May 26th, 2010 
T.C. Somebody please explain this to me. It seems that these ludicrous Dale Jr. to RCR rumors have come up every year since he made the decision to leave DEI after the 2007 season. I realize that Jr. has only a single points paying win since joining Hendrick Motorsports, and things haven’t gone well at times this season, but a move to RCR just isn’t going to happen. Let me say that again for effect. Dale Jr. IS NOT going to RCR.
So far this season, Jr. has one top five and three top tens in 12 starts. Following a tough race at Dover, he currently sits 16th in the standings. It’s interesting to note though, that while he is 16th, he is only 43 points out of 12th.
As a whole, this season may not quite be up to the standards that some of Jr. Nation would expect out of their favorite driver. What it is though, is a marked improvement over last season. His average start is almost ten positions better then it was last season, and his average finish is up almost seven positions. The stats don’t lie.
I realize that it’s very easy to look at Hendrick Motorsports and see that Dale Jr. just hasn’t performed like his teammates. Mark Martin has won some races and run well since coming over, Jeff Gordon is a perennial front runner, and Jimmie Johnson is, well, Jimmie Johnson. Fans see all that success and they expect that Jr. should be doing everything they are doing.
What they don’t realize though, is Jr. is trying to dig himself out of a hole that, it could be argued, was about three years in the making. He is also trying to learn how to work with only the second crew chief of his career with whom he doesn’t share blood. Neither are going to be easy to overcome, or fix overnight.
While it might not be easy to see, Jr. is making progress with Lance McGrew. I know some of you may not like his style, or the fact that he doesn’t have the #88 winning yet, but he is slowly turning the program around. Like I said before, the stats don’t lie.
Now, the monkey wrench that some of you seem to think will free Dale Jr. of his troubles at HMS is Kasey Kahne. Obviously if Martin is staying in the #5 for 2011, Hendrick needs to find a spot for Kahne before he takes over for Martin in 2012. And while it might seem very tidy for HMS to let Jr. walk so they can bring Kahne in, that spot is not in the #88. The notion that NASCAR will somehow not allow Hendrick to farm out Kahne for next season to another team because it violates the four team limit is ridiculous. If Jack Roush can figure out how to control eight Ford teams, Hendrick can find a spot for Kasey Kahne. I don’t care how much the other owners might complain. Whether it’s a third Stewart Haas car, or some other arrangement, this will get worked out.
Still not convinced that an improving Jr. who isn’t being pushed out by Kasey Kahne won’t be let go by HMS?
Let us not forget that the reigning seven (consecutive) time Most Popular Driver is a cash cow, whether he runs well or not. While some of Jr. Nation may have converted to other drivers over the last few seasons, the power of the group is still very strong. Hendrick will never have any problem finding a slew of suitors to sponsor Jr.’s racing efforts. That fact alone would still make him the most sought after driver if he were to become a free agent again.
I also want to point out that there is absolutely no guarantee that Jr.’s problems would be solved by going to Childress and jumping behind the wheel of a Goodwrench sponsored, black #3 Chevrolet. If anything, it would only add to the already monumental pressure this guy has on his shoulders just having the name “Earnhardt.” At some point we just need to let Dale Jr. be his own person. Visions of the #3 returning to the track and once again dominating like it did for so many years, need to remain just that – visions.
So, I’m going on the record right now. There will be no Hendrick defection. Hendrick won’t push Dale Jr. out in favor of Kasey Kahne. In 2011 Jr. will be right where he is right now; behind the wheel of the #88 Amp/National Guard Chevrolet. (And when these rumors resurface next season, I’m going to run this exact post again. Bet on it.)
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From the bottom of my heart, this Dale Jr fan thanks you.
I agree with your article the worst thing going for junior is his fans are killing him. With all their requests and bantering of crew chief removals the guy wants his fans to just leave him alone and quit complaining no wonder he cant focus. They got his cousin fired because of there crying for petes sake even though junior himself come out and told them it was his fault and his cousin was being removed by something he is causing not Eury jr remember that junior nation? Eury jr. and Dale jr. would have clicked by now and he would probably been winning already. Let the man race and quit your crying cant you see its the nut behind the wheel and not the team? Dale jr. is a mediocre driver and thats it the last thing he would want to do is drive for Richard in a #3 car he knows better than to do that because his ignorant fans wouldn’t let him live it down when he isn’t performing to their likeness. It would be his celebrity status down fall assassination and he would loose what little credibilty he has left if he drove a #3 car full time for Richard talk about riding the coat tails of daddy. This would be the ultimate embarrasment to put dale jr. in a #3 just to come in 36th man junior fans are nutz just let the man race for crying out loud they will work it out. No wonder “pops” Eury Sr. said no to coming back to his pit box he says he likes it where hes at probably due to Juniors crazy dream world fans that put him on a pedastol like he’s some kinda great when he is just a regular driver. I dont have these kinda expectations for junior I like him I think hes a good man in his own right and I dont expect anything grand out of him especially his daddy’s caliber. Let the guy come into his own and quit crying he don’t need crying drunkin redkneck inbred baby fans telling him how to drive and what kinds of changes need to be done to the team you people got a lot of nerve destroying this mans carreer with arm chair crew cheifs crying about what he should and should not do. Junior Nation has made it so hard for their driver that not only can he not focus and win but he cant concentrate due to high expectations and having to answer to his crazy fan base to the point that the racing is no longer enjoyable to him. Congradulations Junior Nation wackos this is what you have caused not the driver or the team.
Junior Nation Commentor #2: We have comment moderation set up on our site. When you submit your comment, it sits there until we approve it. Making comments in the middle of the night usually means it won’t appear on the site until the morning, as we are asleep. The angry comments that followed your initial comment were unnecessary.
Great points made. Thanks for the reality check.
T.C. Commentator #3 or should I say moderator my apologies I didn’t realize our right to free speech needs your blessing first but then again that seems to be the norm on the net these days as we loose our internet freedoms in all plus speaking in publicly in the good ol USA.
You’ll have to excuse me I forget that we don’t have that anymore and if we aren’t in agreement with someone well the good old moderator will just delete that part of the conversation thats not to their liking by the press of a button or a keystroke rather than debate it. So forgive me for that but anyways I agree with your article well done.
Again my sincerest apologies I thought you were one of those one sided looneys on the net that think their the internet god and we need to kiss your azz and agree with you on everything and ride the trend wave so we can be accepted in society. I just call things like I see them I don’t water things down and find them acceptable to fit into todays mantra.
So again sorry for the problem I hope you find my excuse worthy of your moderation.
I agree. From Hendrick’s perspective, the only reason to make a change would be if a replacement driver brought in more money than Jr (as was the case with Martin v Mears). Given Jr’s endorsements, that isn’t happening. From Jr’s perspective, he would move only if he thought doing so would make him more competitive… and even if he thought he wasn’t the priority at Hendrick, he probably figures 3rd at Hendrick is as good as 1st at RCR.
I have to tell my sister this all the time. She assumes that because Jr. isn’t doing as well as expected that HMS will just let him go. My answer is why the heck would they let go of their biggest money marker. Jr. easily makes more money per year than any of the drivers in his sales in general. Why in their right mind would HMS let that go? As long as Jr. is bringing in the cash, I think they’ll be happy. Because like it or not, Jr. is still popular, and he’s a cash cow. And HMS is about making money, which Jr. does do whether he wins or not.
These fair weather fans annoy me. Jr. is not Dale Sn. Jr. has issues with the COT and is still learning how to drive the car. He has issues in general working with his team and they’re learning still. You don’t jump ship because your driver doesn’t win all the time.
Great article. With that said i confess i’m a jr fan and always will be iwas a sr fan then a sr. and jr. fan. When i think about all that young man went through i’m surprised he can still climb in a race car but glad every week when he does. If jr. never wins another race i’ll still be his fan.
Obviously “Junior nation are crazy weirdos” has never operated a website and doesn’t understand all that is involved. It has nothing to do with free speech. It’s primarily to keep out the never-ending line of spam bots that target many sites and may target this one as well, I’m not sure. And on occasion that moderation is probably used to delete an obscene remark to keep the website family-friendly. Before you go on another rant about free speech, please try to understand how a website functions.
I feel bad for Dale Jr. It can’t be easy always being in the spotlight when, more often than not, I think he’d rather not be. No, he hasn’t won much in the last few years. But right now he’s a steady top-15 Sprint Cup driver, and not many people in the world can say that. Harvick just went over 3 years without a win and hasn’t won on a non-plate track in almost 4 years, but we don’t hear nearly as much about him. Many other drivers are in similar situations. Jr just needs for people to step back and give him a little breathing room!
Junior is going nowhere as he remains the most popular driver. Money talks. If his performance hindered his popularity (it won’t), then maybe.
He’s a cash cow. Hendrick is never going to give up his cut of the “88″ merchandise to find a “better” driver.
I’ve been saying..Since HMS signed Kasey..Why doesn’t Dale move over to Stewart/Haas racing. He will still have the same chasis’s and engines he has have with HMS. Also, Smoke does want a thrid team. Also, Bud is out there as a sponsor. You put Kasey in the #25 with Dale’s sponsorship from the #88. Dale gets Bud back with the #88 with Stewart/Haas.. Sounds crazy.. But, this idea could end alot of problems. Thanks you.
Pamela: Fair weather fans-in any venue-can certainly be of substantial annoyance. But, to JN # 2 and T.C.s’ point, I don’t think it’s the ‘fair weather’ fans that are the problem here. The pressure is being induced by the Hard Core Jr Nation fans that feel they deserve to have input on whether or not Jr. neatly folds his paper or crumples it into a ball before he wipes. That, when coupled with certain media outlets’ desire (and I’m not referring to this one) to drive web hits by writing/speculating everything Jr… sends these ‘fans’ into a Budweiser|Amp Energy drink induced frenzy…thereby placing Jr and his Camp in a pressure cooker that not many, if any, professional athletes could perform from.
OMGoodness, God bless you, I have been saying it too, we have to give them a chance. You really can’t blame Jr fans, they just want to see him on top like he deserves. So, whala, blame the crew chief! There are some really sincere fans out there that are doing this. They mean well, really they do. But I do agree, it’s creating more pressure on him. Everyone thinks they know what the anser is including Darrel Waltrip. Let them alone, start thinking positive. I don’t mean to harp on people but I was reading my devotional this morning and this is what it said, (not trying to press religion on any one, it is relevant)
Negative people don’t enjoy life. Viewing each day with positive expectations is one of the key principles to godly happiness.
We act on what we believe, so positive thoughts cause positive actions.
So yes, I am one of those that looks at the glass half full and I do believe that Jr and Lance will get their wins and get into the chase. Have a great day!
Ok, most of us recognize that Jr is not the best driver out there. But I do like the guy and it’s too bad he can’t pursue his career in peace. Of course, it’s also hard to feel sorry for someone making millions of dollars doing what he wants to do. Maybe the pressure is a small price to pay for the money and influence he wields.
Well, if he goes to RCR, he doesn’t have to race a #3 car… 88 would be his number, because he brought that number to HMS in the first place, so if he did go to RCR, he doesn’t want the 3…and I would think that a hands on true racer as Richard Childress would be a better fit for Jr, instead of a crook that signs Jr not to win races, but to bring sponsors over to his HMS teams…
I had hoped that with all of the money that Jr. brings into HMS, that HMS would get Addington for him. But I read that HMS is broke & all of the HMS employees had to take a pay cut. Rick got his money from his car dealerships. When the economy dropped Rick said that his dealerships didn’t just slow down, they fell off a cliff. Kellogg’s left, DuPont is leaving, etc.. So now, Jr. is bringing in the money to pay the HMS employees. It must stick in Rick’s craw to have to depend on the name of Earnhardt to keep his racing going & making the payroll. Rick can’t let Jr. go. So it now falls on Jr.’s shoulders to keep HMS going.
I wish that RH would let Jr. go. He has certainly fired enough others, Kyle Busch being one of the more notable. Jr.’s first 2 years at Hendrick were run in Tony Jr.’s old 2007 DEI specs.
What I find odd is that last week after Jr. was 3 laps down, after 2 missed wave arounds & air was let out of his left rear tire, which is never to be done, they fixed his car toward the end of the race & he ran great 3 laps down, with the leaders. But then at Darlington, when he got back on the lead lap from 2 laps down, they can’t fix his car so he can run well…to save their souls…?!? He was going forward & then just started sinking, again. This same scenario has happened many times. Why does this pattern repeat itself over and over…? until Dover, the cc said that he did not figure the wing to spoiler would make much of a difference. If they get the car fixed to where he can drive it, like the end of Richmond, it is too late to matter. If he is on the lead lap, they can’t get it running well…?
I would like to see him out of and well away from RH. He has more than enough wringing him out for money as it is. I would be happy with him going to RCR, not in the #3 car, or back to the #8 car. Jr. has not forgotten how to drive. RH has no interest in Jr. running well, he still brings in money. RH said on sirius last week that he thinks McGrew & Jr. are doing “fine”. RH has him driving the #25 car, R&D car that has always been slow, without a proven CC who Jr. can trust…someone who can make a car better during a pit stop, someone who even knows their right from their left.
Wow people, What a way to build up Jr’s ego and self esteen. Blog after blog and they all say the same thing;
Jr, you are a mediocre driver and the only reason that Rick is keeping you is that you are the biggest cash cow in the history of the sport. It doesn’t matter if you ever win another race, you have a home at HMS as long as you keep selling those t-shirts. Oh, by the way if Rick really was concerned with you winning, wouldn’t he have found you a crewchief with real credentials instead of one whose claim to fame is leading Vickers to a Nationwide Championship. Oh, was he the crewchief for vickers when he won his Cup race? Other than that what did he do besides than work in the R/D department?
Now personally, if I were going to get a crewchief for the biggest “cash cow” in the history of the sport, I would be looking for a bigger name than Lance. Why in the world didn’t Rick try to hire Addington???
I look at JR’s credentials and have to argue with the people who say he has no talent, Would he be better off somewhere else?? Probably, if he ever wants to win a championship. Where? I don’t have a clue.
I would like to see some stories written about some other drivers who have been in NASCAR more or less the same amount of time as JR who have not won a championship, haven’t won a lot or races in the last few years and have some problems on pit row or aren’t the most articulate in describing what is wrong with their car. I guess it is because they don’t result in a lot of hits on the blogs that we don’t see them,
T.C. really I expect better than articles like this from you; what’s the matter, couldn’t think of something to write about so you had to jump on the JUMP ON JR BANDWAGON?
Somebody needs to tell Junior that the sooner he quits, the sooner he can get his free pass into the Hall of Fame. His income will not be affected if he quit tomorrow, just look at all the #3 stuff still being sold 10 years later. He taking up space a real race car driver use.
yankeegranny: That’s funny, I actually thought I was being different about Dale Jr. It seems everyone else is either piling on about how bad the guy is, or talking about his exit strategy from Hendrick Motorsports. I also don’t understand why I write one post about him, and now I’m on the Jr. Bandwagon. And why am I not allowed to write about him? This is a blog about NASCAR, and he is a NASCAR driver. I figured that was enough.
Also, I think you are being completely unfair about McGrew. Why isn’t having a Nationwide championship on your resume enough? Who was Chad Knaus before he got with Jimmie Johnson? Mr. H. has a pretty solid track record when it comes to finding crew chiefs… Knaus, Gustafson, Evernham, Loomis, Grubb…
The problem with Junior is obvious that he wants the new car to drive like the old one and this will not happen. He needs to find the combination or set up thats suitable or close to his liking and adjust from there he hasn’t found that yet obviously. This explains why the car is crap right off the hauler and isn’t prepared properly with a suitable close setup to the drivers liking so there are little adjustments throughout the race rather than being way off on the set up in a big way and making big changes to the set up adjustment throughout the race and the team adjust on it throughout the race into oblivion while he falls to the rear of the field.
Now I ask you honestly is this not whats happing?
The problem is not the crew cheif or the team its the nut behind the wheel and the Nation just doesn’t or can’t seem to figure that out yet.
I can tell you this the more stress his whacked out fans that can’t seem to see this problem put pressure on him the worse this is going to get for him and the team. Dale jr. has amassed enough revenue to walk away from the sport if he wants to at any given moment and if this pressure keeps building by these Dale jr. fanaticals it just might lead to that. One can only imagine how a person a human being of his caliber has to deal with the stress from his crazy fanbase calling for peoples ousting and firing has to piss him off and he sees this as a curse and it can’t be enjoyable for him.
I see by looking at past interviews since he came to Hendrick that he has tried to throw that out there with out making his fanbase angry then again how do you deliver a message like that to a bunch of arm chair car owner crew cheifs that think they know whats best for him and the team and think they have the credibility and the credentials to make calls for him.
There was a time when Dale jr enjoyed racing and enjoyed working because he was with Eury Sr. or Eury jr because he even said he enjoyed working with family. But Dale’s fans had to have change because they were impatient and couldn’t wait and called for peoples firing and ousting. If Dales fans were true fans they would butt out and give the guy some breathing room so he can focus and get back to enjoying the sport rather than add to the mele because thats not helping him its got to be frustrating think about it.
I couldn’t fathom the thought of what hes going through having to put up with these incursions of trying to structure his team and being under the microscope by “Junior Nation Nascar Neanderthals” that are so bone headed to see they are in fact the most part of the problem.
You should do yourselves a favor and listen to your driver in his interviews it speaks volumes the stress level this young man is feeling and has been going through since he made the move to Hendrick and if this continues its only a matter of time that this problem will be addresed by him walking away or telling his fans to quit bothering him and if you can’t understand that then he doesn’t want you as a fan. I’m sure either one is coming soon.
Juniors fans are more of a distraction and a hindrance then supportive and its impacting this young mans career.
Good article. Much, much more balanced that what I am used to seeing from the so-called pros. I am a Dale, Jr. fan so I am biased. What never ceases to amaze me is his continued election as the most popular driver since the vast majority of what I see on the net about Dale, Jr. is hatred. From what I see on the internet Dale Jr. must be both the most popular and most unpopular driver.
I really believe that comparing Dale, Jr. to his father, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, and JJ is unfair since all of them are in the top 20 or 25 of all time. So far I believe he has demonstrated that he is a good driver, but so far he has not demonstrated that he can be called great. I’m still a fan. There are far worse things than being a better person than driver.
If you look at Gibbs, RCR, and Roush it might just be that 3 top-flight cars is the most any team can generate at one time. RCR is doing far better this year with 3 cars than it did last year with 4 and Roush has one car performing far behind the other 3.
As far as the speculated (might I say hoped for) idea of Hendrick’s financial problems, Penske and B. Smith control even bigger car dealership networks and, while they’ve both had problems, I have not seen any creditable reports that either one is in financial trouble. So I doubt the Hendrick dealership network is in serious trouble.
One aspect of the Hendrick-Kahne situation that I am amazed never has gotten any attention is that lady driver – what was her name, Danica? DP’s contract presents another complication in Hendrick finding a seat for KK, but apparently the media has forgotten all about her despite the outlandish amount of attention she received earlier this year.
Besides the fact that I get a lot of good information here, one of the key reasons I check this site almost daily is that I’ve learned that TC and Journo care enough about this site to monitor it so it does not disentegrate into a food-fight. There are many sites on the net that I have learned are not worth reading after 8 or 10 posts because they allow anything to be posted and become an exchange of spite and name calling. Monitoring and moderating a site requires a lot of time, effort, and care – and thank you guys for caring enough to maintain a civilized discussion.
well speak of the devil Junior admits what the problem is himself in this article for all you fans out there listen to your driver speak for himself.
AFTER DOVER, DID A WEEK WITH A NON-POINTS-PAYING RACE DOES THE ATTITUDE CHANGE AT ALL?
“Well, Dover was all my fault. I went in there and didn’t understand what my car was doing and made a lot of bad judgment as a driver and cost ourselves a lot of positions on the race track. But we’re a real good team. We’re sort of trying to revert back to some things that were working earlier in the season for us as far as today and qualifying. And we feel like we made some gains. We were a little bit off and made some good choices in between practice and qualifying that helped us.”
-Dale jr quote staight from Dale jr’s mouth. here in todays article of the interview with Dale jr.
http://paddocktalk.com/news/html/story-136694.html
You see folks the driver has spoken on more than one occasion about this but his fans refuse to listen and wont let it alone and his fans solution is to fire everyone when the driver has spoken what is the problem.
Earnhardt said. “I went in there and didn’t understand what my car was doing and made a lot of bad judgments as a driver.”
Don’t believe me check it out
http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2010/05/28/earnhardt-searching-answers-slump/
Why would you fire the crew cheif or the team when its the driver and he plainly admits it.
Listen to what he says about his crazy fans in this article about how judgmental they are LOL.
“There ain’t nothing I can do about that,” he said. “I’m not going to argue with them. You can’t change some people’s opinions about you.”
here you go Nation have a look at this article its all there for you.
http://www.sbnation.com/2010/5/27/1490801/dale-earnhardt-jr-nascar-2010-hendrick
The best thing for juniors fans to do is to leave him alone and let the man focus and stop calling for people to be ousted and fired your wrecking the team and ruining his confidence atleast thats what a real fan of his would do.
Here you go check this out striaght from the driver himself about his wacked out fans.
Earnhardt Jr. fans have voiced their frustration as their driver has fallen out of the top 12 after a solid start to the season, including concerns about how well Earnhardt Jr. and crew chief Lance McGrew are working together.
“There ain’t nothing I can do about that,” he said. “I’m not going to argue with them. You can’t change some people’s opinions about you.”
Its in the article check the links I have provided above and this one below…
http://www.sbnation.com/2010/5/27/1490801/dale-earnhardt-jr-nascar-2010-hendrick
So hopefuly the arm chair crew chiefs will leave the driver alone so he and his team can gel and concentrate because right now he is a long way from a championship much less even a win helll how about some consistancy that would be a start and maybe it would happen if the crazy fans left him and the team alone so he can race and not be under the arm chair microscope of his wacked out fans.
***EDITED Okay, we get your point. The first three comments with links did the trick. You are now bordering on SPAM. – T.C.
jr nation is over….. the man dont wanta drive this car . he is too much up whisky rivers butt….he went to amp for the kids and he says amp juice is good for screwdrivers. really jr…. here is a idea race more… race the trucks oh wiat he is too good to race a the truck.. race the nationwide cars. oh they dont drive like the cars of now… now lance is the problem… what is next the pace is too fast….? good grief… when you dont love what you do and wanta be there you stink at your job.. yes you can stink all the way to the bank with that 30 milllion.. that wont last forever. jr nation is headin down the hole in porta pottie…jr nation dont say its everything else .. its time to look at the man on the wheel. jr naion how is the move to hms for ya now .. karma get ya hummmmm? dei was the best place for him…….enjoy jr naion .
let the man post .. this is what is silly about jr lame nation.. they will not be real.. they are like alabama fans they live in the past and blame everyone but the team .. or the driver…
Hey T.C…I’m just wondering if you think Dale jr is going to RCR next season? You didn’t really make that clear in the article…LOL
I hadn’t felt the urge to comment on this because I agree 100% with your thoughts. But when I was talking about this with my wife today another thought entered the discussion: you know what? If there’s one team in NASCAR that can afford to let Jr go, it’s Hendrick! Top drivers, top teams, (seemingly) no money/sponsorship troubles.
That of course doesn’t make the rumors anymore true, or make me think it any more likely that Jr could be out of a ride. But I found that line of thinking interesting.
I feel Dale Earnhardt, Jr. should get away from Hendrick Motorsports. Look at what is happening to the man, he is simply not happy. He is depressed and sad, all because of what Hendrick Motorsports is doing to him. Rick Hendrick told everyone in 2009 that he had faith in Tony Eury, Jr. and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., therefore, not to separate bot of them. But, not a few weeks later, Tony Eury, Jr. is off the pit box for poor performance. So, in comes Lance McGrew. Has not done nothing to help Dale Earnhardt, Jr. out the rest of 2009 and all of 2010. Just, is not working with Lance McGrew atop the pit box, only getting worst. All things were fine when Tony Eury, Jr. was coaching Earnhardt, but Lance came along and it all fell apart. I don’t know what in the world Rick Hendrick was thinking, but he is killing Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s career in racing, and it is only getting worst. Rick, we “JR Nation” are waiting for our championship like you would promise us, where is it? I am tired of waiting, three years now, and still nothing. That is why, I was hopping Dale Earnhardt, Jr. would switch over to Richard Childress Racing. Because, we all know, if Dale, Jr. can not win in the #88 National Guard / AMP Energry Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, he sure can get the job done in the #3 Wrangler Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, can’t he? It was either that, or work out his differences with Teresa Earnhardt and bring Dale Earnhardt Inc. back into the Sprint Cup contention once again, just like the old days.