Posted on 06/26/2007 9:11:42 PM PDT by NYTexan
found two separate 1000 acre pieces and meeting realtor next week but ping me if you come to Phx ANYTIME
One of the pundits on ESPN suggested Eury, Jr. might go to HMS to be something less than Crew Chief, retaining Gustafson as CC.
I am one of the opinions that Junior will have LESS wins with HMS. His team will not share the shop with the #24 and the #48, it will share with the #25.
And regarding the #5/#25 shop, I believe Shrub’s success was more due to team talent than equipment, and I believe SlowCasey’s success is flukish. The fast equipment, the ingenuity is in the #24/#48 shop. And for whatever reason, they are not sharing all their secrets with the #5 and #25, as this most recent dust-up demonstrated.
My thanks to your son for serving our country.
I wouldn't make that assumption simply because the 5 and 25 did not have the fender modification. It could well be that the 5 and 25 teams rejected using the change. I know for a fact that the braintrust for all four teams meets weekly at HMS HQ, and that they do share notes and other info. But the teams are free to use or reject ideas as they think best for their cars and drivers.
Thanks for the generalization. That type of perspective is what has gotten Jeff and his fans into the situation they are in.
Re: the second part of your postit: so what?
Does it really matter if they/we get along?
Wrong. Stone cold wrong. First, Dale Sr. began the animosity between the fanbases when he belittled a then very young, barely out of his teens Jeff Gordon. Dale Sr. is the one who even got the "Jeff is gay" thing going. Jeff was secretly dating the then-reigning Miss Winston (and would marry her). Simply because Senior didn't see Jeff with women, he made the first public "Jeff is gay" comment. As though seeing Jeff with women at the time was any of Senior's business. The hatred for Jeff from Earnhardt Nation only grew from there.
I can tell you story after story after story of 24 fans who have been harrassed, abused, and sometimes frightened away from ever attending races again by Earnhardt fans.
Here's a typical true story of how a great many Earnhardt fans -- not all, true, but a very great many -- treat Gordon fans. This one is my own story, and it didn't even happen on a race day or at a racetrack. It is stone cold true, and forever affected the way I see NASCAR, the so-called NASCAR "family" and Earnhardt fans.
Back in early 1997 I discovered there is a Simpson Racing retail store near where I live in the L.A. metro area. At the time I was a new NASCAR fan, having been attracted to the sport by Jeff Gordon, a California native.
So I go over to the Simpson store to check it out. I walk in and there's a black #3 racecar sitting in the middle of the store. Very cool. As a new fan of the sport, I was thrilled, as it was the very first racecar I had ever seen. Then I went around the store and selected several Jeff Gordon items to purchase.
You would have thought I just pulled a gun on the salesman, or something. The salesman ragged on me something fierce about buying Jeff Gordon items. He went on and on about how Jeff is a crybaby, and he's gay, and implied that only squishy people bought his stuff. As a middle-aged woman, I was a little scared, but also absolutely insulted and pissed.
I walked out of that store and never went back. In fact, I don't go to the races when the Cup series comes to Fontana. I wrote to the Simpson HQ to complain, but never received any kind of answer. From that time to today, I have never again considered myself a NASCAR fan, only a Jeff Gordon fan.
I know not all Earnhardt fans behave that way, but plenty of them do. I know 24 fans whose little kids were verbally abused by Earnhardt fans for wearing 24 gear. I know elderly people who needed an escort to leave a track because Earndhardt fans scared the hell out of them.
You wrote: "That type of perspective is what has gotten Jeff and his fans into the situation they are in."
Oh really? What did I do on that day back in 1997 when I walked into that Simpson shop as a paying customer only to be driven out by a salesman who hated the driver whose gear he was supposed to be selling and I was trying to buy? Excuse me for trying to drop a little cash in his coffers, thereby helping to keep him employed and his employer in business. You have no idea...NONE...how nasty that incident was and how it affected my view of NASCAR and everything Earnhardt. Here it is, more than 10 years later, and I can still feel the embarrassment, discomfort and prickle of fear I experienced that day. For what?! Because that jackass dude behind the counter liked a different racecar driver than I did?
Like I said...with all the burbling happy talk about Junior going to HMS, getting better equipment, wanting to take his #8 and Eury Jr. with him, etc., I just wanted to make sure the other side is represented. Unless this is strictly a Junior fan thread, that is.
If I were to see you somewhere wearing your Junior gear, it would not even cross my mind to curse you, bully you, sneer at you, call you names, threaten you, throw things at you, bully your kids or elderly relatives, or otherwise harm you in any way. The same is not true of huge numbers of Earnhardt fans. Anyone who has followed the sport since Jeff got into it knows that. It's public knowledge. That mindless hatred can be seen on any public NASCAR web forum. It can be seen whenever Jeff crashes, and before anyone knows he's OK, Earnhardt Nation cheers. It can be seen every time Earnhardt Nation throws cans, bottles, coolers, etc., at the 24 car. And it can be seen when people like you excuse such behavior and coldly, hostilely tell us to "get over it."
As for Jeff and Senior getting along, Senior saw how marketable Jeff is and got in on the action. That in no way obligates Jeff's fans to "get over" their anger at years of such behavior.
Besides, Earnhardt Nation showed just how much they respect Senior's memory when they pelted the 24 car while Jeff carried the #3 flag after tying Senior in wins. Now somehow magically we're supposed to embrace Earnhardt Nation, all its demands, all its whims, it's silly "free the 8" campaign, etc. Bah!
Yeah, too bad. Too bad on many levels, all of which seem to escape you. You are a Jeff G. fan, so I'm not surprised.
Dooooods, play nice!
Wow! That’s awesome! I remember when my cousin came back. I was nervous for him the whole time he was gone. i can’t imagine having a kid over there! Please give him a huge thanks from me! I owe you and him a beer if we should ever meet up!
Don’t worry, I’m finished with trying to reason with a self-proclaimed non-Nascar fan. I am Nascar fan and have been for years, and have rooted for many drivers including Sr., Jr. Bobby Labonte, Biffle, Kasey, Jimmie J., and, yes, Jeff Gordon. When someone says Earnhardt Sr. started it all (”hatred”) by impugning Jeff’s sexuality it deserves a response. I did, and that’s it.
The least you could do was address that to the person it was meant for...
That was for “shotgun” effect. ;)
I like Junior but his fans can be insufferable. A lot of Earnhardt Nation weren't even Earnhardt fans until Dale Sr died and then a bunch jumped on the bandwagon.
Now that Junior is going to HMS some of the same people that would have cursed HMS a few months ago are now defending it.
I honestly don't get all the animosity. Dale & Jeff actually like each other
Thank you. I appreciate your post very much. :)
Racing was built on making cars go faster, not having them all look alike. We already are getting that on the highway and as was said upthread, take a look at IROC.
Seems like tunnel vision :(
It ain't yer daddy’s NASCAR no more!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.