Was Junior's poor finish @ California his fault?

[CanuckFan420]

I'm a huge Junior fan and couldn't believe all the crap he took after the 500. Yes the wreck was his fault (which he admitted to on Sunday in an interview with DW), but was amazed at how people already had written off his 2009 season.

SO, after Sunday's poor finish at Auto Club Speedway, are there people out there who actually think that HE was to blame for the result?

My opinion... Junior started at the back and drove into the Top 15 and was likely making his way into the Top 10 before his engine gave out. You can look at this from every single angle, and in the end there is no way anyone can say that Junior was responsible for the poor finish. That lies on the shoulders of the engine shop and the crew chief to some extent. Junior did what he's supposed to do...drive to the front.

The big question is whether it's merely a coincidence that the #88 and #5, both from the same shop, had engine troubles, and the #24 and #48 did not?!

 

[Snoozer]

The big question is whether it's merely a coincidence that the #88 and #5, both from the same shop, had engine troubles, and the #24 and #48 did not?!

The engine broke. End of story. Nothing to see here. Just because it's Jr. Doesn't make a bit of difference.
I believe that the 24 & 48 share a shop as do the 88 & the 5. Thats how I heard it explained a few years ago, anyways. (The 88 was the 25 then)
So it stands to reason they'd have similar setups therefore similar problems.
I believe thats all there is to it.

 

[DexterMorgan]

If you believe what you hear about how Hendrick does their engines, then it is a coincidence that the 24/48 had no issues, and the 88/5 had problems.

 

[mghtx]

I've never been one to harp on Tony Jr., but I do think that Dale Jr. could benefit from a new crew chief. I just think there needs to be a shake-up.

And I think Jr. nation needs to start seriously considering that Jr. will not ever get that championship. Frankly, I don't see that fire in his eyes.

But it would be good for the sport. I'd much rather see that than see JJ win again.

 

[riskybzns]

I believe that the 24 & 48 share a shop as do the 88 & the 5.

you sir are, correct. which makes me wonder, does hendrick buy the same part from one manufacture for the 24/48 and buy the same exact part from a different manufacture for the 5/88.

honestly, that's how it looks to me. i can't imagine any owner, no matter how bad junior's stats are in the cup series (compares to lets say matt, jeff, jimmie, mark) passing him up. he is nascar's biggest star and you know he brings a ton of money to nascar/and his owner.

 

[DexterMorgan]

Hendrick does all their engines in a separate shop. Theyre randomly selected for every team. This was covered and documented last year at Pheonix when Jeff Gordon had an engine problem and Jimmie Johnson did not.

 

[Elwood]

And I think Jr. nation needs to start seriously considering that Jr. will not ever get that championship.

I agree, he is not his father - just like Michael Waltrip - but it's possible with the whole chase deal he could back into a championship.

 

[riskybzns]

Hendrick does all their engines in a separate shop.

ugh, didn't i say that in the above post above yours? you can still buy the same part from one company and and one part could be fine where as the other one is a defect.

 

[DexterMorgan]

ugh, didjnt i say that in the above post above yours. you can still buy the same part from one company and and one part could be fine where as the other one is a defect.

I dont beleive you did. Your implying that they buy the same parts from different manufacturers. They may do that, but my point was their engine shop is a completely different area to the car shops, and the cars dont get specialized engines. They get whatever is next in the line. SO the parts failures being on the 88/5 as opposed to the 48/24 is a fluke and will be fixed.

 

[riskybzns]

dex, i apologize, i should have seperated the 2 paragraphs.

i really didn't imply anything. what i did say however was, "that's how it looks to me".

maybe one of the host can confirm this, but i can't imagine why they would build all the engines in one shop, while they split the shop to fabricate the cars..ie: 24/48 in 1 shop and the 5/88 in another.

 

[dpkimmel2001]

Info on the Hendrick Motor Shop and how it is set up......

<span style=color:white>Please wait...

 

[riskybzns]

blah, it slipped my mind that they build all those engines, so that makes sense to do it in one shop, but once again, they don't have to put the same part, from the same vendor in every single engine they build.

 

[dpkimmel2001]

I don't remember Moody's exact quotes but it was stated on his show that HMS identified the problem part/parts and that they existed in all of the Hendrick motors last weekend. Not just the 5, 24, 48, & 88. It existed in the teams motors that purchase or are provided motors from HMS as well.

Here's info from Jayski.....

http://www.jayski.com/cupnews.htm#news5

 

[riskybzns]

It existed in the teams motors that purchase or are provided motors from HMS as well.

you mean lease

 

[dpkimmel2001]

Or are they. IMO, I had it right the first time. Basically teams 5 & 6.