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Andrew Longman
10-24-06, 01:31 AM
From Speed Tv:


Quote:
As reported for the past few weeks by SPEED, American open wheel star A.J. Allmendinger is leaving Champ Car for NASCAR and it will be confirmed Tuesday at a Red Bull press conference.

"I spoke with A.J. and his agent tonight and they informed me of their decision," said Gerald Forsythe, who hired Allmendinger after he was fired by RuSPORT four races into this season.

"I told him that I was disappointed, our team was disappointed and Champ Car fans will be disappointed but I wished him well."

The 24-year-old Californian captured the first three races he drove for Forsythe at Portland, Cleveland and Toronto and added two more at Denver and Elkhart Lake to become the best story of the year in open wheel.

But, despite his instant success and rapport with his new team, Allmendinger's ascention in Champ Car couldn't overcome the financial lure from the new Red Bull/Toyota NASCAR entry.

Forsythe originally offered Allmendinger a five-year deal and agreed to amend it to three years but claimed to be miles apart in terms of money.

"They want three million dollars a year plus prize money and that's just not realistic," said Forsythe last week. "I want A.J. and Champ Car wants A.J. but not at that price."

It's believed A.J. Foyt's namesake will run the full Craftsman Truck schedule in 2007 with an eye to move up to Nextel Cup in 2008. He's been under a personal service contract with Red Bull the past few years and made a very favorable impression on the Toyota brass during his first two truck starts.

Allmendinger is scheduled to make his Cup debut this weekend at Atlanta, as well as contest the truck show.

The Barber Dodge and Atlantic champion currently sits second in the point standings with one race remaining at Mexico City next month.

Spicoli
10-24-06, 03:41 AM
good for gerry.

nice knowing you 'dinger. BAAaaad move son.:shakehead

(by that i mean, Tayoter & Nexcar will spit him out so quick he'll wish he had a ride at rocketspurts.)

TravelGal
10-24-06, 03:51 AM
:) Two birthday presents in one week for me. First KK on no mergification and now this.

Toodles tyke. Have fun playing with your trucks.

cart7
10-24-06, 07:38 AM
Saw this on another site

$9 million for 3 years to go circling Nascar tracks.

Gerry offered $200,000 a year initially. No word on any counter offer amount. While trying to match the $9 million number would be insane, I would hope he came up with something better than $200k.

Beevis
10-24-06, 07:55 AM
Wonder if Gerry will have someone who wants a good opportunity in the next race....

trauma1
10-24-06, 08:01 AM
F yoda and white:flame:

TKGAngel
10-24-06, 08:05 AM
Even though he's done well in the past two truck races, Mikey Waltrip (yeah, I know, pot kettle) kept saying during the broadcasts that Dinger has no idea what he's doing. He's going to have to work extra hard to prove himself.

That said, good luck and god bless to him.

pchall
10-24-06, 08:09 AM
Toodles tyke. Have fun playing with your trucks.

NCTS means Nascar Crapsman Tonka Series? :rofl:

Definitely not getting much of a deal from Red Bull and To¥ota no matter how big the checks. He's likely to get lost in the weekly beat downs by the guys who know that the trucks are going to be their entire career. Allmendinger better hope that there are guaranteed GN and Cup starts at big deal weekends in that contract.

Insomniac
10-24-06, 08:12 AM
:) Two birthday presents in one week for me. First KK on no mergification and now this.

Toodles tyke. Have fun playing with your trucks.

Just curious, why are you happy?

Insomniac
10-24-06, 08:14 AM
It sucks to lose a good young driver. With that said, I hate it when Patriot fans turn on players who leave and act like they weren't as good as they were and we didn't need them. I'm not doing that to AJ. Still have the DP07, hopefully that will be exciting (read: Bourdais not winning all the time).

Audi_A4
10-24-06, 08:21 AM
i dont blame him, nascar taxi cabs are the way to go in order to secure his financial future.

Andrew Longman
10-24-06, 08:44 AM
9 million to race trucks? Insane. How many Cup drivers get that, let alone NCTS? Makes some basketball deals look reasoned.

But it obviously works for Toyota and Red Bull.

Sad thing is even with Toyota out of Champcar they still are messing it up.

Just one more example of how NASCAR and Toyota, in their own ways, are messing up racing.

And it shows the absolute limitation KK has in growing CC into something very big. A lot of work is needed before CC can attract the kind of sponsor money that would keep someone like AJ around.

nrc
10-24-06, 09:05 AM
Thank goodness we've got our dogs.

Very disappointing. Good luck to you Dinger. You sold out your dream. I'm sure with three million in your pocket Talledega willl seem just like Surfer's Paradise. It'll be great, the Missus can hang out in the Newell with the big haired, high dollar trailor trash and talk baton twirling. :irked:

Redwing
10-24-06, 09:06 AM
More proof that great young road racers grow into great oval racers. Oval racing sucks! You wanna go to N**CAR, come to Champcars and learn something!

stroker
10-24-06, 09:07 AM
Don't forget now, AJ's an American driver. Not that it'll count for dick racing in NASCAR, but I guess if you're getting paid in marks and yen you're exceptional in some way.

Too bad, really, right guy at the wrong time for CC.

KLang
10-24-06, 09:32 AM
Good luck AJ. I won't be following you to Nascar.

After all the crap that we've been through the last decade I think I've just become numb to this kinda stuff. I don't really care.

grungex
10-24-06, 09:38 AM
h


:p

emjaya
10-24-06, 09:47 AM
I'm happy about this.:)

OK, so we lose A.J, so what.He was a liitle twerp, now we can hate him properly.:D

What I like is that Toyota came to Champcar to find a driver, not to the IRL, not to any other oval track series, they came to a road racing series.:rofl:

And if others hoping for a NASCAR drive think that Champcar is their way to the top and they bring their money and sponsers along too, it can only be good in the long run.

Anything to raise the profile of Champcar can only be good, imho.
:)

Dirty Sanchez
10-24-06, 09:50 AM
if forsythe wasn't overpaying for tracy would this be happening?

Wheel-Nut
10-24-06, 10:04 AM
Drivers come and drivers go. I never get behind one particular driver, I could care less if the cars were driven by robots. It's all about the cars for me.

A new car for 2007, I'm looking forward to a good year. :thumbup:

Drivers, who cares who they are.

Tifosi24
10-24-06, 10:06 AM
3 million a year to race Trucks would be hard for anyone to pass up. If the 200k offer by GF is at all true, that is shameful. As was mentioned earlier, there is no way he could match Red Bull's Nascar offer, but good God, does he know what kind of message that sends someone when they offer you less than 10% of another offer they have on the table. You can hate on him all you want, but part of the blame falls on Forsythe for such a Scrouge like contract offer. I'm not gonna hate on him and be happy like some people, but I will wish him good luck because I can't fault a man for getting paid, especially the money he is getting.

NismoZ
10-24-06, 10:17 AM
I read it as an "original" offer of 200/yr. for 5 years, but for 3 yrs. that'd be as high as $333,333.33 per!:)

racer2c
10-24-06, 10:34 AM
I'm happy about this.

OK, so we lose A.J, so what.He was a liitle twerp, now we can hate him properly.:D

What I like is that Toyota came to Champcar to find a driver, not to the IRL, not to any other oval track series, they came to a road racing series.:rofl:

And if others hoping for a NASCAR drive think that Champcar is their way to the top and they bring their money and sponsers along too, it can only be good in the long run.

Anything to raise the profile of Champcar can only be good, imho.
:)

That is an optimistic outlook on the situation however I take a more pessimistic approach when looking at how AJ's decision reflects back on Champ Car. I think this just further perpetuates the myth to the powers that be i.e. Toyota, NASCAR, RedBull etc that Champ Car is a stepping stone series, minor league, money poor, on life support series and it's hard to argue it isn't. But what it does still carry is prestige in that the cars are still top level cars to drive on difficult road and street courses. The average NASCAR fan will never 'get it' or accept that AJ's move is not just a step up in money but in level of driving skill. NASCAR is trying to market itself to compete with the NFL on a sport level and F1 on the racing level and they are very close to achieving both (although all things NASCAR have been very quite for six weeks now).

Sometimes auto racing, especially NASCAR can be very, very predictable.
Press release sometime in the near future from my crystal ball; 'AJ Allmendinger ex Champ Car driver who won four races this year for Gerry Forsyth has decided to step up to NASCAR to compete a full season of Craftsman trucks for Red Bull Toyota. Along with the trucks AJ will compete in select Nextel Cup races in a Toyota car. AJ, "I look forward to competing next year in the truck series. The trucks are a lot of fun to drive and the competition is amazing! It will be a big learning curve of course. I need to be patient and learn as much as I can from these guys."

Interviewer, "AJ, how does the truck compare to the Champ Car you've been driving the last few years?". "Champ Cars are fast and precise race cars but with the aerodynamics, having a good race means a good setup on the car by the engineers. You need to manhandle the truck more. It's a more physical race machine. With drafting and different lines around the track there is a lot to learn, but I'm up for the challenge!" Which equates to the average NASCAR fan as 'trucks are harder to drive', NASCAR > Champ Car. It wasn't long ago that this wasn't the case. Amazing what huge sums of marketing money will do to change things eh?

I agree with Spicoli, it will prove to be a black hole for AJ. He'll end up on the "where are they now list" within three years. Sure Toyota will put him in a top Cup ride in '08 and the good ol' boys will smack him down and Toyota will pat him on his head and push him on his way. But, at least he'll have millions of dollars!

AJ getting canned from RuSport and getting picked up by Forsyth and winning four races was very exciting this year but it didn't make Champ Car a household name. It's not like we're losing Danickle.:gomer:

Champ Car will continue on unaffected.

Wabbit
10-24-06, 10:38 AM
Drivers come and drivers go. I never get behind one particular driver,


Drivers, who cares who they are.

This is one of the reasons ChampCar has an identity crisis. No driver stability. If drivers were around for a long time, people have someone to rally behind. We don't have many long term (5+ years) drivers left.

Spicoli
10-24-06, 10:42 AM
if forsythe wasn't overpaying for tracy would this be happening?

yes. this isn't about PT. its about dinger maxing out his $$$ while he can.

uncle gerry just put his foot down.

just cause you are a bazillionaire, doesn;t mean you have to pay tooooo much for things.
:shakehead

dinger's making a stoopid move, he'll get chewed up and spit out (IMHO) quick as ****.:thumdown:

plus he's a liar. but then all dribers are whores. 'cept for pope tracy. :p

Wheel-Nut
10-24-06, 10:43 AM
This is one of the reasons ChampCar has an identity crisis. No driver stability. If drivers were around for a long time, people have someone to rally behind. We don't have many long term (5+ years) drivers left.

Driver stability isn't going to put open wheel racing on the radar of casual race fans. NASCAR is a fad, hopefully it fade as all fads do.

G.
10-24-06, 10:47 AM
Thank goodness we've got our dogs.

My dog left me for my girlfirend. My wife is pissed.

rabbit
10-24-06, 10:52 AM
You hear that? It's the sound of apathy setting in...

racer2c
10-24-06, 10:57 AM
You hear that? It's the sound of apathy setting in...

Step four in the healing process. :)

1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Sadness
4. Apathy
5. New girlfriend

We're almost done!

nrc
10-24-06, 11:12 AM
Trained dogs driving the cars. That's the answer. Little electric rabbit buzzing round the course chased by a pack of hungry dogs piloting DP01s. Finally a group of drivers you can admire and cheer for and they'll work for kibble.

Dr. Corkski
10-24-06, 11:20 AM
if forsythe wasn't overpaying for tracy would this be happening?No, multi-year multi-million dollars contracts is perfectly fair market value for a washed-up mouthpiece who hasn't won anything in 20+ races and is getting his ass handed to him by 2 French guys.

Allmendinger should have realized Gesus Forsythe was doing him a favor lowballing him with that contract. He should have realized there is no market for drivers who actually win anything.

dando
10-24-06, 11:22 AM
****! Oh well. :irked: I was looking forward to a duel b/w two American drivers next season with Rahal and AJ. :( @ least we'll have the new chassis and (hopefully) some new teams to keep me interested. Otherwise, I'd rapidly be joining the WGAF group. :\ And no, I will not be following anything he does driving around in circles. :mad:

-Kevin

Dirty Sanchez
10-24-06, 11:22 AM
:D

I set 'em up and cork knocks 'em down.

trauma1
10-24-06, 11:26 AM
No, multi-year multi-million dollars contracts is perfectly fair market value for a washed-up mouthpiece who hasn't won anything in 20+ races and is getting his ass handed to him by 2 French guys.

Allmendinger should have realized Gesus Forsythe was doing him a favor lowballing him with that contract. He should have realized there is no market for drivers who actually win anything.

yack yack yack yack hater

TKGAngel
10-24-06, 11:28 AM
Driver stability isn't going to put open wheel racing on the radar of casual race fans. NASCAR is a fad, hopefully it fade as all fads do.

TV ratings have been consistently down this year (both overnights and final). Sign of the fad fading, or fan tiredness of the incessant parade of commercials?

Jayski's ratings chart (http://www.jayski.com/pages/tvratings2006.htm)

Racing Truth
10-24-06, 11:50 AM
Just curious, why are you happy?

Good question. :Ahem:, Time for a PROPER meltdown.

so young,,,so dumb,,,following the $$$$ ($9 mil. versus less than $2 mil.),, ignoring the dream, kevin & gerry have from the ruins built a great things, seeing the rise of a future champ this wkend warms the soul,,nelson, you are worth more than 30 'dingers combined,,we will go on, maybe AJ will too,,but he will not achieve true glory,,,,,never be lauded by the 10's of champcar loyal fans in this country,,,,,,loyalty is dead,,champcar is not,,we will....

Ah screw it. You try attempting to intentionally make no sense.:gomer:

Wheel-Nut
10-24-06, 12:11 PM
http://www.speedtv.com/_assets/library/img/large/126277_aja.jpg

spinner26
10-24-06, 12:13 PM
Good for AJ, bettering himself financially.:thumbup:

Bad for AJ, committing suicide dealing with Yoda, they have to win at all cost.:thumdown:

Good for some young driver needing a good home in CC.:thumbup:

Bad GF for trying to get something for nothing.:thumdown:

extramundane
10-24-06, 12:13 PM
Trained dogs driving the cars. That's the answer. Little electric rabbit buzzing round the course chased by a pack of hungry dogs piloting DP01s. Finally a group of drivers you can admire and cheer for and they'll work for kibble.

Yeah, but then Purina and Honda will team up to start a NASCAR team and steal the best dogs. It's a vicious cycle.


****! Oh well. :irked: I was looking forward to a duel b/w two American drivers next season with Rahal and AJ. :(

There's always Graham vs. Alex Figge, though you'll pardon me if I'm underwhelmed by said matchup. :\

Accipiter
10-24-06, 12:24 PM
I blame Tony George.

G.
10-24-06, 12:26 PM
Trained dogs driving the cars. That's the answer. Little electric rabbit buzzing round the course chased by a pack of hungry dogs piloting DP01s. Finally a group of drivers you can admire and cheer for and they'll work for kibble.Daly would get his ass fired when describing the driving adventures of the girl dogs.

To some, that's a bonus.

meadors
10-24-06, 12:30 PM
Step four in the healing process. :)

1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Sadness
4. Apathy
5. New girlfriend

We're almost done!

Definately at step 4 myself!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh are we talking champcar? and dinger?
I was think of my life:confused:

Insomniac
10-24-06, 12:34 PM
I blame Tony George.

Pretty much everything traces back to him. Stupid inheritor.

nrc
10-24-06, 12:41 PM
Good for AJ, bettering himself financially.:thumbup:

Bad for AJ, committing suicide dealing with Yoda, they have to win at all cost.:thumdown:

Good point. Dinger had serious issues at Rusport and when he landed at Forsythe he got a serious injection of confidence. How will Dinger handle adversity if he runs into problems and becomes a scapegoat ala daMatta?

Rob
10-24-06, 12:43 PM
Too bad, AJ, you could have been a champion. Now you'll be one of a couple dozen mid-packers chasing the top few teams.

Sports agents are scum.

TRDfan
10-24-06, 12:55 PM
This sucks.....AJ, love him or hate him could have really gotten more folks
in the US back into Champ Car.

Yeah, I'm still a Toyota guy (go ahead and hate me) but I'm also a Champ Car
guy. This year, I was at two CC races and no Yoda races - go figure.
Next year I'll probably be at a couple Nascar Toyota events, and I can
guarantee you, I'll let Dinger know that I would rather see him in a DP01 at Road America than a template truck/car with Toyota headliight stickers at some cookie-cutter oval.

Just my two cents. I wonder what his original plan/hope was when he signed
with Red Bull.

Andrew Longman
10-24-06, 01:05 PM
Good point. Dinger had serious issues at Rusport and when he landed at Forsythe he got a serious injection of confidence. How will Dinger handle adversity if he runs into problems and becomes a scapegoat ala daMatta?

I imagine he'll just take some of that cash and take his wife to dinner in some exotic locale whenever he wants.

(just as an aside, I wonder how much being newly married, his new wife and new agent had to do with replacing the dream of being a CC champion. Responsibility has a price)

TU Homer
10-24-06, 02:10 PM
3 million a year to race Trucks would be hard for anyone to pass up. If the 200k offer by GF is at all true, that is shameful. As was mentioned earlier, there is no way he could match Red Bull's Nascar offer, but good God, does he know what kind of message that sends someone when they offer you less than 10% of another offer they have on the table. You can hate on him all you want, but part of the blame falls on Forsythe for such a Scrouge like contract offer. I'm not gonna hate on him and be happy like some people, but I will wish him good luck because I can't fault a man for getting paid, especially the money he is getting.

I saw the report at SpeedTV, but I gotta say, it doesn't pass the sniff test. How many truck guys are making $1M a year, let alone $3M?

I still think GF needs to boot AJA immediately. Don't let the lad race in MC. Bring on RHR in his place. Or Buddy Rice. Not hatred toward AJA, but bidness is bidness. GF gets not a ting by having the Ding race in MC. Develop toward next season with someone that will take his measley $200k.


-TU

Insomniac
10-24-06, 02:13 PM
Too bad, AJ, you could have been a champion. Now you'll be one of a couple dozen mid-packers chasing the top few teams.

Sports agents are scum.

Would a CCWS championship be worth it in the long run? If he could get a 1 year deal with FCR and get a CCWS title, could he have made more in NASCAR come 2008? Obviously there's an injury risk there.

Insomniac
10-24-06, 02:14 PM
I saw the report at SpeedTV, but I gotta say, it doesn't pass the sniff test. How many truck guys are making $1M a year, let alone $3M?

I still think GF needs to boot AJA immediately. Don't let the lad race in MC. Bring on RHR in his place. Or Buddy Rice. Not hatred toward AJA, but bidness is bidness. GF gets not a ting by having the Ding race in MC. Develop toward next season with someone that will take his measley $200k.


-TU

I'm not sure why people think he's going to trucks. He's going to Nextel Cup.

trauma1
10-24-06, 02:15 PM
hope his fiance turns out to be the next brooke gordon of nascar:rofl:

racer2c
10-24-06, 02:16 PM
I'm not sure why people think he's going to trucks. He's going to Nextel Cup.

" It's believed A.J. Foyt's namesake will run the full Craftsman Truck schedule in 2007 with an eye to move up to Nextel Cup in 2008. "

:confused:

Dirty Sanchez
10-24-06, 02:19 PM
http://www.nascar.com/2006/news/headlines/cup/10/24/ajalmindinger_redbull/index.html :gomer:

racer2c
10-24-06, 02:27 PM
http://www.nascar.com/2006/news/headlines/cup/10/24/ajalmindinger_redbull/index.html :gomer:

Cool, we'll get to see him fail even quicker.:)

Wheel-Nut
10-24-06, 02:29 PM
Right here . . .

http://www.offcamber.net/forums/showthread.php?t=11763

Look at that silly cartoon.

Ed_Severson
10-24-06, 02:35 PM
I can guarantee you, I'll let Dinger know that I would rather see him in a DP01 at Road America than a template truck/car with Toyota headliight stickers at some cookie-cutter oval.

If you're telling him this while you're attending a NASCAR race, don't be surprised if he doesn't take you seriously.

trauma1
10-24-06, 03:07 PM
Right here . . .

http://www.offcamber.net/forums/showthread.php?t=11763

Look at that silly cartoon.

and that was done by red bull aroggant bastards:flame:

Wally
10-24-06, 03:08 PM
Good question....what would be the point of Forsythe running AJ at Mexico?

I believe FCR is testing two Atlantic drivers in Houston this week.....Si?

Oh and best of luck to Dinger, but its a huge disappointment.....

Dr. Corkski
10-24-06, 03:08 PM
If you're telling him this while you're attending a NASCAR race, don't be surprised if he doesn't take you seriously.BS. Participants always take interweb message boards posters seriously,,,

oddlycalm
10-24-06, 03:51 PM
TG screwed champ car racing and in the same breath he opened the door for NASCAR. The Frances were only too happy to walk right through it. Fact of the matter is that in the mid-90's nobody in NASCAR would have made 'dinger a $9 million offer to go run cup cars for 3yrs, but if he had done what he did this year against those fields there were some champ car teams that would have paid him that.

In the current market CCWS will get whoever they can afford, which is the drivers that are left without seats when the music ends in F1 and GP2, or had no hope of ever getting there. Given the fact that 3rd car Fridays are over, that's going to be quite a few.

oc

Ankf00
10-24-06, 04:01 PM
yack yack yack yack hater

doesn't take away from the truth of his statement.

mueber
10-24-06, 04:23 PM
You can buy a lot of American auto racing drivers for 3 million dollars a year, some of them were, at one time, under the impression that they were going to race in Champ Car before ride buying got to be the only way into the series.

It's worth a try.

TravelGal
10-24-06, 05:27 PM
Just curious, why are you happy?

As Insomniac originally directed this at me, I'll answer even thought it's 3 pages later.

I'm happy because I thought AJ always acted like a petulant, spoiled little boy. I never enjoyed his antics. Most of the time was on camera, I was cringing in front of the TV, wondering what he would say next.

I do agree that he brought a lot of fans to Champ Car. I think we got the best we could out of him. He helped raise our visibility. That's good. Now he's gone. I can't complain about that either. But, JMHO. Personal feelings only.

Originally it was said he would be in trucks but the official announcement said Nextel. Good for him for getting the dough. I'd rather have someone like that outside our series than in it.

It certainly makes one wonder how far back and how deep those Red Bull strings go. And how dangerous it is to be inviting that fox into our henhouse.

Wheel-Nut
10-24-06, 05:48 PM
. . . . . And how dangerous it is to be inviting that fox into our henhouse.

One needs to look no farther than the Honda / Toyota years.

Racing Truth
10-24-06, 08:01 PM
Thank God, we're finally approaching an honest-to-goodness meltdown!:gomer:

Oh h=ll, I'll say it: FAJA!! No-talent wanker with WAYYYYYYY too much personality! Screw him, who needs that shizzle? After all, we have the completely uninteresting, in terms of personality, Graham Rahal coming! Oh, and AJA (F him!:flame: ) couldn't carry Nelsonmania's jockstrap.

:gomer: :tony:

mueber
10-24-06, 08:10 PM
If you are worth the money because of the number of spectators you drag into the stands, Allmendinger wasn't worth 3 million a year in Champ Car. I think it remains to be seen if he's worth that much in NASCAR.

We'll see.

coolhand
10-24-06, 08:34 PM
No, multi-year multi-million dollars contracts is perfectly fair market value for a washed-up mouthpiece who hasn't won anything in 20+ races and is getting his ass handed to him by 2 French guys.

Allmendinger should have realized Gesus Forsythe was doing him a favor lowballing him with that contract. He should have realized there is no market for drivers who actually win anything.

agreed.

I was never a big fan of AJ and not surprised. I don't blame him though, I would race in Cup for free.

Insomniac
10-24-06, 10:01 PM
As Insomniac originally directed this at me, I'll answer even thought it's 3 pages later.

I'm happy because I thought AJ always acted like a petulant, spoiled little boy. I never enjoyed his antics. Most of the time was on camera, I was cringing in front of the TV, wondering what he would say next.

I do agree that he brought a lot of fans to Champ Car. I think we got the best we could out of him. He helped raise our visibility. That's good. Now he's gone. I can't complain about that either. But, JMHO. Personal feelings only.

Originally it was said he would be in trucks but the official announcement said Nextel. Good for him for getting the dough. I'd rather have someone like that outside our series than in it.

It certainly makes one wonder how far back and how deep those Red Bull strings go. And how dangerous it is to be inviting that fox into our henhouse.

I was just wondering. :) I figured you had your reasons and wanted to see your perspective.

TravelGal
10-25-06, 01:54 AM
I was just wondering. :) I figured you had your reasons and wanted to see your perspective.

Yeah, I figured that. ;) That's why I answered.

I always kept quiet because everyone seemed to like him so much but, as I wrote elsewhere, he just wasn't my cup of tea, although he did hand me my first (and last) Red Bull. :D

NismoZ
10-25-06, 10:22 AM
Now hearing that 200k figure was what he is currently getting, not what he was offered by Forsythe. The offer was considerably higher but the difference between that and the NASCAB offer was "insurmountable." Looking forward to seeing who the new #1 at FCR will be.;)

Chiphead_Dave
10-25-06, 10:24 AM
I liked watching AJ race.

I liked watching him win.

It made me happy when his team was based 30 miles from me (Rusport).

It made me sad when he got fired.

It made me happy when GF hired him.

It makes me sad he is leaving.

BUT I REFUSE TO FOLLOW HIM TO NASCAB.

Toyota may think that bringing AJ into NASCAB will bring fans, well here is one
who won't.

Sorry to see you go AJ but don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out because it isn't just about you it's about the racing.

G.
10-25-06, 12:06 PM
I liked watching AJ race.

I liked watching him win.

It made me happy when his team was based 30 miles from me (Rusport).

It made me sad when he got fired.

It made me happy when GF hired him.

It makes me sad he is leaving.

BUT I REFUSE TO FOLLOW HIM TO NASCAB.

Toyota may think that bringing AJ into NASCAB will bring fans, well here is one
who won't.

Sorry to see you go AJ but don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out because it isn't just about you it's about the racing.Bravo! [begin slow-clap]

AJ was my favorite driver this year. Last year, with him <thisclose> to winning, only to miss out. The drive, the heart. I just like the guy.

Then he gets the fustercluck of this season, how does he react? By winning! By spanking his mentor.:D

I don't get TravelGal's opinions, but that's ok, too.

He gets a win, he gushes on his crew, on the radio and on TV. He thanks Carl Russo. Sincerely thanks him. More about his crew.:thumbup:

He always mentions his sponsors, which, oddly enough, they seem to like.

I will miss him. He took it to Seabass.

[clapping has become frenetic]

RHR_Fan
10-25-06, 12:20 PM
I liked watching AJ race.

I liked watching him win.
It made me sad when he got fired.
It made me happy when GF hired him.
It makes me sad he is leaving.

BUT I REFUSE TO FOLLOW HIM TO NASCAB.

Toyota may think that bringing AJ into NASCAB will bring fans, well here is one
who won't.

Sorry to see you go AJ but don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out because it isn't just about you it's about the racing.

Agree with you completely. AJ wasn't my favorite driver, but it was nice to see him do well, especially since I started watching him toward the end of his BDPS career. If I didn't follow CF into nascrap, there's no way I'll be following nascrap for AJ. I wish him well and will check standings/highlights a bit more often.

~Nicole

racer2c
10-25-06, 12:25 PM
hope his fiance turns out to be the next brooke gordon of nascar:rofl:

I just read this. Sounds like she's stoked, she couldn't wait to spill the beans.



That was a week ago, and everybody is pretty quiet on both sides. A.J. claims he hasn't signed anything, yet his fiancée told friends on Wednesday night, "We're going to NASCAR."

Link (http://www.speedtv.com/commentary/33504/)

trauma1
10-25-06, 12:34 PM
been hearing she is a piece of work:shakehead

grungex
10-25-06, 04:27 PM
He always mentions his sponsors, which, oddly enough, they seem to like.

Actually, he had a bad habit of not mentioning Indeck, which was truly his primary sponsor. GF was somehat irked by the omission.

G.
10-25-06, 04:59 PM
Actually, he had a bad habit of not mentioning Indeck, which was truly his primary sponsor. GF was somehat irked by the omission.Yeah, but I ain't gonna buy nothing from Indeck.

Insomniac
10-25-06, 05:33 PM
Actually, he had a bad habit of not mentioning Indeck, which was truly his primary sponsor. GF was somehat irked by the omission.

I found that odd, but PT didn't ever mention the sponsors on his car (besides Players) either.

grungex
10-25-06, 05:48 PM
True enough, but if you're GF and your new driver keeps popping out of the car gushing over Red Bull, without mentioning the company plastered all over the sidepods and wings, you're bound to be a bit miffed. Especially keeping in mind Red Bull did not contribute one cent to the team.

Dr. Corkski
10-25-06, 07:46 PM
Like Indeck is a real sponsor anyways. :rofl:

Spicoli
10-25-06, 10:23 PM
Like Indeck is a real sponsor anyways. :rofl:

Does your mom work at Newman Haas? Or are you somebody from Turdforum?:gomer:

grungex
10-25-06, 10:24 PM
Probably both.

Spicoli
10-25-06, 10:26 PM
Probably both.

could be craig hampsen (who has never been seen in the same place as bourdais' mom - i'm just sayin :saywhat: ). :tony:

grungex
10-25-06, 10:28 PM
:rofl: :D

nrc
10-25-06, 10:29 PM
Like Indeck is a real sponsor anyways. :rofl:

It's as real as most sponsorships in open wheel racing these days.

Dr. Corkski
10-25-06, 11:29 PM
FaFu might actually get to thank his "real sponsor" if he actually decides to do something worthwhile on track this year.

grungex
10-25-06, 11:32 PM
Hampsen's mom?

Dirty Sanchez
10-25-06, 11:39 PM
how does a bald dude get sponsored by a barber shop? :laugh:

http://www.sportclips.com/images/press/tracypose.jpg

Dr. Corkski
10-25-06, 11:39 PM
Hampsen's mom?Uh oh here comes teh ethug.

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k246/two_face_08/mekeepinitgangsta.jpg (http://thetruestgs.phpbbnow.com/index.php)

Spicoli
10-25-06, 11:53 PM
corkturd = busted.:D

Tony George
10-26-06, 12:12 AM
Word.

http://shockingbird.com/download/icy_hot_stuntaz.jpg

Spicoli
10-26-06, 12:22 AM
nope - he's a soloh rollah.:tony:

http://www.thewavemag.com/images/articles/7001-8000/7482.jpg