Traitor wins at Talladega
 

Nice job Kenseth.

What a finish ...

What a mess!

What was the deal with Kurt Busch? He just continues to melt down.

Tony needs to get a pilots license! Never saw any driver like him get a car upsidee down on top of other cars like he does!

Dale Jr. said it best in the post race interview..

Congrats to Roush Racing!

Well he is driving for Phoenix Racing ... or should I say drove for Phoenix Racing. He'll be at #78 Chevy for Furniture Row Racing for the remainder of the season.

I expected more for him since Phoenix Racing is using Hendrick's engines.

Bath salts. Only explanation I can come up with.

:lol:. man I just spit coffee everywhere. I think he needs another Jimmy Spencer style punch :D. Such a typical plate race, that move Tony did seem good in theory but doesn't seem to work out too often. It takes to long to move down for the block, they are right on you buy the time the move is made. Matt did a hell of a job, he had to have one of the looser cars on the track.

It's crazy when Kyle seems like the more normal one.

Their both divas!

Kurt Busch parked by NASCAR during race: While most of the race was monotonously boring, there were moments of emotion, yes. And Kurt Busch provided some of those. He was leading midway when he suddenly ran out of gas. And Busch wound up bouncing into the infield wall. During the yellow Busch got out to look at his car and decided it could be repaired. So he cranked it up and started to drive it back to the garage, though without his helmet. NASCAR ordered him to stop on the track, to stop scattering debris. But without his helmet Busch didn't get the radio message. So Busch roared off while the emergency crews were still at his car, one even with his arm inside, and other with an emergency medical kit on the roof, which fell off. NASCAR angrily order Busch's car parked for the rest of the race....which is his last with team owner James Finch. Busch said, "This is the way my life works. Today is a perfect example: I am leading, I wreck, I run out of gas. I tried to get back in the race, and now NASCAR is yelling at me because I don't have my helmet on, and I'm trying to get it to the garage so the guys can work on it. Now I'm in trouble, this little storm right here. This is my life. I'm not complaining; I put myself in a lot of these situations."(MikeMulhern.net)(10-8-2012)

Gotta LOVE this pic!

http://www.mikemulhern.net/uploads/p...aw23fq6jw5.jpg

Talk about traffic! At 200 mph no less.

Cool pic!

:doh:

Do not like Matt being called a "traitor " . He still is trying to win a championship for Roush. I am not a Toyota fan and I don't purchase non North American vehicles. But whatever happened to freedom of choice ? I regret seeing him leave Roush and won't be as anxious for to him win, but I wish him well !

He won everything there is to win at Roush. He was a champion, he won Daytona 500 twice and he was one of the top drivers in each season.
What else is there to prove (at Gibbs) after 10+ years at Roush?

I understand he had some sponsorship issues, but he didn't have to worry about that - he would have a full time ride at Roush no matter what, even if Jack had to pay out of his own pocket to run that #17 car.

I think we all do on this thread including Zoran, but when you see Chevy and Toyota get all the good drivers and Nascar giving them a ton of room to do whatever they want, the Ford teams and their drivers get the shaft making it tough to win! Look at Edwards. Championship driver last year. Loses to Tony Stewart who out of nowhere in the Chase wins half the races in a car that was so disgustingly fast that Nascar needed to investigate but obviously didn't. Why did that happen? Because Nascar is queer for Chevy! If the same Ford driver wins as many races as Tony did in the chase, they (Nascar and their'bought' commentaters ) say the Ford drivers are 'stinking up the show'! So with that in mind, you go ahead and wish him well. He is tired of doing whatever it takes to put Ford in the championship circle, which is an up hill battle!

+1.
Matt pretty much gave up and took the easy way out.

So if anyone gets offered a new job and takes it then in turn you too are a traitor. Nice logic . . . :screwy:

Isn't that pretty much what happened to LeBron James?

Sure, but I don't consider him a traitor. However, I understand the frustration many have when high price athletes (or Alan Mulally) leave, but if a similar opportunity arose for you (or anyone) I wouldn't consider that person a traitor for trying to better their life and family.

IMO, the move to Gibbs is not a better move in Matt's career. He's gonna be #3 driver behind Hamlin and Busch and because of his quiet personality, I won't be surprised if he lose Home Depot as a sponsor.
After all, he's the most underrated driver in NASCAR and doesn't get media's attention no matter what he does. And sponsors don't really like that.

I suspect he is getting a bump in pay i.e., Dale Jarrett when he jumped to Toyota. Might be his last big pay day. (If that is the case I wonder why Toyota likes to pay aging drivers substantial sums of money.)

It's a point of view thing. But the traitor aspect kicks in when ones logic overcomes his sense of loyalty. Money equals logic in this case. You can excuse this action if you want, but from where I stand, he is selling out just like Dale Jarrett, Mark Martin and whoever else crosses that line!

So its is safe to assume if you get a better offer for your career that helps your family you will turn it down?

It's a point of view thing. But the traitor aspect kicks in when ones logic overcomes his sense of loyalty. Money equals logic in this case. You can excuse this action if you want, but from where I stand, he is selling out just like Dale Jarrett, Mark Martin and whoever else crosses that line!

I think the situation is little different for us average Joe's and multimillion dollars athletes.
Guys like Matt Kenseth don't have to worry about whether they will be able to make a car or house payment ...
Kenseth could've easily had his job as a driver at Roush for the next 10 or 15 years and then, after retirement, as a manager at Roush.

What exactly is gonna happen at Gibbs? Gibbs is a team that doesn't mind to get rid of drivers when they don't perform, even when they have spent years with the team (Bobby Labonte, Joey Logano). Roush is nothing like that, guys like Edwards, Biffle, Kenseth and Martin could've had their job for as long as they wanted to drive.

If Kenseth doesn't win in the next year or two, I'm pretty sure he's gonna get replaced by somebody younger. It's a big risk for him.

And its amazing that GM is failing again... Especially since the bailout didnt do anything to turn this company around.. GM Fails = Obama Fails and the media wont let that story happen....

Sounds strangely familiar to the way they handle the political climate for some reason, hmmmmmmm................

[QUOTE=Zastava_101;6463705]I think the situation is little different for us average Joe's and multimillion dollars athletes.
Guys like Matt Kenseth don't have to worry about whether they will be able to make a car or house payment ...
Kenseth could've easily had his job as a driver at Roush for the next 10 or 15 years and then, after retirement, as a manager at Roush.

Perfect point... Lets see I can make so many Millions staying with Roush but I will make a few more million going to Gibbs. It makes me ill just thinking about it. It would be totally different if he was let go or pushed out.
He wasnt.. Seriously how much more does one make? Jarrett bailed for a ton more money.

Everybody worries about making a house payment.

If you're not worried you're stupid.

The first and foremost thing is for him to provide for his family. Some fans get a little carried away. All things equal then yeah maybe he can stay with current but if he can make more bucks then in order to secure his family's well being for years and maybe generations that's his priority.

And if you honestly think you'd do any different then perhaps you might be either too loyal or a bit of a fanboi for your manufacturer.

Totally not directed at anyone. Just generalizations.

Not that it applies to NASCAR drivers, but loyalty weighs heavy with me as both an employee and a manager. I've got a great job with people I've worked with for near 30 years. I feel a sense of loyalty to the folks that have helped move our business along, especially the younger ones. From a management aspect I throw resumes away from what I call job hoppers. Two years here, two years there... Don't need that. Put your time in and be rewarded.

I saw the end of that race and all I can say is wow... All those laps thrown in the shidder.

You must feel the same way about Ford Motor Company since Alan Mulally and Jim Farley both left their previous firms. I, for one, am glad they left Boeing and Toyota.

Nothing wrong with agreeing to disagree. :nice:

Same principle.

Sometimes we aren't privy to all the details surrounding events played out in the media, so to judge one without said details can, at times, be irresponsible.

What you said might be true, but on any given race day, our favorite Ford drivers are defecting us to go make more money than they deserve already! It isn't a matter of money as the bottom line either...... it's the same thing as type casting..... it seems that Matt and others want approval from Nascar because they feel that maybe they might be looked at with more desirability from Nascar if they drove anything but a Ford!

Win #3 for Kenseth today at Kansas.

http://www.autoweek.com/storyimage/C...rug-Policy.jpg

Nice Win, too bad for Biff, hes done now...

It certainly looks like we can stick a fork in the Biff now. Hard to imagine Matt would leave such a winning team. Now if only Roush could field another team with David Ragan as the driver.

Yeah, because that worked out so well last time. :rofl2:

Yeah, because he's been doing so well this season and deserves a Roush car ... :jester:

David Ragan needs to walk for a while.

You all are just not giving David Ragan enough credit. He actually did a really good job of driving while at Roush. He was just starting to win and then was let go. I would put his former chief to blame as the reason he did not win more races. His crew chief was too conservative and did not make the right decisions to put David in the winners circle more often.

Look what Carl Edwards is doing lately. Nothing. Look what Stenhouse did in the Sprint Cup races he has run so far, DID NOTHING. Now look at what Ragan did in the last Talladega race. He finished 3rd. Carl Edwards has not even been in the top three lately. Look back, David Ragan did a lot with the not so competitive Roush race cars.

http://www.racing-reference.info/driver/David_Ragan


7 years in Cup racing.

214 race starts.

1 race win.

Raced 59,796 laps.

Led 109 laps.


That's not too impressive considering he was driving some of best equipment in the business.

Good job? Just starting to win? He won 1 race in 7 years while driving for one of the top team in the NASCAR ...

Carl Edwards has won 19 races since joining Roush 7 years ago and finished 2nd in standing 3 times. He's having an off year, but he'll be back, no doubt about that.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has raced in 4 (FOUR) races in the Sprint Cup. What did you expect, wins already? He's gonna be a championship contender within 2-3 years. Not to mention - this is the guy who has won 8 Nationwide races over the past two seasons and will most likely win back to back championship. He's the next big thing.

The only reason why Ragan finished 3rd at Talladega is because everybody else wrecked, barely anyone was running at the end after that big crash.

Not so competitive? That #6 was Jack Roush's baby and he probably spent more resources on that #6 than on any other teams that he was running.

Mark Martin finished in the Top 10 in standings in 16 out of 19 years that he has spent driving that #6.
Ragan's best finish was 13th and he finished 23rd or worse in the remaining four years.

Ragan didn't deserve the job even at Furniture Row Racing considering the fact that guys like AJ Allmendinger and Brian Vickers are out of work and they're both much better drivers than Ragan.

p.s. what happened to your prediction that Ragain is gonna win at least 2-3 races in 2012? :jester:

sorry nothing against Ragan but he isn't a top tier driver by no means and doesn't need to tie up a seat in a good ride over a much better driver, period. take out restrictor tracks these have produced more 1st and only time winners and isn't a gauge of anything. sorry but he falls in on a long list of drivers with lest than steller careers. nice guy yeah, clean driver yeah and has some skills no doubt but he isn't what you think.

:agree:

I do not think Carl Edwards has forgotten how to drive, yet he seldom challenges for the win. To say he is having an off year suggests his performance is off. I think the reason he has not had a good season is his race car is not good enough just as David Ragans car was not good enough when he was at Roush. Today, in just a matter of a few months a team can go from competitive to not so competitive. Now as far as Mark Martin doing well in the 6 car, he had a lot of previous knowledge about race car setups and new what to tell his crew chief about what he needed to win. For a young driver like David to step into a car setup for someone like Mark does not mean the car will be as successful. One more season at Roush would have been a breakout year for David Ragan.

really, all the roush cars have been off and on all season. carl is a combo of things not just the car. I'm not going to beat this dead horse, he just doesn't have it. he couldn't come 1st again with jimmy johnson pushing him to the the win. I know for sure no matter what you aren't going to change your mind so time to move on.

The only difference is ...

A bad year for Edwards was the 12th place. And he was able to rebound after each bad year to be a title contended - again and again and again (he finished 2nd in the final standings in 2005, 2008 and 2011).

A bad year for Ragan was the 27th place (in fact, he had only bad years). And he was never able to rebound, his best finish in the final standings was the 13th place. In fact, that 13th place was his only finish inside the Top 23 during his 7 years in the NASCAR.

You're not really suggesting that Ragan is as good or better than Edwards, are you? :dunno:

He had six years to prove what he can do. How many chances did this kid needs?

Jack Roush should've fired him after that 3rd season when he finished 27th.

David Ragan qualifys quicker than Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle at Martinsville. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm !:salute: I rest my case for David Ragan being the most under rated Ford racer in NASCAR. To run quick on a short track, a good chassis setup and a driver who knows how to make use of the chassis setup is important for quick lap times. David Ragan proved once again he knows how to drive quickly
By the way, Ragan qualified 16 th.

Remind me, please, what do drivers get for qualifying results? Points? Money? Anything at all?

Once again, this kid had 6 years to show everybody "how quick he can drive" ... And he really showed everybody how quick he is ...

More clarification on why Matt left?

Kyle Busch hopes to sign Ross Kenseth
http://nascar.speedtv.com/article/tr...-ross-kenseth/

Things are making sense ...

Go to the second page of thread about Kenseth leaving Roush and you will see I had the reason for Matt leaving Roush figured out on 7/2/2012. Matt knows Ford does not have the money like Toyota to invest in race teams and Roush does not need any more young drivers. Ross Kenseth is ready to move up to running superspeedways.He is a very accomplished racer like Bill Elliots son. These young racers have to go where the money is and as a result have both abandoned Ford. If things go well for Ross, he will most likely replace Matt at Joe Gibbs after two or three years. Matt is thinking of his son having a bright future in racing.

Yup, too bad Toyota has all the cash.. I hate Toyotas!!

UPDATE: Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) announced that the team has signed Joey Coulter to compete for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver's championship in 2013. Further details regarding sponsorship and truck number will be announced at a later date.(KBM)(11-7-2012)

So, did the traitor show any signs of remorse for leaving Roush when he spoke at the Nascar banquet ?