Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

Yeah,  I doubt Mr Steward is haunted by anything... 

OK

I really wasn't sure if he would make it back, just looking at it from a sponsorship perspective.  But as far as the punishment he got, though it might seem extreme, it doesn't matter.  It's the punishment he was dealt.  My only point was that he did everything he could to get past this, he never complained and he said he learned a lot (even when most African American that I saw said they didn't think he was racist or said it in a racist way).  He dealt with his punishment (what choice did he have? lol) he deserves to be able to move on with his life.  There's absolutely no good reason for it to be brought up today in my opinion, he hasn't publicly said it since and I'll bet not privately either.  Ray Lewis, who was involved in a double murder was allowed to continue his NFL career, Ben Roethlisberger who was accused of raping two women was allowed to continue his NFL career and I think they did this without punishment.  Let the man get on with his life.  By the way, I wouldn't call myself a Kyle Larson fan either.

I never thought the punishment he got was severe at all.   Many are confusing "punishment" and loss of sponsorship and job.  His punishment was through Nascar and reinstatement through Nascar was fairly quick and painless.  I still can't believe the number of fans out there that think Chip did him wrong.  Don't get me wrong, I'm happy as hell he is out of that 2nd class ride, but Chip did not do ANYTHING that the rest of you wouldn't do if faced with the loss of all incoming business funds.  If you ran a $25 million business for example, and your top 2 customers threatened to leave if you didn't fire your CEO, you'd fire your CEO-------100% guaranteed.  The sponsors?  They are simply listening to their public relations departments and don't want to end up on CNN.  Once again, can't blame them for protecting their brand name, income, stockholders, etc vs. leaving their name on a race car.  

Kyle did not receive a severe punishment---it was short and sweet on Nascar's part.  Chip did not punish him----he made a very smart business decision when you are faced with go broke, or stay afloat.  After all of this shook out, I am over-joyed that Hendrick gave him a shot in that ride!  That is all that matters now.  Quit blaming anybody else for Kyle's messup.  We need to return to a society where you own up to your mistakes, and fix your mistake, and most would agree I think.  Kyle has set an example and didn't go out blaming everyone else for what he did to himself.  

His mistake of saying that word and getting suspended and fired was the best thing for his career.  He is now racing with the best organization in Nascar(this year anyways) and out of the rolling roadblock(42 car).  His new car owner lets him race what he wants when he wants.  Paid the price in lost salary last year but will recoup that many times over and have more nascar wins than he would have had.  And open wheel fans get to see more of him than they would have if this never happened.  WIN WIN

I thought the worst mistake he ever made was signing with the #42 team when the #24 was going to be available if he just waited one more year.  At least it all worked out in the end.  

They all cut back on their dirt track racing and were pretty much out of it after a few years.  By the end of their dirt driving days it was an occasional Champ Car start if memory serves me.  None of them ever drove every race on the NASCAR schedule as they were considered Indy Car drivers.  That makes those wins in other series a lot like Larson does on dirt where they'd drop in, race in another series and win.  The ironic thing is that back then we thought that was normal there were so many going back and forth.  Today drivers tend to specialize in one discipline.

Stan Meissner

Bingo!

He screwed up, apologized, & went on to kick ass all over.... well done

Yea, I knew that dirt used to be the road to Indy (i followed racing in the 60s), but assumed once they hit the Big Time, they generally stayed away from dirt. I guess Mario went back sometimes... did AJ? Did they do it as often as Kyle?

What about Parnelli Jones?

Lets see, Chili Bowl, King's Royal, Knoxville Nationals, BC39, leading NASCAR in points.... is this guy human?????

Larson already has a ROLEX. 2015

Without question one of the best drivers out there. Great interviews,nice family,humble,and loves to race anything.The best ambassador of dirt track racing.Showed he was human by using a non exceptable word and paid the price.As it worked out he ended up in one of the top rides in Nascar with an owner that allows him to race anything as long as He shows up and puts his Nascar ride first.He is in some of the best rides not for his check book but talent. Sure He takes some money out of the WOO regulars,Allstars pockets but its not club racing.Even when things dont go well you dont hear him making excuses. Maybe not quite yet but GOAT is a word that can describe his talents!

Kind of ironic that the guy who helped start Larson's sprint car team buys out Chip....The Marks in Larson/Marks was Justin Marks, now owner of the 42 car....

I'm thinking he might be an alien, they say they walk among us.

Are you implying that Le mans, and Sebring are no longer relevant? The 24 Hours of Le Mans is a much bigger race today than the Knoxville Nationals, or anything that occurs on dirt. If you add all the fans up that attend the World 100, Kings Royal, Knoxville Nationals and National Open every year it wouldn't come close to the number of fans at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on the average non-covid year. Sebring is also a huge event, with relevance world wide and an absolute ton of trackside fans and TV viewership that would surpass any race that occurs on a dirt oval here or in any other country.

Just because you don't like or follow road racing does not make it irrelevant, the majority of the world see's oval racing as irrelevant and road racing is all that matters. Both opinions are wrong. All racing is great and worth of respect. 

That is an interesting comparison considering Sebring and Le Mans are not F1 races. Would it be easier for a WEC/IMSA driver to win a sprint car race or for Kyle Larson to win at Le Mans/Sebring? Much easier for Kyle in that comparison because it's possible to be carried by your teamates (for instance Kyle's teamates included Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan at the Rolex 24 Hours in 2015). Jimmie Johnson has been in contention to win some races in IMSA this year for the same reason, he does the minimum drive time while struggling to stay on the lead lap and then hands over to Kamui Kobayashi or Simon Pagenaud to race the rest of the way and if they get a safety car/caution they are right in contention with two world class drivers to switch between. That obviously isn't possible at Knoxville. 

If you wanted to compare whether it is easier for Kyle to win an F1 race or for someone like Lewis Hamilton to win at Knoxville? I would say both are pretty much impossible. 

I never said Larson does not have my respect. He is an outstanding driver. But its unfair to compare him to drivers like Mario Andretti or AJ Foyt who have had success in dirt and on ovals as well as at a very high level in road racing. You can call him the best dirt racer, best oval racer, best whatever else to do with ovals but calling him the best race car driver in history is a bit unfair considering there is another extremely challenging, highly competitive discipline within motor racing that he has barely scratched the surface of. 

He would have to be part of the top 2 or 3 teams in F1 to win, unless you simply get lucky like Ocon did recently. I firmly believe he would elevate any car he was in after a full year in the seat. Maybe sooner. 

I don't agree with FORD97.  Kyle would be in a position to win in the first year in F1-----possibly in the first 5-6 races, not the first year and a half.  In American open wheel?---- Put Kyle in the Indy 500, he would be a factor in year 1.  For that matter, put him in any Indy car race.   Put him in the Iditerod, he would likely podium.  NHRA top fuel?  Why not?  At this point, he has to jump in a car and fail before I believe he can't actually do it.   I've never seen anything like it.  Until a series arises he can't conquer, I am going to assume he can win in it.  

On that we can all agree to disagree. I've seen no evidence that Larson is at an elite level in road racing. The competition level of road racing in NASCAR is very low compared to any established series, and as a result you can't really compare them fairly. I do think Larson is the best road racer in NASCAR at this point but without racing against road racing drivers that actually matter its a difficult comparison. Based on the evidence available (IE: NASCAR drivers when they race in lower level road racing like the Rolex, etc.) some of the best NASCAR road racers are significantly off the pace of even mid level road racing drivers - often they only have success when they are paired with top level drivers (Jimmie Johnson's teamates are world class - Pagenaud/Kobayashi or in 2015 Larson was with Dixon and Kanaan). That would be expected given that is what they have done in many cases their entire lives since they were single digits in karting but that is the thing that would make it impossible for anyone including Larson to just strap into an F1 car and go wheel to wheel with someone like Hamilton, or Verstappen. There is no such thing as driving by the seat of your pants in F1. It's exciting to watch how Larson races even on a road course but its not a style that could translate to a series where sliding the car one time can completely ruin your race due to flat spots or making the slightest contact can result in a DNF. 

This isn't really an effective strategy for finishing races in anything other than NASCAR. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylnbu_SzGA4&ab_channel=NASCAR

Stuffy analysis.  I would expect the typical arrogant F1 fan to respond exactly like this.  Because someone hasn't done it yet, they can't possibly be that good, right?  Bullshit.  Are we to assume Hamilton would strap into a stock car and be able to wheel it around a road course against Nascar's best?  If he couldn't, no big deal right----after all, he is in the elite of F1 drivers.  How about a sprint car at I-55?  If he couldn't, would it not matter because he is so great at F1?  What a pile of crap.  Driving an F1 car is a completely different animal than any car Kyle has raced------but that doesn't mean it's the most difficult or the biggest accomplishment.  Most expensive?  Sure.  Best judge of talent?  It's possible, but we won't ever really know.   I know, I know, Mario and Foyt were good at F1 AND the others.  That was 40-50 years ago.  Everything has changed so much.  

Is Kyle among the greatest of all time?  Yes.  If you say otherwise, you are blind.  Is Kyle THE best-----possibly.  But that will always be up for debate.  Simply saying F1 is the best and since he hasn't won in F1 or IndyCar he can't possibly be the best, is a bullshit theory.  Let's see these F1 guys drive, and win, in the cars he is winning in.  Until then, no one can tell me he isn't at least just as talented.