Comments on: Coleman Getting Rare Second Chance

By: chad

chad — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:56:13 +0000

Money is tight, JGR needs it, Coleman’s dad brings it. That simple.

Eat at Carino’s.

By: Paul J

Paul J — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:39:55 +0000

It is absurd to think that Coleman would have had a shot ahead of Joey Logano to get the #20 Cup ride for 2009. There was no way that was going to happen. Gibbs had been grooming Logano for years, had a small fortune invested in him, and Logano responded by winning at every level he was at.

Coleman was in line behind Logano and that was not going to change. There was no way of knowing before the 2008 season that Tony Stewart would be leaving the organization, and Gibbs was flailing in their attempt to get a fourth Cup team going.

While things didn’t go as well as hoped at Baker Curb Racing, and the Hall of Fame deal was a total mess, Coleman was racing every weekend up until Hall of Fame messed it up, and Coleman felt that was important. I agree.

20-year-old developmental drivers are not developing if they let weekends pass without driving in a race. These Cup teams need to get these kids in a car every weekend, be it Nationwide, Trucks, ARCA, Camping World East, Hooters, etc.

Perhaps Gibbs and other organizations can learn from this. If the sponsorship isn’t there for a full-time Nationwide ride, then get the driver into a lower series on those off weekends – whatever they can get into cheaply (relatively speaking) so even if the car is unsponsored in a Hooters or ARCA race, they are still developing their investment.

Results from those races wouldn’t be important. It may even be helpful to put these kids in non-competitive cars in these series and see how they do. A kid like Logano has driven nothing but top-notch equipment since he was 14. But if these kids could take a 25th-place car and finish in the top 15 in an ARCA race, that might be beneficial in their development.

By: Heather

Heather — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:37:58 +0000

Honestly, I don’t think staying at JGR was a no-brainer. Coleman did a great job in his ride for JGR and still wasn’t getting a chance at a full schedule. There was also the knowledge that Joey Logano was coming up – and believe me, it was known that Logano was in a Nationwide car as soon as he was old enough. Add in the Aric Almirola situation (being yanked from the car as he was leading the race for Denny Hamlin who couldn’t get there on time from Sonoma) and the writing on the wall regarding JGR is that the Cup guys get major opportunities and the Nationwide “regulars” are just filler when the Cup guys are tired. Yes, the cars are good and the Nationwide Series is a no man’s land right now where real opportunities are down to exactly one or two. So running in even a few races is something. But these kids need quality seat time, not to be shoved in a Cup car as soon as possible where they’ll nine times out of ten fail before their 21st birthday.

I’m glad he’s getting a chance somewhere, because the kid’s good. But I don’t think there’s a quality system in place to help him grow and actually be successful at JGR.

By: JT

JT — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:55:27 +0000

I’m glad this kid is getting asecond chance. He’s got a ton of raw talent, and in a JGR ride, he will be successful.

By: FastChaz

FastChaz — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:21:25 +0000

If you study it, Coleman never really left Gibbs. He was just on loan to Baker Curb so he could get the weekly seat time in the NNS that Gibbs did not have sponsorship for last season. So they sign him to Baker Curb AND to Hall of Fame (Gibbs satellite team)at the same time. He gets a ton of NNS experience while also testing Cup cars and learning the COT all while Gibbs launches Logano. Now it’s time for Coleman. Brilliant plan J.D.