Austin Coil

[paoldtimer]

Possible theories explaining the "off" year:

1) Health. A health scare has a way of changing priorities in a heartbeat.

20 Testing ban. Rule changes affect teams differently. A team that tests a great deal is going to be hit hard by this change.

3) Age. It is easy to have a tendancy to lose your edge as you get older. Especially when you combine it with a health scare.

4) Small sweet spot. With these cars, you don't have to be very far off to have a bad year.

Just something to think about................

and "maybe" he's learning to delegate.

 

[Huge]

Lets see. JFR winner and runner up in the championship and winner and runner up at the world finals. Not a bad slump to be in.

 

[ProNitro Pete]

Possible theories explaining the "off" year:

1) Health. A health scare has a way of changing priorities in a heartbeat.

20 Testing ban. Rule changes affect teams differently. A team that tests a great deal is going to be hit hard by this change.

3) Age. It is easy to have a tendancy to lose your edge as you get older. Especially when you combine it with a health scare.

4) Small sweet spot. With these cars, you don't have to be very far off to have a bad year.

Just something to think about................

I Think that Mel hit on 20............just hunching here, but that could explain alot............3 to run and 1 for fun?

 

[JL]

So why was John Medlin over with Force and Zippy tuning his own car? I may have missed it, but I could see Austin running the brain trust and John taking over Force's car with Zippy leading his own effort... Just my .02

 

[Toejam]

Austin Coil does what John Force tells him too! If that means using John's car as a blocker for Ashley and Robert, than he's done his job.

 

[Bullard Anderson]

Austin Coil does what John Force tells him too! If that means using John's car as a blocker for Ashley and Robert, than he's done his job.

Joe, you bring up a valid point. I feel that if your not trying to gain on every run down the track is could set you back. I mean it's certainly not the whole enchilada, but it's at least the beans.

And let me say to that after Indy there were more than a few occasions for a questionable race. But JFR came through with heads up. Good for them and that should be noted.

 

[None]

im sure they were doing thier share of testing, but how can anyone question austins year- 16 championships, hundreds of wins, thousands of round wins. hes one of the best of all time, someone drank thier haterade today i see.

Balderdash. Legitimate question and I see no bias in it. Underwear a bit tight today?

 

[Bill]

I am probably the only person on this board who feels this way, but after all the diving and conniving, and "team orders" and racing that we got to watch this year that wasn't actually RACING, I have decided that the spectator show would be enhanced if NHRA suddenly said, "No more multi-car teams."

If that means an 8 car qualified field, so be it.

At least, then, when two cars went down the strip, you'd be pretty well-assurred that they were actually trying to beat each other to the finish line.

The status quo doesn't seem to provide that.

 

[Jim]

I don't want to engage in revisionist history but, IS THERE ANY POSSIBILITY that Coil and Bernie "found something" when they swapped cars late in the season? I mean - dive time aside - Robert's car really stepped-up for the countdown. Jimmy Prock's a great crew chief but - MAYBE - there was something the old gray eminence saw that became part of the late season tune-up?

PS: I have no special insight - I don't even recall if Austin was THAT active during that period but, something good happened to those guys that transformed their season. Just sayin'