So I stumbled on this article today from the Kansas City Star while making my normal rounds online. In it, Cup Series driver David Stremme is interviewed and talks about his move over to Penske Racing for this season. He is filling the void left by the departing Ryan Newman in the #12 Alltel Dodge. Now normally a piece like this wouldn’t hold my attention for more then a few seconds, but the first sentence grabbed me:
David Stremme swears he isn’t bitter when he calls his former NASCAR employers second-rate.
WHAT?! Did he say second rate?
The point that Stremme appears to making through the interview, is that he is happy to be with and driving for Roger Penske. Okay, I get that. But is it really necessary to insult every person you’ve driven for before this season?
Stremme hasn’t exactly had a stellar NASCAR career, and apparently he is blaming it all on his previous teams. Since his debut in 2003 Stremme has no Nationwide Series or Cup Series wins. He also doesn’t have a Cup top five. His best finish was an 8th in 2007 while driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. In 75 Cup starts, the best Stremme could do was three top tens. Yikes.
Besides having no Nationwide (or Busch) Series wins, Stremme only has 20 top fives and 49 top tens in 133 starts. And all those starts came driving for Phoenix Racing, Braun Racing, FitzBradshaw Racing, Ganassi, and Rusty Wallace Inc. I understand these may not be Hendrick and Gibbs, but they aren’t bad teams either.
I’ve got to admit, my first reaction after reading the first sentence went a little something like this: “Second rate? Are you kidding me? You are the one who is second rate!” Then, that thought passed and I kept reading. And it did get a little bit better. But, before the Stremme fans light me up, let me explain my thoughts a little more.
I don’t have anything personally against Stremme, in fact I think he’s a pretty nice guy. But it bothers me that he would come out and talk like that about owners and teams who gave him an opportunity to race. If I was Todd Braun or James Finch, I’d be pissed! These owners gave him the chance to make a living doing what he loved and helped vault him to where he is today and this is how he repays them?
Instead of calling them “B” and “C,” he should be thanking them every chance he gets. There are thousands of drivers out there that would kill to get the chances he got, and I think Mr. Stremme needs to be brought back down to earth a little. As tough as the business is right now, you never know when you might need those folks who helped you in the past. But it’s going to be mighty difficult to ask for help when those folks won’t answer your phone calls.
Hey David, ever heard the phrase “what goes around, comes around?” You might want to keep that one in mind when you decide to run your mouth about “second rate” teams in the future.
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on Jan 13th, 2009 at 7:26 am
How’s it going to look now that he’s with what he thinks is a first rate team & he continues to get second rate results? That’s one of the dumbest things an employee within NASCAR can do is publicly bad mouth former employers, even if the former employers do deserve it. I’m sure Rusty appreciated that comment after saving Stremme’s career last year.
on Jan 13th, 2009 at 7:41 am
Before I read the article, I had no opinion of David Stremme, now I do have an opinion of him & it isn’t good. Talk about backing yourself into a corner before the season even starts. There’s nothing wrong with confidence, you need a ton of it to survive in this sport but he came across as plain arrogant & ungrateful. Until he puts up results like Kyle Bush, he should not try to imitate the shrub in interviews.
This was my favorite quote:
“I’m not surprised I’m back so quickly,” he said. “It was more of me being patient than anything, because I wanted to make sure I was in the right surroundings.”
You have got to be kidding me. He’s telling me that he essentially chose to drive for Penske, not the other way around. With Bobby Labonte still looking for a ride, this dink doesn’t deserve a damn thing.
on Jan 13th, 2009 at 7:53 am
I feel you are exactly right about not “burning bridges”. He may see (in the near future) that it is his driving talent that needs to be enhanced, not the owners. If he should not make the cut with this “better owner”, then what will he do? How many years did the previous owners supply his pay? It will be interesting to see how this year plays out for him with this added pressure he has put on himself to show that he is a driver that now has an owner as “rated” as he is in his own mind.
on Jan 13th, 2009 at 8:45 am
Holy Turd!
How do you spell arse?! S-T-R-E-M-M-E!
I have to admit I’m kind of at a lose for words with his comments! Sure he might be a nice guy, but heck he needs to get a clue and maybe watch himself race. EK!
I bet he doesn’t last all year with Penske
And WINDOWLICKER: HAHAHA You crack me up, You’re awesome!
on Jan 13th, 2009 at 8:51 am
I have always felt Stremme has talent, just not the equipment to show it off. What would happen say if Jimmie Johnson jumped into a Ganassi car? Do you seriously think he would dominate a race and win? There’s no way in hell that would happen.
I guess an argument could be made that second tier teams generally have second tier drivers. It has been shown though that even champions falter in second rate equipment. Look at Jarrett and Labonte. I think RWI was greatly benefited my having Stremme in their cars last season in Nationwide competition. You want to talk second tier drivers look at Steven, it his last name was not Wallace the only way he would get near a track is to buy a ticket.
on Jan 13th, 2009 at 9:09 am
Bobby: I’m not saying that maybe Stremme wasn’t in the best situations at some of these teams. But it’s one thing to maybe think that, and its another entirely to come out and say it publicly. I think it’s a slap in the face to these owners that gave him a shot to be talked about like this.
on Jan 13th, 2009 at 9:26 am
I agree 100% T.C. He wasn’t in the best equipment & it was obvious that he wasn’t even to us fans. We know what second tier teams are. But to come out & say it in such an arrogant egotistical way was dumb.
I think
“yeah, I’ve struggled in the past along with my teams. We didn’t have the money to run with some of the big guys. But we made a decent showing. I’m proud of those guys, they worked hard.”
Sounds A LOT better than:
“yeah, every team I’ve run with in the past was second rate. They really held me back & didn’t give me a chance to show the world how FREAKIN’ AWESOME I really am.”
on Jan 13th, 2009 at 10:27 am
Mr. Stremme, If you are so freakin’ awsome of a driver, how come Kyle Busch can finish 5th in a 2nd rate car in some races and you finish 30th in the best car your team can give you???
Mr. Penske, Bobby Labonte is looking for a ride. Maybe you two can hook up soon.
on Jan 13th, 2009 at 11:19 am
I have interviewed David Stremme and he is a very nice guy. He does have a bit of a dry wit…can be a little sarcastic…but what do you expectas far as hit treatment by his “former” emploter? Dave is a heck of a driver which he proved in NNWS 08. He deserves this ride and I am sure, that given good equipment he will do just fine. Jr. Nation watch out!
on Jan 13th, 2009 at 11:24 am
No where does the article say David said second rate…those were Jim Pedley’s words. David’s words were :No disrespect, he insists, when he says those former teams featured “B” and “C” environments.”
This is part of the problem with media trying to stir things up. The article was slanted. Which is a disgrace to Dave’s talent.
on Jan 13th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Ya know maybe the real question here is not “what” Stremme said, but “when” he said it. Believe you me, with no testing and not a lot to talk about in January, articles like this are likely to draw some attention that wouldn’t otherwise be on the radar screen. Yea it would make sense for Stremme to wait until he has won the 500 and 3 of the next 4 races before claiming supremecy, but maybe….just maybe this is a brilliantly concocted plan to break the robotic mold of drab emotionless sponsor friendly spokesmen. He may even throw Goodyear tires into reasons for not getting to victory circle before now. Hey, it worked for Smoke thus far!
on Jan 13th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Clance- While he may not have been quoted directly saying the teams he was at were second rate, what he was quoted saying was just as bad. Calling the teams B and C environments means they were second rate. While he meant no disrespect, it was incredibly disrespectful. Disrespectful to the owners who put their money and equipment on the line to give him a chance, and disrespectful to the people who worked day in and day out to keep him competitive on Sunday (how would you like your work called second rate?).
It seems to me that Sterling Marlin didn’t have any problem winning races in the #40. And Reed Sorenson was able to win Nationwide races during the same time he was at Ganassi. Jason Leffler even won a race at Braun. And last I checked Penske hasn’t exactly been a powerhouse over the last several years.
Neither of us would disagree with you that he is a nice guy, but in this business you need to watch yourself. One burned bridge means many burned bridges because everybody talks.
I think the article went out of its way to put a positive spin on what Stremme said. Jim Pedley calls his words non-malicious and says he means no disrespect several times. So I fail to see this negative slant you think the article has. The true disgrace here is his disrespect to his former employers.
on Jan 13th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Oh my god come on people! Stremme is finally going to show his talent in a TOP TIER ride! Give me a break GanASSi was and still is a joke in the Cup Series! Let’s look at GanASSi and see where can we even call his team something of a decent or as in David calls it “B TEAM”? Montoya’s win? Thats about it! Sterling Marlin you say? Heck he had the same team just Chips money! What happened Chip screwed the pooch on that one and the team was crap after that!
I for one don’t think in the whole interview he was knocking Rusty Wallace’s team!
Stremme will do good at Penske! Being a fan of Terry Labonte for the past 26yrs I am proud to say I have been a Stremme fan since Terry retired!!!
on Jan 13th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Hmmmm, Interesting comments, I hope the Kansas Ciy paper has’nt taken the interview and twisted his words to make the story. This has happened before. If David did say that, he has really burned some bridges, It seems someone should try to interview him so we can find out what his words really were.
on Jan 13th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
Sorry T.C. I got a little off track in my last comment. Remember my comment on Yeley and Mayfield a couple months back? I agree Stremme needs to watch what he says or he will be flipping burgers with those boys. I also think Stremme may have painted himself into a corner, let’s face it the days of Penske being included in the top tier of teams are several seasons in the past.