Is Ray Alley still the crew chief? (1 Viewer)

[Paul]

Re: Berstein-Poacher

I have never seen a bunch of crying babies like some of you here. Everyone needs to remember this is a business and you should leave your feelings at the door when it comes to business. Why aren't you upset with Tuttle for not having an enforceable contract to keep him with the team throughout the year? Business is cutthroat at times and this is a perfect example. If you were in Bernstein shoes you wouldn't have made a similar decision? If you wanted to be successful you would!

 

[Paul]

Re: Berstein-Poacher

god you people need to grow up! a second topic about kb. come on. like him or not this is the normal in all motorsports. how about powers taking MATCO , BETTER YET HOW ABOUT THE SHOE TAKING MATCO AND MOPAR FROM SKUZA. how about beckman buying the seat out from under bazemore after baze tought him how to drive a funnycar? how about mike waltrip taking NAPA from DEI. how aboutdale jarrett taking UPS to waltrip racing? how about FORCE taking AAA from DENSHAM? DONT YOU SEE A PATTERN!? there is no loyalty in big buisness or motorsports. auto racing is such a small world so you hear and see what happend all the time. how much of this happens between major companies in the entire world that you don't hear and you don't know. if the ceo left mcdonalds and gave burgar king the recipe for the special sauce on the big macs would you cry fowl? who cars. if you don't like the program then change the channel.

Couldn't agree more! All of the examples you gave is a perfect example on how the business can be harsh at times, but it is reality.

 

[Toejam]

Sponsors are out there to win! The Monster machine wants as much Ink on Sunday just as much as the U.S. Army, Castrol, Auto Club of So. Cal. you name it. My Guess is that Jimmy Walsh got a substantial Pay increase on this deal, how many of us would turn down a pay increase such as this? Why do you think AJ and Coil make the $$$ they do?

 

[PJ]

Re: Berstein-Poacher

I have never seen a bunch of crying babies like some of you here. Everyone needs to remember this is a business and you should leave your feelings at the door when it comes to business. Why aren't you upset with Tuttle for not having an enforceable contract to keep him with the team throughout the year? Business is cutthroat at times and this is a perfect example. If you were in Bernstein shoes you wouldn't have made a similar decision? If you wanted to be successful you would!

thats what I'm saying. I don't like it and I think it sucks, buts thats business and I don't know that I can fault them for trying to survive.

Don't hate the playa hate the game

 

[JL]

I wonder how Brandon feels??? Isn't JR one of his best friends?

 

[mike cummings]

The only way Kenny can redeem himself on this deal would be to pull his kid out of the dragster and put JR in in his place.

Why on earth would he do that? Walsh wasn't Todd's personal property that KB took at gunpoint. It was a business deal. Get over it.

 

[brian]

I'm a little suprised so many are upset over this deal in this day & age.... To me, Phil Burkhart (who was the shining light for CSK last year) getting bought out of his seat by Jeff Arend sucked way more than this deal...

But they were both business (i.e. $$$$$) decisions... Loyalty left a long time ago...

 

[TJ]

Guys/Girls......whats w/ the whining over the K. Bernstein deal? Many here would be surprised about some contracts floating around many top NHRA teams. These contracts are not like 'real' entertainers contracts. We are talking drag racing people...low level entertainment to the people that matter.
Walsh was w/out a contract as many crew chiefs are as we type. Todd is w/out a contract....old news guys/girls. The top ten teams in F/C and T/F still employ people as interns....free labor on a fuel car is want these car owners want, and they have no problem finding free/cheap help. If you think $30,000 a year, (after you prove yourself for free) is good money than you should apply for a touring fuel team. Bernstein nailed down Armstrong years ago w/ a contract (million dollars over 6 years) so no one could take him away. Walsh as many other tuners are not paid what they think they should be and he walked...simple as that....Alley had a race-to-race contract as did West....West knows his stuff as well as the best of em. Bernstein tried to get Armstrong but Dale (rents property from us in Temecula) did not want to do this tuning thing again and give 110% of his life.
Kenny did what most thought he'd do and if you had a successful business you would do what it takes to retain those people from ever leaving to be your competitor.
Kenny has empty pockets and rumor was true that Kenny has his eye on Todd and Phil @ DSR for 2008 and on.......

 

[TooTall999]

One of the factors everyone seems to be overlooking is the Tim /Kim Richards connection.They seemed to have something to do with Walsh coming to KB.And we haven't heard Walsh's side in this either.Maybe he wanted to change.Let's not so quick to condemn KB on this deal.

 

[DrRocket]

.......I just think it's a shame that a 62 year old who has done it all and should be content to be a team owner...................

Who in heck are we to say what anyone "should be content" to do?? That's a pretty presumptuous statement. I never for one second believed that Kenny was happy "retired." I thought he looked miserable watching his son drive his car. In fact, he made no bones about the fact he hated "retirement" and would love to get back into a car pretty much the entire time he was "retired." His "Farewell tour???" That's called marketing. (Remember folks. This is a business.)

And just what in tarnation does his age have to do with anything????

One of the factors everyone seems to be overlooking is the Tim /Kim Richards connection. They seemed to have something to do with Walsh coming to KB. And we haven't heard Walsh's side in this either. Maybe he wanted to change. Let's not so quick to condemn KB on this deal.

It WILL be interesting to hear Jimmy's take on this.

Get a grip, people.

 

[Joker]

I understand that this sucks, and I think it does as well. However, you all need to look at everything from a business standpoint.

Jimmy Walsh- I am sure he got paid handsomely for this. How can you blame him?

Monster-The car they just spent millions on cant even make it down the racetrack. It was time to do something and I cant blame them.

KB-though I have never been a real big KB fan, he's a great business man, and he hasnt made it to the finish line but about 3 or 4 times so he knows some damage control was definitely in need. So go after some fire power.

Having said all that, it does suck for JR and the whole Skull Gear crew. I wish them nothing but the best. Maybe they will join the "Alliance". I just dont really know the exact reason KB would want someone tuning a dragster to come over on his funny car. I think I would have went after a top running funny car crew chief but I hope it works out for all involved.

 

[nunya]

Remember all the crapstorm when KB hired Ray Alley? Even Force was pissed because Ray had access to their innovations. Ray had not tuned a car in a number of years and "it" had passed him by. My question is this..... If I had made a hiring mistake and, no disrespect to Jimmy Walsh, why wouldn't I hire a Proven Funny Car Crew Chief this time?

 

[RickyD]

Sucks to be JR right now and it may suck to be Walsh in the very near future if he does not produce, and it'll suck even more to be KB if he doesn't get results soon. Gotta wonder where walsh's tuning/playbook goes???? Who's property is it? Haven't we asked this question before?

 

["Dr. Dirt"]

It's Business?
It's Business?
Hello
Business is life!
Turn the tables and ask how you would feel if someone just hired your winning crew chief away from your little independent team? Now see it from the human perspective and ask how you would feel the same if someone offered a large sum of money for your wife and kids. Business is life! There should be no differences.

When did treating folks different in business become acceptable?

 

[StockersRock]

Jimmy had better hope that that swine of a car grows some wings

Maybe they should throw some Red Bull in the tank.

 

[Suzie Q]

Thank you to everyone for your replies on this topic.

I wish J.R. Todd the best of luck, he is a very talented driver and handles himself very well with the press and the fans. I hope his new crew cheif will keep his performance up so that he will be a contender in the chase.

 

[steve]

Get used to it, this is probably just the beginning.

There will probably be 17-18 Top Fuel Dragsters and up to 20 well funded Funny Cars running the entire season this year.

How many DNQ's will some of the other top teams tolerate before they go after another crew chief.

Every year we call it a "silly season", but this one might deserve the name.

 

[r2]

One of the factors everyone seems to be overlooking is the Tim /Kim Richards connection.They seemed to have something to do with Walsh coming to KB.And we haven't heard Walsh's side in this either.Maybe he wanted to change.Let's not so quick to condemn KB on this deal.

It only took 149 posts for someone to hit the nail on the head, and do the very simple thing of reading what was said... KB put SOME money down on a table, let's say that a few crew chiefs walked up to that table and looked at it, smelled it, and said no thanks... Now let's suppose that Jimmy walked up there and as we know, he took the money and signed the dotted line with nothing pointed at his head...As far as we know
There could be many reasons for this, if it is the $$$ then hey, get over it... I say he SOLD OUT!! But as far as KB this and KB that... KB, Tim and Kim may have/ did help make this happen... But my loyalty would have been with JR, Evan, and Dexter... I just hope that Jimmy talked to all three before he left town... So in my opinion, KB did nothing wrong by making the rounds and offering a job to someone who would take it... Jimmy Walsh is the one that TOOK THE MONEY... PERIOD SELL OUT!!

 

[DragFan2]

It's Business?
It's Business?
Hello
Business is life!
Turn the tables and ask how you would feel if someone just hired your winning crew chief away from your little independent team? Now see it from the human perspective and ask how you would feel the same if someone offered a large sum of money for your wife and kids. Business is life! There should be no differences.

When did treating folks different in business become acceptable?

Bobby,

I agree with your sentiments. The whole "business is business" response is still not a valid argument for things that are done. Kenny B is not winning many fans, at least not "true" drag racing fans out of the manipulations he is doing. He may have just turned JR's and Jimmy Walsh's feel good story or miracle season totally upside down just because he can "buy" the people he hopes will get his team on track. This whole scenario is all about power and greed, both of which are corrupting influences. Kenny obviously could offer more money and prestige to Jimmy Walsh than he had at Tuttle's, even with Evan Knoll's help so for him it was just a better opportunity, but with that comes more pressure. We shall see how this all plays out. My hope is that JR gets a good tuner, or tuners, to replace Jimmy and Danny and he keeps the momentum he had going.

 

[J.C.]

Maybe they should throw some Red Bull in the tank.

Now, that was FUNNY!