RG & Nascar....Is he wasting his time?

[RGFan]

After another miserable finish for RGM, I was thinking of a few things........

1. Do you think that RG's talent and Nascar are a match, does he belong in Nascar?

2. Do you think that professionally (not financially) that RG going to nascar was wise?

3. Do you think if he remains in Nascar, should he remain the owner and driver of his team or should he sell the team and drive for somebody else. Should he keep the team, hire a driver and drive for somebody else?

4. If you think he should leave Nascar all together, where should he run full time (besides Score/Corr)?

5. Do any of you think that RG is overrated as a driver and does not belong racing on asphalt at all?

Not trying to stir the pot, just curious to as what you all are thinking. I will post my opinions later.

[kim]

After another miserable finish for RGM, I was thinking of a few things........

1. Do you think that RG's talent and Nascar are a match, does he belong in Nascar?

2. Do you think that professionally (not financially) that RG going to nascar was wise?

3. Do you think if he remains in Nascar, should he remain the owner and driver of his team or should he sell the team and drive for somebody else. Should he keep the team, hire a driver and drive for somebody else?

4. If you think he should leave Nascar all together, where should he run full time (besides Score/Corr)?

5. Do any of you think that RG is overrated as a driver and does not belong racing on asphalt at all?

Not trying to stir the pot, just curious to as what you all are thinking. I will post my opinions later.


WOW! You read my mind. I was fiddling in the kitchen thinking the exact same thing. He obviously did great in practice to be able to start on the 8th row and now once again he is in 33rd position. I don't get it. He is very talented however, I'm wondering too if his efforts might be better served elsewhere.

[Mary Kay]

After another miserable finish for RGM, I was thinking of a few things........

1. Do you think that RG's talent and Nascar are a match, does he belong in Nascar?
I think Robby is a Nascar filler. He has the talent to run with the bottem 25 to 43 drivers but not up front with the top 15 drivers! Sometimes he is a 15th to 20th driver but not all that much. IMO he just doesn't have that type of talent week in and week out as a front runner not even a top 20'er!

2. Do you think that professionally (not financially) that RG going to nascar was wise?
YES! IMO Robby has to big of an ego to not run Nascar, even though he is not much of a threat to the front runners.


3. Do you think if he remains in Nascar, should he remain the owner and driver of his team or should he sell the team and drive for somebody else. Should he keep the team, hire a driver and drive for somebody else?
Drive for another team...I would bet the farm this will never happen!
I don't agree with how he manages the team. I don't think any driver with a lot of talent would drive for him.

4. If you think he should leave Nascar all together, where should he run full time (besides Score/Corr)?
If he can handle not being a winner he should stay!

5. Do any of you think that RG is overrated as a driver and does not belong racing on asphalt at all?
Yes, on asphalt he is over rated. IMO he is just there...he is a no bells and whisltes driver, for most races he is just there.

[michael_loomis]

haha... Mary Kay... you had better rethink your number 5. RG will smoke NASCARS best on the "asphalt" .. just maybe not the turning left all day type of races.

Field Filler? really? maybe as a single car team, but not as a driver. I'd bet alot of money that in a Roush or Hendrick car, he'd be a contender in the chase.

Dont forgot that he is competing in the US's top level of motorsport. against the best the sports ever seen. As a one man show no less.

when he drove for RCR, they didnt have near the success that your seeing from them today.

[Tristar Racing]

Mary Kay must be basing her opinion on the past couple years. No one, and I mean NO ONE would call some one that almost won Sears Point in the awful Nations Rent Ultra Racing Ford untalented on asphault.

I will merely point to how well he drives in Busch when given a decent car, its his equipment, and his ego that keeps him running in the back. He thought he could do better than Childress, he thought wrong. Oh well.

I still say go all out to win at one of the road courses this year, sell the team and the top 35 points, and go run a nice IRL operation. He will never have the dollars to compete with the Hendricks, Roushs, or Gibbs of Nascar.

[D Bergstrom]

1. Do you think that RG's talent and Nascar are a match, does he belong in Nascar?

I think he has the talent to be there, just not the resources as a owner/driver of a single car team. As long as he remains a owner/driver, I do not see him being competive week in and week out. A few races a year he will be, but that is about it. I never see him being higher then 20th in points at years end.

2. Do you think that professionally (not financially) that RG going to nascar was wise?

Where else would he have went? Since the Indy car split, Indy cars went downhill. Even now that they haev merged, it may just be to late. F1? Trans Am? Not really sure where else he could go and make a real good living.

3. Do you think if he remains in Nascar, should he remain the owner and driver of his team or should he sell the team and drive for somebody else. Should he keep the team, hire a driver and drive for somebody else?

As much as I like him being a owner/driver, if he wants to be compete for a top 10 points finish, he needs to drive for a top team. Problem is, can he get a ride with a top team? I think he has the talent, just do not know about the temperment.

4. If you think he should leave Nascar all together, where should he run full time (besides Score/Corr)?

Again, where else is there? Indy car, Trans Am, etc. I think even as a top 30 driver in Nascar, he could still make a better living then being a top driver in the other series. (May be wrong on that, but how much coverage does Nascar get compared to the other series?) If he stays a owner/driver, I would like him to drop down to the nationwide series. I think he would be competive there and could compete for race wins every week and a championship.

5. Do any of you think that RG is overrated as a driver and does not belong racing on asphalt at all?

I think he is very talented and he belongs there, I think sometimes he just needs a attitude check.

Doug

[Moss2]

There are 43 cars and not that many are in the top 5 all the time. Also they do still have to qualify to get in the races. I think if there is somebody better to be in the spot they can certainly bump him out, but they haven't yet. It is also interesting to see how much some of the midpack guys get paid for finishing races. It isnt the top money but it doesnt look like a waste of time.

[randy s]

i heard someone on xm radio say that jamie mcmurray put it best by saying that nascar is a loozers sport. that only one guy wins per week and i don't think rg makes good enough decisions in regards to set-up and in the races in particular to be considered a weekly threat to be that one guy. i don't care about any of that. the SOB can flat drive off-road and that's why i'm a fan anyway. gas on.

[Mary Kay]

i want to clarify my point about robby. i think robby does have talent but it is buried underneath a lot of clutter and ego. until he unclutters and controls the ego he will be a field filler for most races. didn't he start out driving for the cat in the hat? i think his ego is why many of his fans like him. who else could attempt to do what he does and do it all as well as he has. not many have that bragging right but he does. i just think if he went about it a little differently he would have MUCH better results.

i like robby as much as the next person and i always want him to do well. he is by far on of the MOST talented off-road driver ever in the history of the sport. i have the best pictures of him when he raced here at crandon he looks so young! he was only 19 or 20 at the time. he raced his truck against buggies...man there was nothing greater then hearing his truck coming around the corner during that!!!!! his front left wheel lifted off the ground!!!

[randy s]

robby gordon is at his best when he does'nt have to think. that is, he is reactionary. offroad, and road courses offer situations he responds to immediately without having to plan strategy. when he's in structured environents, his attention to detail and planning get to complicated to pull off a lot of times. plus, he's too one way and stubborn. and impatient on top of that. and like will higman said, he's crazy. but in a good way, cause he's gotta race all the time. don't change a thing rg. gas on.

[D4D]

The guys that do really well road racing, rally and off road have never really done well in NASCAR. Even when they go to a road course they usually struggle and it is because they usually have mid-pack cars. Can't remember the guys name, he is from OZ Touring cars, he kicked butt doing that and struggles in NASCAR. It is a different beast, the cars do no handle well, they weigh a ton and for the most part are real old school technology when a guy is used to road, rall and off road racing.
I do not think Robby is wasting his time, the exposure and deals he is making there fuels his off road program which is good for him. And then him running SCORE and CORR it brings a lot of additional exposure that unless he was running may not happen.
Last year's CORR Texas race was a good example of this. There were a LOT of RG haters in the crowd, they started the race real late waiting for him to show up but everyone cheered when he ran good and also when he crashed. We talked a few people that came only to see him because they hate him. Good for the series.
Above all RG is a business man, he has a master plan and everything he is doing is leading to his goals.

[Will_Higman]

and like will higman said, he's crazy. but in a good way, cause he's gotta race all the time.

Randy
Here is the quote you are reffering to along with one more for good measure.


I have seen it with my own eyes… No one has more passion for what they do than RG. He’s a crazy man who has the work ethic to get things accomplished one way or another. What’s amazing is how he knows what everyone is doing at all times and manages/leads by example along with having a mutual respect for the people that work for him. Of course you need to earn the respect just like everything else in life… He also knows where every nut, bolt, spare part, tools and inventory throughout the system are located down to the last scrap metal piece and how to fabricate to a top notch end result.

Most of the crazy people that I have met are brilliant at the same time!

Throw all this in a blender along with being one of the best Motorsport drivers in the World and you have Robby Gordon.



There will never be another exact duplicate to RG. There are some young Trophy Truck drivers out there like BJ, Tavo and Ickler that can bring it but to truly be like RG they will need to orchestrate the building of both vehicle and team.

Robby already goes to bed at night knowing he is one of the best all around racers on the planet. Now who has game?

No disrespect to all drivers out there but it’s just a different level and I hope we get someone like that who comes out of off road again. It would be great for the sport going forward.

[FlyHiFlyLo]

Repost this in June...

[RGFan]

Wow, some very interesting comments/responses.

Here is my take.......I have a top 5 list of who I think are the best drivers in the world, these are in no particular order......Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon, Michael Schumaker, Juantoya and I hate to say it.......Jeff Gordon. All of these guys have proven time and time again that they can jump into just about anything and win, Robby more so then any of them, but to even it all our, he has not had the success that the others have had as far as wins. With that being said, I do not think that Robby is wasting his time in Cup, I do think he is wasting away his racing legacy by driving for a non-competetive Cup team, but that is another topic for another day. I firmly believe that if RG was still with RCR in the 31 that he would be doing just as well as Burton, with Hamlin on the pitbox of course.

WIth that being said, I do not think we would be able to enjoy watching Robby do what he does on the international stage if he was with a contending team, such as RCR. But Richard CHildress did let him run his Baja Races and the 500, something he has not been able to do since going on his own again, so I guess we will never know. So at the end of the day, while it is frustrating watching him struggle time and time again in Cup, year after year, it does make the times when he races in other forms of racing and the few times the cup team does have their stuff together all the sweeter. We will always have his 2003 season to look upon to answer if RG belongs, and the races at Loudon in 01 & at Richmond in 04 where he came back from 4 laps down, earned every lap back (No lucky dogs) to finish 4th (who said RG could not turn left)

[FlyHiFlyLo]

Bottom line. RG has a few tricks up his sleeve yet to reach full fruition. He is at a golden time right now in NASCAR with this COT where he could independantly hit on something. Something that could make him invensible for several weeks on end.

[Tristar Racing]

Bottom line. RG has a few tricks up his sleeve yet to reach full fruition. He is at a golden time right now in NASCAR with this COT where he could independantly hit on something. Something that could make him invensible for several weeks on end.

Care to share? Seems like some inside info...

[FlyHiFlyLo]

Care to share? Seems like some inside info...

No, just a guess.

[RGFan]

Even if they have a few secrets, which I doubt.......there are a dozen other teams working on other things to make them better at the same time. What I am curious to find out is if RG has the new GEM chassis that the 9 and 19 had at Phoenix.......He was quite a bit better compared to earlier races. If he could have gotten his lap back, he could have had a top 7 finish, barring the fuel issue.

[charlie_brown]

I have watch this thread and wondered where it would go. I remember not to long a go made some reference to the fact that Robby is a top 30th place driver and may place in the top 5 (or may even win a race) only if everything went his way and everything went wrong for the others. Boy, did I get some hate mail for that from all the robby lovers. I even got some bad rep powers for it (some guy named !!!!!!!!????! or something). He is good and better then I will ever be but I don’t see him getting this nacar thing under control. He was much better in open wheel and I think it would have been cool to see him spend some time in F1. it comes down to money. And he is making so much more money as a car owner/driver then if he drove for a top team and won races.

[michael_loomis]

Bottom line. RG has a few tricks up his sleeve yet to reach full fruition. He is at a golden time right now in NASCAR with this COT where he could independantly hit on something. Something that could make him invensible for several weeks on end.

5 more Sprint Cup series road courses on the schedule??

[Ryno]

He'll be fine. RG likes NASCAR, or he wouldn't be there. He's always the dark horse, and I honestly think Mike Joy (Broadcaster on FOX) likes him. He always makes it a point to talk about RG, and outside (offroad) racing. As long as he keeps in the top 30, no worries. He's in the bottom 20's in points, and doing fine. Leave it alone. He has more talent in his pinkie than most of us will ever have behind the wheel.

[FlyHiFlyLo]

Pit crew tricks? 10.99 pit stops?

[michael_loomis]

ohhh.. so he's hiring that crapsman robot from the commercial?

[Offspring]

He's making stacks of cash, runs his own show, I don't call that a waste of time. But if you don't like his results you may be wasting your time following him. Outwardly speaking, since I don't know him, it does appear RG lives quite a life and he is always hauling ass.

[SANDlessNSeattle]

He's making stacks of cash, runs his own show, I don't call that a waste of time. But if you don't like his results you may be wasting your time following him. Outwardly speaking, since I don't know him, it does appear RG lives quite a life and he is always hauling ass.

Well there ya go..couldn't have said it better...