Earnhardt to drive V8 Supercars in Australia ? (Merged x1)

[Robert Ryan]

Well he came here to watch the races:


http://www.v8supercar.com.au/news/la...=&gid=32677015

[mmciau]

If that was ever to happen, then the big USD would flow into the series.

I'm staggered that the "straw chewers" are still using carburettors in the 21st century - the NASCAR just doesn't want the series to grow technology wise as they would lose control.

Mike

[SSbaby]

To have someone lile DEJr come over here to see the V8SC is really special. It's not often you get one of the biggest names in motorsport in NA come over here to watch V8SC.

I like his comments regarding Ambrose. Ambrose is showing what a natural talent he is... and is doing Australia proud!

[SSbaby]

Originally Posted by mmciau

If that was ever to happen, then the big USD would flow into the series.

I'm staggered that the "straw chewers" are still using carburettors in the 21st century - the NASCAR just doesn't want the series to grow technology wise as they would lose control.

Mike

The Americans are not stupid. They do things for good reason. Cost containment is one thing. Parity is another. As much as I loathe carburettors in today's racecars, they do the job. The carby doesn't lack horsepower even compared to EFI. It may surprise some to learn that some crate engines coming from the US actually rate the carby engines with a higher output than equivalent EFI!

Driveability is a different kettle of fish, of course!

[Forda]

Originally Posted by SSbaby

The Americans are not stupid. They do things for good reason. Cost containment is one thing. Parity is another. As much as I loathe carburettors in today's racecars, they do the job. The carby doesn't lack horsepower even compared to EFI. It may surprise some to learn that some crate engines coming from the US actually rate the carby engines with a higher output than equivalent EFI!

Excellent Dave; such nice, positive vibes.

I recall when Marcos was tinkering with an overseas drive in NASCAR land, you somehow thought he should be otherwise working at Knott's Berry farm....

Anyways, I guess that because Rick (who can’t cut his own steak) - is out to replicate the same - you're jumping on the same bandwagon.

Praise hallelujah Rick and the US steak cutters and a big yeah-ha for you!!!

[racer69]

All talk is my opinion. Sure he probably liked what he saw, would like a steer, but i find it highly unlikely he'll ever race one...

Big US drivers talking it up is nothing new, AJ Foyt agreed to drive at Bathurst in 1977.....

Bill France did make it to Bathurst in 1982 though....and returned in 1993

[Peddler]

Originally Posted by SSbaby

The Americans are not stupid. They do things for good reason. Cost containment is one thing. Parity is another. As much as I loathe carburettors in today's racecars, they do the job. The carby doesn't lack horsepower even compared to EFI. It may surprise some to learn that some crate engines coming from the US actually rate the carby engines with a higher output than equivalent EFI!

Driveability is a different kettle of fish, of course!

I could not agree more!

Taking out the population difference between Oz and the USA, it all has to have long term viability... V8Supercars although young in comparison to NASCAR has had to re-invent it self a few times to keep momentum. It is evident now, that there is cracks starting to happen in regards to the longivity of V8Supercars given the ever increasing costs.

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by racer69

All talk is my opinion.

All talk, nice pr for those with stars in there eyes but nothing more.

Bit like Button wanting to race v8s.

Jr to ALMS before the 5 litres.

[SSbaby]

Originally Posted by Forda

Excellent Dave; such nice, positive vibes.

I recall when Marcos was tinkering with an overseas drive in NASCAR land, you somehow thought he should be otherwise working at Knott's Berry farm....

Anyways, I guess that because Rick (who can’t cut his own steak) - is out to replicate the same - you're jumping on the same bandwagon.

Praise hallelujah Rick and the US steak cutters and a big yeah-ha for you!!!

You calling me Dave is about as accurate as me labelling you heterosexual!

PLEASE STOP making inaccurate comments!

[PVDA]

So DEJnr racing V8's will become the new Paul Newman to race at Bathurst statement we got throughout the 70's & 80's.

He wouldn't want the pay cut and there are much better race series out there to play in without having to leave the USA.

Remember the release came out via VE$A with more positive spin than a washing machine full of batteries

[racer69]

Originally Posted by D.R.T.

Jr to ALMS before the 5 litres.

To be fair Jnr's already made it to the ALMS, had a rather crispy moment a few years ago in a works Corvette

[Luke Plaizier]

Actually, his comments annoy me somewhat.

He's just talk. The real story is "I'll race in the US till I'm old and hopeless, and come over to this backyard series when I'm too slow in Nascar."

It's obvious he doesn't think very highly of V8's outside of his polished media rhetoric. It's times like this that make me wish the H-Box would stay, to make sure international drivers with no respect for how competitive the V8's have become would stay that way - overseas.


Lukeyson

[deeks6]

Obviously Junior (and others) would find V8SC a bit of fun (i.e. when they are not busy with their series, just like some of them have a dabble with sports cars to practice their road skills. I'd suggest that only a few of them would be immediately competitive (Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart).

However, you are all missing the point - " ... earnings of over US$50m in 2007..." suggests to me that Dale aint going to be leaving NASCAR anytime soon - unless, of course, he decides to BUY the whole V8SC series. Ambrose will make more next year than he did in 5 years of V8s.

The money in V8SC is like a fart in the ocean compared to NASCAR. And don't believe all this talk of cost containment in NASCAR by running carbies or some such rubbish. NASCAR teams spend more money on aero testing than F1 do.

Its the same as V8SC in that the organisers think that making everything "even" will make for cost containment - it's utter crap - it just means that it costs way more to gain that small advantage. In NASCAR the team with the biggest budget (Hendrick) just dominated 2007. In V8SC the biggest budget teams just dominated 2007. Surprise, surprise ... they just don't get it and never will.

[Davhut]

There are 300 million of us over here and I take this condescending attitude about all of us racers and race fans a mistake for our elected leader's misguidance.
Jr. is a racer, pure and simple, and I'm sure he'd welcome the opportunity to race without all the attendant BS from NA$CAR, US Media and you all.
He's more talented than his "Cup" appearances indicate.

[FPV GTHO]

Originally Posted by deeks6

NASCAR teams spend more money on aero testing than F1 do.

You sure about that? McLaren, Ferrari, Honda and Toyota all spent upwards of $US300m last year, and with the freeze on engines and single tyre supplier, over half of that wouldve been diverted towards aero. Cumulative spending of the F1 field was thought to be near $US3 billion not that long ago.

[bazil]

Originally Posted by Davhut

There are 300 million of us over here and I take this condescending attitude about all of us racers and race fans a mistake for our elected leader's misguidance.
Jr. is a racer, pure and simple, and I'm sure he'd welcome the opportunity to race without all the attendant BS from NA$CAR, US Media and you all.
He's more talented than his "Cup" appearances indicate.

Hey Davhut,

Please ignore the silly opinions of the odd misguided soul that lurk these pages. Truth is Jr is a racer and racing in the biggest show in the world week in week out against 42 other quality drivers. It is great to have someone of his caliber not only follow our sport (Supercars) but make the effort to see it 1st hand. It is not frowned upon when someone like Mika Hakkinen try's his hand at DTM after F1 and nor should it be if someone like Dale had a crack at Supercar after he is done with NASCAR.

It is a shame that the narrow minded few who always have their own little agenda's find something negative to comment on even in a positive story like Jr visiting a Supercar round. I think it is great to have him here and that he is interested in our Motorsport.

[00 XR8]

So, the big question is will he test a Morris car this week?

I think it is great that a guy who has been voted the most popular driver in NASCAR for the last 5 years running (!) took the time while on holiday to check out our series. If I did 50 NASCAR races a year, I’m not sure that I would be too keen on checking out race meetings during my time off!

And Davhut, regarding your elected leader's misguidance, I for one was glad Dale Jnr didn't say "my answer is, Bring 'em on"..... when asked about competing in V8Supercars.

[bazil]

Originally Posted by 00 XR8

So, the big question is will he test a Morris car this week?

[davyboy]

Originally Posted by Davhut

There are 300 million of us over here and I take this condescending attitude about all of us racers and race fans a mistake for our elected leader's misguidance.
Jr. is a racer, pure and simple, and I'm sure he'd welcome the opportunity to race without all the attendant BS from NA$CAR, US Media and you all.
He's more talented than his "Cup" appearances indicate.

Excellent post ! I've seen Junior in action, at close quarters, and I can vouch for him too. He's a fantastic racer with a great attitude and a massive loyal fanbase. As is the case with any racer at heart, he'd love to take in a V8 Supercar race.

... and to our friends down under, the fact Junior said what he said doesn't mean that V8 Supercars is any better or worse than NASCAR [or that the people behind them are any better or worse]. They're different series, in different territories and they're both successful in their own right. That's it.

[Luke Plaizier]

Originally Posted by Davhut

There are 300 million of us over here and I take this condescending attitude about all of us racers and race fans a mistake for our elected leader's misguidance.
Jr. is a racer, pure and simple, and I'm sure he'd welcome the opportunity to race without all the attendant BS from NA$CAR, US Media and you all.
He's more talented than his "Cup" appearances indicate.

Hold on there buddy. I'm not putting down his abilities in his sport. From the little we see of Nascar in Australia, it's obviously one of the most competitive sports in the world, requiring skills of amazingly high quality.

The comment, if you'll look closely, was 'When he's OLD and slow' implying that he has lots left in him yet.

However, V8 Supercars is no longer a sport for retirees of other categories. And neither is Nascar. And therein lies the token topic contribution, not backhand slaps at any driver.

Relax a little. And remember, it's you guys that have the accent, and not us!



Lukeyson

[Luke Plaizier]

Psst. For the record, I'd be pretty bloody chuffed if he ever came over and raced in V8Supercar BEFORE he was old and slow........ I think my main gripe with foreign drivers is how little respect they show for the category, and come over hoping to win a Bathurst or something just for their CV.

But perhaps that's just sour grapes from the immature side of Lukeyson.

Some of them, like Max Wilson and John Cleland (and some others) do garner my respect.


Lukeyson

[thunderbolt]

http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=276528

After being voted the 2007 NASCAR NMPA Chex Most Popular Driver for the fifth consecutive year and being presented with the award only a few days earlier at the NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Media Luncheon in New York City, [COLOR=#0033cc! important][COLOR=#0033cc! important]Dale [COLOR=#0033cc! important]Earnhardt [/COLOR][COLOR=#0033cc! important]Jr[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR]. didn't waste any time heading to Australia to watch the final round of the Australian V8 Supercar Series at the Phillip Island Gran Prix circuit.
[COLOR=#0033cc! important][COLOR=#0033cc! important]Earnhardt [COLOR=#0033cc! important]Jr[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] was a special guest at the Dunlop Grand Finale where he mixed and talked to all teams along pit lane, regardless of the Ford versus Holden rivalry before holding a media conference where he praised the technology of our premier motorsport category
The former Budweiser Chevrolet driver who heads to NASCAR's ultimate team, Hendrick Motorsport for the 2008 season said that he was "Looking forward to one day committing to racing a full year of V8 Supercars in Australia". He continued, "I have been impressed with the sport since watching it over the past 10 years on cable television".
"Like any race car driver you take interest in other forms of the sport around the world, whether Formula 1, our other categories in the States and the various categories in Europe", [COLOR=#0033cc! important][COLOR=#0033cc! important]Earnhardt [COLOR=#0033cc! important]Jr[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] said.
As was expected, the question on the lips of the majority of the press that gathered was "What's your opinion of Marcos Ambrose", the Australian export who is making a name for himself in NASCAR. The 33 year old was full of praise for the driver we know as the "Devil Racer" who won two V8 Supercar titles back to back, saying, "I think he's a good guy. There might be a few guys who raced him who might have a different opinion".
Ambrose will get the opportunity to race in twelve Sprint Cup races next year and Earnhardt Jr believes Ambrose will be competitive. "I don't know that he'll face the same challenges that a rookie or a young guy would because he's been racing a long time", Earnhardt Jr said.
Asked whether he has a chance of winning the title next year now that he is at Hendrick Motorsport. Earnhardt Jr responded by saying, "I'm going to be with the best team. Jimmie (Johnson) has won two years in a row and Jeff (Gordon) has established himself as one of the best in the business, it's going to be hard, but I'm looking to the challenge"
The popular NASCAR wheelman said that he was overwhelmed by the hospitality since he arrived in Melbourne. Let's hope that one day that can be extended further and we get to see Earnhardt Jr, Gordon, Johnson and Casey Mears compete at our most popular and challenging circuit, the Bathurst 1000.

[Chatters]

Get with the times, dude...

http://tentenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=102374

[db120176]

Get Garry Rogers on the phone, after his experience with John Andretti he'll jump at the chance

[Helix]

I wish he would come over for a couple of seasons and go door to door with the likes of Lowndes and Tander in our backyard, and he would go back to his fellow american racers with a different attitude about Aussie racing.

With his ties to GM he could slide right into an "uncle tom" VE and bring Bud dollars with him.

I have done a quick mockup of what could be.