Lets do the side step and measure things up...
Patrick- is a racer, and come's from open wheel with allot of talent and can get the job done, but, he is Canadian and finding Sponsorship proceeds in a USA based Series is very unlikely to ever happen.
BEST CASE- Patrick gets a Nationwide ride and finds a Sponsor that works on a International level- showcases his talent and crosses his fingers for a Cup Ride.
MY THINKING- Patrick needs to try and find a Sponsor that wants Patrick and not the Series. Get your butt back into Open Wheel where you belong, and where you can be regarded as one of the better drivers.
A.J.Allmendinger- is fast- will drive hard- and see's no boundary points in racing at any level. He is very cocky and runs with that Gordon attitude that his shit don't stink...and I mean the other Gordon- Not the one that can really drive in the 24 car.
BEST CASE- A.J. learns that he has to control his mouth and learns to work with his team, and by doing so wins allot of races as he does have the talent to do so.
Sponsors love the guy- so money is not an issue here.
MY THINKING- I would lean more towards this young - top gun- as a driver to lead my team to victory lane over allot of Drivers, but he does need to control himself on and off the track.
Mike Wallace- Great Racer with allot of patience, but has to follow in his brothers foot steps...not the yacky one..the one that can actually drive and win races.
As a Driver he is what you would want as a Team Representative.
Clean Cut- Good Looking- Well Spoken- Great Feedback- Can dial in a Car- Can run up front- Is more likely to wreck trying then trying to wreck- and best yet- is a Wallace !!
BEST CASE- Gieco follows Mike to Cup and gets a good couple o9f years out of the ride.
Mike is not a young gun so he doesn't expect to be here in 5 years from now- but NOW really matters to this guy.
MY THINKING- If I had to pick one of the three- Wallace is my man.
He will run hard- keep equipment in shape- work with others- and is respected in any Garage at any level of Motorsports.
Evernham Gillette- Ray had the ride of his life with Jeff Gordon, and visaversa.
Both Men experienced winning better then most and have never been able to accomplish that level of stature ever since they parted ways.
Ray went on his own and did so by bringing Dodge back to Cup style racing and has been very successful at that venture, but has yet to provide the evidence of that once bright moment in his racing career.
BEST CASE- Ray finds another Gordon and molds him to be his driver- win races and dominate's a Championship.
Evernham has more talent in his back pocket then 99% of the entire cup field and needs an opportunity to show case it.
MY THINKING- Most of the Power House Teams are peaked out.
Hendricks is capped with a stellar Driver load and next year, attitudes will bring down this team as everyone trys to figure out who is the leader.
Roush, Ganassi, and Penske will stay intact and aggressive, but Driver jumping has not even started to play a role in their programs....yet !!
DEI is not a threat at all- to anyone- but could become a great purchase program for Evernham and Gillette as DEI's value continuously sores to the basement.
Rumor- Maybe...but every week for the past month DEI has had Auctions selling off a ton of GM stuff....keeping everything that is useable to startup under a differnt logo !!
Can Ray build a 4 car team... YES- once the purchase is finalized and DEI becomes GEM.
Linkback: https://www.canadianracingonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=8818.msg58953#msg58953
