Dale Jr. Stealing the show from jimmie Johnson?

[20forLogano]

I hope Jimmy F does get away from the Ole Master.  Jimmy is much the same caliber as CK.  I hope when his contract is up at RF racing, Jimmy goes to a team at the Cup level and displays the talent he has. And wins another championship.  Just my two cents worth.

Fennig will retire from Roush after his daughter is out of college.

[Tyyrus]

I think Jr's biggest problem is not being able to drive the COT. There are plenty of other drivers in the same boat. For whatever reason, guys that used to be able to get it done on the track find themselves at a loss with the COT. JMHO.

 Shayne

I agree with your assessment Shayne ! Harvick , Kenseth , Burton , Biffle , Kane , the list goes on ! All were much more competitive prior to the  Cot ! Cousin Carl , Tony Stewart along with the Scrub are the exception other than the Hendrik Gang who have had better than average performance since the conception of the COT . I believe it has shown the Vast Superiority of Hendrik's Engineering and Technical Personnel who along with their Support Staff better prepare the Team and Drivers for Success on Track ! The Design and set up process is much different with the new car than previous. Also the changes are so much more subtle than before !  It would appear that crew chief and driver must be on the same page and that comunication is paramount to prevent chasing your tail on corrections .

[Halcyon53]

It could be that Jr. just wants to retire from racing and become a Cup, NW, and Truck owner. He would be very good at that, better than Tony. Companies would throw money at him as an owner. I bet in ten years he would rival Hendrick motorsports. He would have plenty of money to buy what's left of DEI from you know who. 

[OregonSHRFan]

It could be that Jr. just wants to retire from racing and become a Cup, NW, and Truck owner. He would be very good at that, better than Tony. Companies would throw money at him as an owner. I bet in ten years he would rival Hendrick motorsports. He would have plenty of money to buy what's left of DEI from you know who. 

Remember what Theresa said..... "Jr needs to decided if he wants to be a racecar driver or a celebrity". So far, he is showing us he wants to be a celebrity.
Do I think he has racing talent? You betcha. Like Shayne I believe his current performance has a lot to do with the COT; some of the guys have been able to get a feel for it while others are struggling. Jr is definitely struggling.
Jr needs to come into his own. I love Pops but really hope he doesn't get talked into CC position for Jr. Jr needs to put the past in its proper perspective. Move on, get on with the business of racing cars and winning.
As far as the "celebrity" issue.... I think his sister Kelley needs to kick his ass (she is the only one who seems to be able to yank his chain and get away with it) and make him focus on his racing and his racing alone. Leave the managing of the Nationwide Teams to someone else. Stop all this other nonsense of being a presenter at the CMA, hanging out with the buddies at Whisky River and whatever the hell else he is doing away from the track. Jr needs to start concentrating solely on HIS racing and improving it or he will end up a "never was".

[Halcyon53]

Well stated OregonSHRFan.

[scott b]

Very true about the distractions.  As time goes by, I see more and more parallels between Jr's careers and Kyle Petty's.

[OregonSHRFan]

Oh man, I hadn't thought about that, but you are right, parallel lives... or universes or....

[JayWayne]

Tony Gibson was only Jrs. crew chief when Tony Jr. left to go with HMS in late 2007 and When Tony Jr. got suspended for wing bolts in 2007. Some other guy was his Crew Chief and then Steve Hmiel became his crew chief late in 2005 only to be replaced buy Tony Jr. the final 10 races to get a jump on 2006