Jeff Gordon to retire from full time competition after 2015 season

[Chewbaccer]

How's it going? Have a good holiday season and New Year?

Yeah, no complaints. My raise kicked in New Years day, so I'm liking that.

Just got back from a classic car auction in Florida a couple hours ago.

You been ok?

 

[4down20]

Gordon is top 5 all time, but he's not close to the best.

Earnhardt, Petty, Pearson and JJ all rank ahead of Gordon IMO. Yarborough could be argued, but I wouldn't be the one to make the argument.

Petty is the most over-rated driver in Nascar history. The only reason he won as many races as he did is because he was the first driver to get manufacture support.

I personally can't stand the entire family.

 

[Chewbaccer]

Petty is the most over-rated driver in Nascar history. The only reason he won as many races as he did is because he was the first driver to get manufacture support.

I personally can't stand the entire family.

I can't stand Kyle Petty. Richard was before my time, so I really don't have an opinion on him, other than I think Earnhardt was better than him.

 

[4down20]

Jeff Gordon isn't doing anything towards Nascar after he retires except be an owner of a race team, which is 99% on paper.

I'm betting you'll rarely see him at the track.

 

[Win TWINS!!!]

Yeah, no complaints. My raise kicked in New Years day, so I'm liking that.

Just got back from a classic car auction in Florida a couple hours ago.

You been ok?

I have... just busy as heck is all. Only raises I get come from selling more.

 

[Chewbaccer]

I have... just busy as heck is all. Only raises I get come from selling more.

Good to be at the top though.

 

[Bandwagonbo2]

Jeff Gordon isn't doing anything towards Nascar after he retires except be an owner of a race team, which is 99% on paper.

I'm betting you'll rarely see him at the track.

Disagree completely. He is a partial owner of Hendrick Motorsports and is an integral part of Jimmies team. He will be a mentor to Chase Elliott next season in the 24 car(if they allow him to drive that number).

He will be at the track a good bit, especially the first few years but as time goes along he will take more time off and be less hands on.

My inside sources tell me that HMS is going to be a platform for some of the Chevy R&D that is going on for new engines and cars and Gordon is going to be a part of the development(along with Ray Evernham) on some of the ideas for the new developments going forward. Evernham already is the caretaker for Hendricks vast car collection and is still a part of the HMS family, so having him and Gordon together on the Chevy R&D project is a natural, seeing as that team brought Hendrick his biggest fame for years.

 

[4down20]

Disagree completely. He is a partial owner of Hendrick Motorsports and is an integral part of Jimmies team. He will be a mentor to Chase Elliott next season in the 24 car(if they allow him to drive that number).

He will be at the track a good bit, especially the first few years but as time goes along he will take more time off and be less hands on.

My inside sources tell me that HMS is going to be a platform for some of the Chevy R&D that is going on for new engines and cars and Gordon is going to be a part of the development(along with Ray Evernham) on some of the ideas for the new developments going forward. Evernham already is the caretaker for Hendricks vast car collection and is still a part of the HMS family, so having him and Gordon together on the Chevy R&D project is a natural, seeing as that team brought Hendrick his biggest fame for years.

We'll see.

He is a partial owner in name mostly. There are rules that limit the number of teams an owner can actually own, so they put the other teams in other peoples names in order to bypass the rule. So he owns Jimmies team, but I don't think of it as being the same way as Hendricks owns things.

I'm sure Jeff gets money back and has a partnership with the team stuff, but I'd be surprised if he took more of a hands on approach. I guess maybe he could be on Jimmies hauler from time to time.

It's always seemed to me like when it wasn't about racing directly he was often times gone. I just figure he'd be looking to spend more time with his wife and kids.

 

[wildturkey]

Petty is the most over-rated driver in Nascar history. The only reason he won as many races as he did is because he was the first driver to get manufacture support.

I personally can't stand the entire family.

There's a good chunk of truth to this. Not only was he one of literally a handful that got support, he also ran a shit ton of races compared to the guys that might have a car close in quality. That's why I think its wise to separate NASCAR into two distinct groups. The "modern" era (1980-to present) and the past (everything pre 1980). Because everything pre-1980 is difficult to draw comparisons because there are so many different rules packages, sanctioned races, team quality (ie 90% of the teams running out of a junk yard garage) etc etc.

FWIW, I think Pearson is the best of the "past" guys with Petty 2nd. When ran full time, he won. But he only ran full time like 3 seasons. Everything else was just partial schedule yet he still managed to get 100 victories.

For Modern era, I have it Gordon, Earnhardt, JJ in that order. Gordon's 93 victories (and counting) trumps Senior for me. The Chase bullshit muddles things because had NASCAR decided to score its points over a full season instead of the circus side show they have now, Gordon would likely have 7 championships (same as Earnhardt) so that's why the victories gives the nod over him. Also, Gordon was a lot more competitive in his later years than Earnhardt. Senior had brief resurgence the year before his death but before that, he struggled quite a bit (for him at least). As for JJ, yeah, I'm penalizing him because of the Chase. Don't blame me, blame NASCAR. Those championships just don't equate a season long championship by their very definition. No matter how you slice it its still a 10 race season. But his 60+ victories, average finish, and still being able to win the championship (bullshit system or not) are all worth merit. I'm also docking him because he's only won with one crew chief, the genius Chad Knaus. That counts imo. Gordon and Earnhardt won with multiple crew chiefs, proving without a shadow of a doubt they had the talent. I'm not saying JJ isn't good, but there's still the question of how much is him and how much is Knaus giving him a damn perfect car. And really, JJ's only 3rd right now imo because of time. If he races another 5 years at the pace he's on, he'll pass both the 3 and 24.

 

[Chewbaccer]

There's a good chunk of truth to this. Not only was he one of literally a handful that got support, he also ran a shit ton of races compared to the guys that might have a car close in quality. That's why I think its wise to separate NASCAR into two distinct groups. The "modern" era (1980-to present) and the past (everything pre 1980). Because everything pre-1980 is difficult to draw comparisons because there are so many different rules packages, sanctioned races, team quality (ie 90% of the teams running out of a junk yard garage) etc etc.

FWIW, I think Pearson is the best of the "past" guys with Petty 2nd. When ran full time, he won. But he only ran full time like 3 seasons. Everything else was just partial schedule yet he still managed to get 100 victories.

For Modern era, I have it Gordon, Earnhardt, JJ in that order. Gordon's 93 victories (and counting) trumps Senior for me. The Chase bullshit muddles things because had NASCAR decided to score its points over a full season instead of the circus side show they have now, Gordon would likely have 7 championships (same as Earnhardt) so that's why the victories gives the nod over him. Also, Gordon was a lot more competitive in his later years than Earnhardt. Senior had brief resurgence the year before his death but before that, he struggled quite a bit (for him at least). As for JJ, yeah, I'm penalizing him because of the Chase. Don't blame me, blame NASCAR. Those championships just don't equate a season long championship by their very definition. No matter how you slice it its still a 10 race season. But his 60+ victories, average finish, and still being able to win the championship (bullshit system or not) are all worth merit. I'm also docking him because he's only won with one crew chief, the genius Chad Knaus. That counts imo. Gordon and Earnhardt won with multiple crew chiefs, proving without a shadow of a doubt they had the talent. I'm not saying JJ isn't good, but there's still the question of how much is him and how much is Knaus giving him a damn perfect car. And really, JJ's only 3rd right now imo because of time. If he races another 5 years at the pace he's on, he'll pass both the 3 and 24.

You give Dale Sr top equipment and he has over 100 wins and 12 championships. Who else has done anything with Childress equipment? Yeah, Harvick won 20 something races in 13 years, but then look what he did his first year under Stewart-Haas? Should have won at least 4 more races than he did. Who else? Clint Bowyers 5 wins? Jeff Burton's 4? Paul Menard's 1? Robby Gordon's 3? Ricky Rudd's 3?

Bottom line is Earnhardt made RCR, not the other way around. Earnhardt is the most skilled driver behind the wheel NASCAR has ever seen, and that's not close to being debatable.

Let me know when Gordon has 7 championships. And don't bring up the Chase. The drivers are all well aware of what it takes to win a championship every year. Gordon couldn't deliver during the Chase and that is that. He didn't do what he needed to do to win a championship.

Earnhardt>Gordon.

I'd love to see Gordon get turned into the grass in Charlotte and not only save the car, but maintain the lead.

 

[Chewbaccer]

Drivers who have won for Rick Hendrick:

Casey Mears, Joe Nemechek, Jerry Nadeau, Brian Vickers, Ken Schrader, and a mid 50's Mark Martin. Yeah, let me know when Jeff Gordon wins a race without the best equipment in the business.

 

[Chewbaccer]

Post 1980, the top 5 is:

Dale Earnhardt Sr
Jimmie Johnson
Jeff Gordon
Tony Stewart
Darrell Waltrip

The pre 1980 top 5 is:

Richard Petty
David Pearson
Cale Yarborough
Ned Jarrett
Tim Flock

 

[wildturkey]

You give Dale Sr top equipment and he has over 100 wins and 12 championships. Who else has done anything with Childress equipment? Yeah, Harvick won 20 something races in 13 years, but then look what he did his first year under Stewart-Haas? Should have won at least 4 more races than he did. Who else? Clint Bowyers 5 wins? Jeff Burton's 4? Paul Menard's 1? Robby Gordon's 3? Ricky Rudd's 3?

Bottom line is Earnhardt made RCR, not the other way around. Earnhardt is the most skilled driver behind the wheel NASCAR has ever seen, and that's not close to being debatable.

Let me know when Gordon has 7 championships. And don't bring up the Chase. The drivers are all well aware of what it takes to win a championship every year. Gordon couldn't deliver during the Chase and that is that. He didn't do what he needed to do to win a championship.

Earnhardt>Gordon.

I'd love to see Gordon get turned into the grass in Charlotte and not only save the car, but maintain the lead.

That a stupid thing to say. Childress has very good stuff. Your hatred of Gordon just makes you irrational

 

[pitman]

Good for Gordon, he has had a great career, and now has little kids to spend his time with. He can race a few big races a year to curve the itch. I was never a big fan of his, but have-to respect him.

 

[Chewbaccer]

That a stupid thing to say. Childress has very good stuff. Your hatred of Gordon just makes you irrational

Then why has no one other than Earnhardt won a significant amount of races? Harvick won a handful, but then look what happened when he got behind the wheel for SHR using Hendrick equipment.

 

[wildturkey]

Then why has no one other than Earnhardt won a significant amount of races? Harvick won a handful, but then look what happened when he got behind the wheel for SHR using Hendrick equipment.

It's still a stupid thing to say. Nothing wrong with RCR's stuff. Harvick contended for titles in it, he just never got it done (a good part was he was too damn hotheaded and spent so much time bitching at his pit crew). It's not like he got in Hendrick leased equipment and went from Carl Long level talent to Jimmie Johnson. It's cool if you're an Earnhardt fan and supporting your guy, but you're dreaming if you think RCR's stuff is/was some low rate also ran that held Senior back. Big E wasn't dumb. Even though he loved Childress like a brother, he'd also go elsewhere if he felt he needed better stuff.