Emailed to Beau Estes on NASCAR.COM in reply to his latest column --Hi Beau.
When doing driver comparisons, statistics are good place to start, but are far from a conclusion. There are too many contingencies – skill level and equipment (including crew) are the two biggest. But there are also a bunch of intangibles. Thinks like maturity, desire, temper. When Mark Martin pulls out of the way of a faster car, right or wrong, that is an example of maturity. When Dale. Sr. punted a competitor out of the way to take the checkered, right or wrong, that is an example of desire. When Kurt Busch pulls up next to Smoke (Tony Stewart) on pit road almost taking out a crew member, right or wrong, that is an example of temper.
I am by NO means a fan of Jeff Gordon, but I see little doubt that he is the best active driver in NASCAR, period. He has the overall best combination of skills, equipment, maturity, desire and temper.
It is hard to say how much of Jimmie Johnson’s and Shrub’s (Kyle Busch) success are related to equipment. Johnson has arguably the best crew chief in NASCAR. But what we do know about Shrub is that he lacks one of the intangibles in a major way – maturity. He acts entitled and is not a good team member. So we have this conundrum about Shrub, in top flight HMS equipment but lacking maturity – just how good is he? Your suggestion the driver switch to DEI indeed would prove invaluable in finding out.
Tony Stewart. He has the skill and desire and maturity. Hard to rate his equipment, certainly not as good as Hendrick, or even RCR. But the guy is a hothead! Now, I am a fan, so I am allowed to say it, but he does not have a good grip on his temper, and that is why he is no Jeff Gordon.
Junior. I was a proud member of Junior Nation because I was a fan of the Old Man. But with Junior going to HMS, he lost me. I am staying at DEI. I think Junior is a great driver based on his overall record including as a Busch series champion. However, every race for the last three years I have listened to his in car radio, and his heart has not been in driving. I have no proof of this, but I think it was the loss of his father (and now Rick Hendrick becomes the father figure, as Darrell Waltrip correctly called it before it happened). Junior has the skills and the maturity, but I think his desire and temper have been misplaced for the least three years. Not lacking! Misplaced. As you correctly stated, Junior going to HMS is going to provide some answers. The question is, what kind of equipment was DEI giving Junior before he decided to leave?
Move to Truex, Jr. Let us assume that on race teams the #1 driver gets the first best equipment and engineers, the #2 driver gets the second, etc. Let us further assume that as soon as Junior announced he was leaving DEI, he was no longer considered their #1 driver. After all, in the long run does not DEI have more to gain by Truex making the Chase than Junior? Every race I watch on tv, but follow lap times on NASCAR.COM’s Trackpass. For the last three races, Truex has had the fastest car on the track, both in the COT car he won in, and the old car. If Pocono had not been called because of rain, according to lap times he would have passed both Flash (Jeff Gordon) and Rocket (Ryan Newman). The Bass Pro Shop team brought their Pocono car to Michigan, and sure enough it was the fastest on the track. He was catching Flipper (Carl Edwards) in the last laps but brushed the wall and lost the handle (his car got tight), and had to settle for second. So, was this Junior’s equipment before he announced he was leaving?
When I see Martin Truex, I see a younger version of Jimmie Johnson. Scratch that. When I see the #1 TEAM I see a younger version of the #48 TEAM. I think Kevin Manion and Truex are as skilled and fluid as Chad Knauss and Johnson. Remember, the #1 team is the same exact team, the same exact members, that won two Busch series championships. If NASCAR truly is a team sport, as the #48 team can make a credible argument for, the #1 team is going to have to be reckoned with. Perhaps before the end of the year.
So who then really is the next Jeff Gordon? Who has the best overall balance? I would argue Denny Hamlin. Give him a better team and equipment, a few more years of maturity, and I think he is every bit a superstar as Flash.
In the meantime, let’s get Shrub into DEI equipment, and Junior into HMS, and get some questions answered!
And someone please find out if Truex is now in the DEI’s top equipment.
Kevin Walker, Wheaton, IL
