Hoirnish to NASCAR still not dead

[dironstarr]

I will be glad when Hornish finally decides something:

From Jayski:

Ganassi expanding to 4 teams? Look for Ganassi to expand to four teams next season, according to team sources. That could be fuel for the report that Robert Yates has expressed interest in selling his teams. But Ganassi is more likely to make a run at Sam Hornish, GM's struggling Indy-car star, according to sources.(Winston Salem Journal)(8-3-2003)


And:
Volatile, hard-driving Paul Tracy, an outspoken Indy-car star, may be looking for place to race next season, with CART going down the tubes. And two Winston Cup team owners interested in Tracy are Chip Ganassi and Richard Childress. Childress has made a career of dealing with hard-to-deal with drivers.

It's unclear if Childress might be considering expanding to four Winston Cup teams.

[Tex]

IMO Hornish is as good as gone. There is not enough IRL money to retain his services. Don't give me that baloney about loyalty. No such thing except to the $$. And that is exactly as it should be.

[Ganassifan]

Paul Tracy in NASCAR...

the mental picture I am getting of this.....with Childress...

can you imagine Harvick, Robbie Gordon and Paul Tracy on the same team?

Serenity now....serenity now...

[jetdoc]

In this months RACER magazine Sam addresses this situation and how it got out of hand on "internet forums". Hmmmmmm......here we go again!

[Brent_the_Lazier_fan]

Originally posted by Ganassifan
Paul Tracy in NASCAR...

Serenity now....serenity now...

Insanity later....

[Brent_the_Lazier_fan]

Re: Hoirnish to NASCAR still not dead

[QUOTE]Originally posted by dironstarr
[B]....Sam Hornish, GM's struggling Indy-car star....(Winston Salem Journal)(8-3-2003)


Drivel.

Whomever wrote that obviously doesn't understand the meaning of the word "struggling".

"Struggling" might be Helio Castroneves, a Penske driver who hasn't won in more than 20 races.

"Struggling" might be Tomas Sheckter, who when it comes to results is getting his butt kicked by his teammate.

"Struggling" might be Tora Takagi and Felipe Giaffone, who obviously have had a car to win all year but have not, unlike their three-race teammate.

Anyone who's watched Hornish this year knows full well his drives have been virtually impeccable.

[Tara]

I also think Sam was rather "telling" at the last race when he said he would follow his heart.

DEI stopped courting Sam they said he didn't seem really interested in runing the stockcars. Sam's heart is in Indycar and I (unlike Tex) say he has already made-up his mind to stay. What is left is finalizing the details of his contract.

I predicte Sam will stay in the IRL and I also bet he will stay with Panther.

[Griz]

Originally posted by Tara
I predicte Sam will stay in the IRL and I also bet he will stay with Panther.

I would sat there's a 90% chance of this coming true.

[Mackie]

NASCAR teams are always on the prowl for new talent that can take it to the front and keep it there. Half the field of drivers are too old, too wealthy and too often been badly injured to see a hole open up and go for it, knowing what the alternative is to coming out the other side with the fenders still on the car. Then there is the "Rusty" factor, too set in his ways to adopt the new setups used to overcome the massive movement in the front of the cars that screws up the front end geometry. Look at Penske racing, Newman, one of the new breed, never yet injured, winning 5 this year while Rusty can't get it done at all, and always has someone to blame but himself. With young guns needed to get to the front, drivers like Terry Labonte, Kenny Schrader, Rusty, Dale Jarrett, Sterling Marlin, Kyle Petty, Mark Martin and several others we all know are going to have to be replaced real soon. The team I am related to has and old guy too, but just when they about had him on the shelf hr won twice last year. I know why he won, I know what they did to get that car right, he was just flexible enough to but his trust in new ways, and they worked, Yesterday he lead early, His teammate, another ageing veteran who was signed as the "next coming" and has done little, is on the blocks, the only reason he may be signed again is that the owner has no one to replace him in the pipeline and all the young guns are tied up with development contracts. The teams have been too successful running young guns like Newman, Kenseth, Johnson, McMurrey, who could have won yesterday and Earnhardt to keep running the old guys.

Yes, Sam's name will always be on someone's lips, but I believe him when he says that he doesn't want to race 37 events, yet.

[Tex]

I hope griz and Tara are right and I'm wrong. Perhaps Panther or Penske or ? somebody in the IRL can meet/beat the NASCAR offers.
We all have a change of heart on occasion. And if the money is significantly better in NASCAR Sam will suddenly declare his loyalties have changed. Just like any other pro athlete. Or just like anyone on this board. If you are offered a fat increase in pay to change jobs you are gonna do it.
And there's nothing wrong with that.
Is it really any different than the change of heart the CART drivers had when switched to IRL after saying for years where their 'heart' is.
You may think the heart is inside the rib cage. In reality it is on the outside of the left hip. That is the way a free market economy works.

[SPM]

On Sam's website, he has recently unveiled a new line of clothing and nearly all of it is black and yellow.

I took it as a good sign.

[Brent_the_Lazier_fan]

Originally posted by SPM
On Sam's website, he has recently unveiled a new line of clothing and nearly all of it is black and yellow.

I took it as a good sign.

I don't think that means anything. Last time I checked, Greg Ray still had Menard stuff on his website, Billy Boat was still selling a Conseco diecast, and www.cahillracing was still online....

[Anthony_IV's_Fan]

I hope Hornish stays where he is!!

[jetdoc]

Originally posted by Tex
I hope griz and Tara are right and I'm wrong. Perhaps Panther or Penske or ? somebody in the IRL can meet/beat the NASCAR offers.

They don't necessarily HAVE to "meet or beat" the offer. Sam's a different creature.

... if the money is significantly better in NASCAR Sam will suddenly declare his loyalties have changed. Just like any other pro athlete. Or just like anyone on this board. If you are offered a fat increase in pay to change jobs you are gonna do it.

Not necessarily! There's alot of decisions that would have to go into that. Okay the money's more but I have to spend 47 of the 52 weeks in the year away from home. Hmmmm....not so good! Wow, they gave me all this money but in those OTHER 5 weeks, I have "sponsor appearances, charity dinners, etc..." Hmmmm.....not so good. Okay they gave me more money but put me on the track with the Bodines and Kyle (I'll turn around anywhere I feel like it) Petty not to mention Mr. Spencer. Hmmmmm......definitely not so good....and so on and so on.

Not everything revolves around money for some people. Some people are very comfortable in the skin they've got. They don't necessarily WANT all the other things that come with that HUGE (as you portray) pay raise.

[SPM]

Originally posted by Brent_the_Lazier_fan
I don't think that means anything. Last time I checked, Greg Ray still had Menard stuff on his website, Billy Boat was still selling a Conseco diecast, and www.cahillracing was still online....

None of your examples are still true.

The Hornish gear is new online as of last week.

Unless Sam's new NASCAR sponsor is CAT or Pennzoil, it seems someone just wasted a great deal of effort unveiling his new black and yellow apparel one month before his decision to switch teams.

I'm not saying it's proof (such as your erroneous examples above), but it's a good sign IMO.