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Hey EE, I was wondering if you had any insights into why AJ #4 parted ways with Grandpa on the final day of qualifying? I've been reading recaps on the weekend to catch up on what happened and I haven't seen any reasons or even guesses on what happened there.
a number of people have alluded to Danica's "personal" issues... what are we talking about and is it anything that other drivers do not have to deal with occasionally as well???
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Originally Posted by DBell
I won't speak for EE, but in listening in on some conversations around the Foyt garage on Sunday morning, I can verify some things.
Anthony went out on Sunday morning and the car felt terrible. Said it felt like it "would snap loose" in turn 1 on him at any moment. AJ blamed the driver and told him to "just drive the *$&#@( car". Anthony didn't take kindly to that, to say the least. I don't know if he quit or was fired (might have been a combination of both) but the blowup was real and in these deals, big AJ always gets the last word in a argument. You can't win arguing with AJ.
Thing is, Anthony wasn't doing a bad job this month. Was clean. Was a tick faster then Vitor on several days. Was in the 15-25 range almost every day on the time sheets. Almost was fast enough on Bubble Day. He and Vitor get along great and were good teammates. Owen Snyder liked working with him. I think AJ royally screwed this one up. Jaques got in the car and the car was just as bad for him yesterday as it was in the morning session for AJIV. And he never ran times in quals as fast as Anthony did on Bubble Day. And the #41 car will not be in the race.
My guess is that it likely has something to do with Mr. Hospenthal (who we haven't seen in a while).Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris R
But that would just be a guess on my part.
It seems the only way to qualify well, is to trim out the wings, and without all the downforce, the car skates as on ice, but this nothing new, as the drivers of the sixties did that quite well.Quote:
Originally Posted by Scotty G.
but that kind of stuff at that speed, can be very very scary...as even Rahal and Hunter Reay both sid, it is kind of "scary out there"
and so DP lifting and shaking after her attempt, well that should not be a surprize as i am sure others were doing the same thing (they just probably went into one of the garage restrooms and threw up w/o anybody knowing).
TK seemed to put it in the wall wherever he got on it hard , no doubt for the same reason.
So more than in the last few years, the drivers NOW need the "touch".
Reminds me of a quote from mario, when he was being asked about how tough the F1 cars were to dirve in the year he retired, and he said it was all point and shoot, and the skill to do that was small, compared to the skill needed to drive Indy at speed in the early 1960's--in the time before the "wings"
as to AJ, I am suprized the kid did as well as he did, for as long as he did, given who the boss is or was.
That is about what we all heard, and AJIV left the facility after the heated exchange.Quote:
Originally Posted by Scotty G.
I won't get into the issues, but anytime a person struggles in their home life, there can be dstractions at work. I think more so in racing than any other sport, due to the mental aspect of it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris R
We have seen champions struggle (TK, Michael Andretti, AL Jr., etc). Again, not making excuses, but the personal issues do not help. And females can be a bit more emotional about things as well.
Shes spending more time on her "TV commercials" than shuting up and driving, theres another popular driver in the Nascar series that is doing the same thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by EagleEye
Danica needs to sit down real hard and think, Be a "Go Daddy Model" or a "Racecar Driver" cause doing both does not work.
ESPN didn't get the memo about the bloom being off. They had her in studio on SportsCenter this morning and despite everything else that happened on Bump Day, there were no highlights - just more drivel on the 23rd place qualifier and her run. At least they showed on screen - albeit briefly - Bia and Simona qualified ahead.
Jim Rome absolutely crushed it in his final burn on his show on the Mouse this afternoon. Said Danica was completely in the wrong for throwing her team under the bus. Labeled it akin to a QB calling out his offensive line. Rome was spot on with that and I wish more people in the media had the cojones to call out her ability or lack thereof.
What network carries all of the NASCAR Nationwide races? ESPN They got the memo, it was just a different memo.Quote:
Originally Posted by fugariracing