(09-05-2018, 12:27 AM)dunnere Wrote: I just read that at motorsports.com.
It makes sense, since Truex was already really driving for JGR anyway. Tough to throw Suarez to the curb, though, isn't it? He's pretty close, at least as good as Bowman and Jones and the like...it has only been two seasons.
Suarez is certainly not going to SHR...Cole Custer would take that ride first...right? But he would be a huge improvement for half the rides out there. Put him in that Matt DiBenedetto car or for Chris Buescher...give those teams a chance. Maybe he gets the 6 car and Bayne will be out...
JGR was forced to bump Suarez up to Cup with the sudden retirement of Cousin Carl. I don't think he was ready yet, but he has shown steady improvement. I'd say he's much better than several current drivers that were brought up too early (and several who just shouldn't be in Cup cars). While I don't think he can win a race with a lesser team like Front Row or JTG, I'd bet he can consistently finish better than any of their current drivers.
Maybe he replaces Kahne in the 95 car. My opinion is that Kahne showed this season that the team can compete b/c he finishes races in about the same spots as he was finishing with HMS last year. Could Suarez get Top-10 finishes in that car? Possibly. Going to RFR is a possibility too, but if anyone needs to be replaced there IT IS Stenhouse. He costs more money in damages than he gets in winnings. He's another driver that I think got moved up too early and I also still don't think he belongs in the Cup Series. His 2 lucky wins last year seem to have made him a worse driver.
Honestly, I think Suarez should go back to NXS. Not b/c he's not good enough, but JGR needs to have more of their NXS cars competing for the Championship. Plus, it would stop a few more Cup drivers from running in races. JGR has 3 cars in the series. The #18 is a revolving door of drivers to allow KyB and Hamlin to run races when they want to do so. If they hadn't been able to put Bell in the #20 car before the season, they'd have had Daniel running some races in that car too. I don't see Christopher Bell staying in the NXS for long though. I'm not seeing many Truck racers moving up after this season either. I think we are about to get into a time of drivers spending more time in the lower levels than we've seen for the past several years.
Sponsorship is becoming a big problem for NASCAR (surely obvious with that being the reason for FRR shutting down). Constant changes in drivers, team members, leadership, rules, etc. is scaring off sponsors. And then there's the lower viewership and ticket sales numbers scaring off those that would consider sponsoring a team. Sponsors just don't want to sign a long contract with a team anymore. And short-term sponsors mean short-term driver contracts.
NASCAR needs to do something drastic! It needs to start with the Cup Series b/c that's were most of the money is and I think that would be:
1. Eliminate the floating schedule they've been doing this year and part of last year. Practice and Qualify on Friday, practice again on Saturday and race on Sunday.
2. Stop changing the rules. PERIOD! I don't just mean weekly, monthly or by track, just stop changing them.
3. Eliminate the laser system and only inspect the cars before they get on the track to start the weekend and again after the race is over.
4. Get the races back on local-types of TV stations. The "broadcast networks" reach WAY more homes and businesses than the specialized sports channels.
5. Lastly is that the NASCAR company needs to advertise themselves on many networks of many kinds and on many levels. They seem to only cater to those who are already fans of NASCAR. Spread out and try to entice new people to check it out.
OOPS! That got really long. Sorry if I bored anyone (OR everyone).
