Quote Originally Posted by Starter
I suggest you take a look at his average finishing position this season. Then compare it to the rest of the field, including that female driver you so enjoy dumping on. He does not fare well in comparison to the others.

He may still be colorful, but he's not so fast anymore. His judgment is also suspect (and always has been) as he more often than not takes boneheaded chances.
I'm not denying the results have not been there this part time season, no doubt about that. I'm also not suggesting that he is as good as he was even 5 years ago. You have to admit, the deck has been stacked against him these past several years being a part time driver though. In that space of time, he's performed quite well even when the finishes haven't always been. To use a single track, Toronto. 2 years ago he gets stuffed into the wall taking 2nd place and possibly wins that race. Last year as the 4th KV car the crew screwed up the suspension geometry during practice and quals. Starts blind on the fixed setup and storms through the field. Ended up leading laps (on strategy) but raced strong until the harmless spin when he locked up on the brakes. This year was strong up to P6 when the run in with Hinch happened. Hinch washed into his sidepod, hard racing on both parts.

There have been other examples of strong runs also (i.e. Edmonton 3x, Mid-Ohio, etc.) No denying there is something missing but all of that in just the past 2+ years tells me it has more to do with the complete package than the driver. I'd still pick him out of the top 10 drivers I'd want racing my car. Certainly wouldn't want someone that practices and qualifies 22 thru 24 and only drives to keep the car on track if it were my car. Name of the game is to win.