Is It A Days Of Thunder Moment?

Let’s see…older grizzled championship crew chief, and young inspiring driver who wants to learn to win races. Sounds like Tom Cruise and Robert Duval are back as Tim Richmond and Harry Hyde, trying to build a car, and a race team that can beat Rowdy(er..Dale Earnhardt) to win a Cup championship. No, the new episode is a wylie old veteran in Tony Gibson, who will attempt to push a talented young Danica Patrick to victories in Sprint Cup competition next year.

Sep 30, 2012; Dover, DE, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series crew chief Tony Gibson before the AAA 400 at Dover Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

Stewart Hass Racing this week, moved veteran crew chief Tony Gibson over from Ryan Newman‘s #39 Chevrolet to the sit on Danica Patrick’s pit box for the remainder of her 2012 Sprint Cup schedule, and on into 2013. He will begin the project today at Texas Motor Speedway, as Danica qualified her GoDaddy Chevrolet Friday night, and will roll off 32nd. They will get one more bite of the apple this year at Phoenix next week.

Tony Gibson started as a Body  Hanger back in the 80’s and caught the eye of Alan Kulwiki. Kulwiki hired Gibson as a mechanic, and promoted him to crew chief where the pair won the 1992 Winston Cup title. After Kulwiki’s death in 1993, Tony moved on to work with Bill Elliott. Hendrick Motorsports hired him where he became the car chief for the Dupont Chevrolet, helping Jeff Gordon win Championships in 1998 and 2001.

After being hired at Dale Earnhardt Inc, where he worked with Steve Park and Mark Martin, and was eventually moved over to work with Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the #8 Chevrolet. He sit on Dale Jr’s pit box for 12 races in 2007 before getting caught up in the endless crew chief changes for the #8.

In 2010, Gibson was tabbed by Stewart Haas to take care of Ryan Newman in the newly formed race team, where they picked up their first victory together at the Subway Fresh Fit 600 in Phoenix.

I’m not sure if Tony Gibson can fix the problems with the GoDaddy Chevrolet. He has inherited a driver who lacks the exierence to drive in the Nationwide Series, and asking him to be competitive among the likes of Johnson, Gordon and Keselowski. I think the task is monumental, as he gets a driver who is reluctant to get involved in the door to door, bumper to bumper action at 200 miles per hour that is Sprint Cup.

Patrick come from Indy Car, where due to the lack of fenders, the cars that are designed for speed and space, maintain adequate separation. Patrick has said in interviews that she doesn’t like the close proximity racing that Nascar provides. I’m wondering how she thinks she can compete without some bumping and banging.

She continues to look for respect on the track, as she indicated after her recent altercation with Landon Cassill at Kansas where she got herself into the wall trying to extract some revenge on Cassill for cutting her off. I’m not sure what kind of respect she is looking for, but  I agree with Chief Editor of Beyond The Flag, Bryant Douglass that maybe some confrontations like that might bring some interest back to Nascar.

The novelty of Danica driving a stock car has waned over the last season. People who were watching every week to see how she was going to do, as well as rooting her on, have slowed, in my opinion, because she has not become competitive.

We saw the same story a few years back with Shawna Robinson, as she preformed well in the ARCA Series, and was brought up to Nationwide, where she failed to compete. I thought Shawna was a better driver than Danica in the cars with bumpers, and she actually liked mixing it up with the good ole boys, but her lack of understanding with race setups eventually cost her the ride.

Shawna didn’t have the marketing appeal Danica has, and thus lost the sponsorships that Danica commands. As long as she can sell websites and Peak Anti-Freeze, I suspect she will have a job. When everyone tires of the status quo, maybe Stewart Haas will put someone in the #10 who can put those Hendricks cars in victory lane, like a Reagan Smith. Just Saying!

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