers that he will have to race against at Daytona in February. I think that he did the right thing but having concerns as it is Talladega and no one wanted to see a rookie take out any of the Chase drivers, and Talladega is not the best place to start at. They did it with Gilliland last year and I still think that he should have been in the Busch Series longer before moving to the Cup series. Atlanta is still a very different speedway but it has some of the same types of characteristics, and Gordon said that Atlanta is more like Daytona in the fact that the car has to handle good in order to be successful there. Yes, Gordon made his Cup Debut there in November of 1992, as this was Richard Petty's last race. The rules have changed since Gordon made his debut, as Gordon this year wasnt trying to get the pole as qualifying doesnt matter, as he proved that by winning the race and qualifying 45th and then starting in the mid 30s. The top 35 rule wasnt in effect when Gordon started out racing, as this is somewhat a new rule. That was a smart move for JV to go to the back and that was mentioned by numerous drivers including Gordon. If I remember correctly at Atlanta you dont draft and I believe Gordon had something wrong with his car at Atlanta that caused him to finish poorly and Gordon started out in the Busch series, and JV just came over here from a completely different series. This isnt F1 or even IRL for that matter and NASCAR uses completely different driving styles, cars, and different technology, and the tracks are way different. So I think he along with other drivers had the right to be concerned as veterans.

Answer 3

Jeff Gordon just Tony Stewart or any other driver has the right to voice [not whine] their concern on matters that might cause harm to the themselves as well as the rest of the drivers.

Plus, Dega is a Plate race where even the worst of the worst drivers get caught up in the pack and one bad move can and usually does cause "The Big One".

Therefore, the only one I see whining is the person who asked this ridiculous question. I guess you're new to NASCAR eh? Otherwise you wouldn't have asked such a question.

Answer 4

First of all, Gordon's first Cup race at Atlanta was before the track was reconfigured. It used to be a true oval, not a quad oval and speeds werent nearly as fast back then. Secondly, Gordon spent two years racing stock cars in the Busch series before moving up to Cup, and had raced on both Daytona and Talladega before. JV's start on Sunday was not only his first in Cup, but only his 3rd NASCAR start ever. I completely agree with both Jeff and the many other drivers who voiced their concerns as a driver should have a real feel for these cars before trying to race in the draft.

As far as qualifying 6th, Talladega was an impound race so all of the teams outside the top 35 had qualifying setups in the car the make the race. The teams locked in the show had race setups, which are designed to run in the draft not by themselves, because they couldnt make any changes after qualifying with the cars being impounded. Why do you think cars like the 55, 44, 83, and 22 all started up front? Its because they had the quicker qual. setups to have a better chance of making the show.

Finally, JVs decision to go to the back of the pack before the start was a classy move and it showed a tremendous amount of respect to the veterens, especially to the guys in the chase. But I still cannot blame the drivers for being concerned. Just because he didnt cause a problem doesnt mean it was a good idea.

Answer 5

A couple of things. Atlanta, even though speeds there do reach around 200 mph, does not have the kind of racing that takes place on a restrictor plate. You don't have cars that close together for long periods of time except at Talladega and Daytona. Plus this was the first race with the COT at a track bigger than a mile and a third and that in itself was a big question mark. Gordon wasn't the only driver to voice concern over a driver that has little experience in stock cars competing in a race in which one small error could take out over half the field.

Answer 6

I preface this by saying I am NOT a big Gordon fan. That being said, Talledega is NOT the place for ANYONE to run their first stock car race. The only place that might be worse is Daytona. Too much tight racing, and especially during a chase race, not the place for a newbie to stock car racing, no matter how much formula one experience he has.

Answer 7

Gordon might be afraid someone will steal his glory. He is a good driver but so are others. Remember when he first started to race? He wasn't perfect. Acutally i beleive that he lies alot. Like he did Sat. saying he was almost out of gas. He will do any thing for a win. The Chase is on and lots of luck to Clint Bowyer. You go!

Answer 8

Sorry but I agreed with Gordon 100%. The difference here is that Jeff came up to the cup races through the proper ranks if you will.

We've said it before you expect American college football players to move up to the NFL, but you don't expect an Aussie rugby player to make a jump into the NFL. It's the same kind of contact sport but it is diffrent.

Same here, yes Jacques is a race car driver, but this is a diffrent breed of racing and Dega is rough and tough as it is for seasoned veterans and it's just not the right place to start out in. I will say I was surprisingly impressed that Villeneuve laid low and gave the Chasers the room they needed to do their thing. And he earned alot of points with me for that. I hope he keeps that respect. I think he's been unfairly judged based on Juan Problem Montoya. Myself included.

Answer 9

Gordon has more of a right to an opinion than you do. It's his job. When you are at work , don't you voice your opinion about current happenings with your co-workers. With your advice to Gordon, it seems like you would be the type to do the exact same thing, exept I think Gordon has a little tighter grip on the situation. As far as Gordon "shutting up" I think he will get used to the new guy without going ballistic.

Answer 10

I'm sure the drivers that were pissing and moaning about Jacques, now have alittle more respect for him...This driver is a thinking driver, he use to carry his laptop around with him at tracks and document every move, styles about drivers, I'm sure he has every cup driver in his computer..This guy drives smart, I was living in Europe when he was in F1. His only problem in F1 was his mouth, and he was a brat...I just hope he and JPM don't get into one of their war of words... He is a very determined guy who tries his best to succeed in everything that he does...He did the correct thing by going to the back, he just needs more track time.. I'm sure Jeff will be just fine, until Jacques beats him someday in a race..

Answer 11

You act like Gordon was the only one to speak out against what JV was doing by debuting @ Talladega. Stop being a hater.. This ? would be fine if you referred to ALL THE OTHER DRIVERS that criticized this too.