Tony Shoe's Race wins- Bad for the Sport? (1 Viewer)

[mike]

I never get sick of seeing Alan Johnson win.

Amen brother Amen!!

 

[Joker]

When teams dominate, they deserve it. Is it bad for the sport? No. Just bad for the other teams. They just need to get off there azz and find something the others dont know yet. Or go for a quicker and more expensive fix, hire AJ away from the Dark Side! AJ is the man, it doesnt matter who he's tuning, there going to be the class of the field.

It just sucks when someone is dominating and its not your team or driver. So if your not a Sarge or DSR fan, then top fuel really sucks for you right now and has for the last few years. And I have to admit even though I'm not exactly a Sarge or DSR fan I dont mind seeing AJ continue to win. The man's genious. I cant tell you how many people I know that used to hate Force and love him now. It was all b/c he was dominating the class. Now that he cant seem to find his azz people all love him again. I cant wait till the day people start hating him again, b/c thats going to mean he's actually winning again. I'll be waiting on that day.

 

[T-Bone]

Can I play devils advocate? Ok, granted I'm not the biggest Tony fan either..actually I remember getting a little bored when Larry Dixon was winning race after race..I quit watching PS for a while because it was always Greg Anderson winning week after week... that being said...in the previous posts it's all about how "Tony is the true champion" - "John Force is the true champion"...well, look behind the "champion" and they didn't get their by themselves.

IMHO Tony wouldn't be where he is without Alan Johnson...Force wouldn't be there without Coil...and not just the Crew Chiefs..but the whole TEAM (as is referenced in every top end interview with the drivers).

Just an observation...bash me if you must....

T >

 

[megadeth]

I don't think anyone could hire AJ that easily he seems content over at DSR.
Life is great for AJ nobody tells him what to do not even the Don who will just try and keep it that way.
The only way I see AJ leaving is what he said in an interview that if the right offer were to come along to campaign a F/C and do it right basically his way would be the only way stop the dominance.
So if someone has enough money to fund his team and as AJ said in that interview, I think it was at DRO or CompPlus, he has unfinished business in that category it's all wishful thinking!

 

[StockersRock]

I never get sick of seeing Alan Johnson win.

Hell yeah, me too! He could be so "whatever" about it at this point, but he's usually the most animated guy on the starting line when they win. His reaction to "The Run" at the Finals a couple of years ago, is one of my favorite moments in drag racing. I really never was much of a fan of theirs, but I got to spend some time in their hospitality area a couple years ago at E-town, and it totally changed my perspective. That team is such a fine tuned machine (not to say they all are, but you get my point), it was really cool to see how they go about their respective duties, and with the effeciency and relative silence that it was done with. I instantly became a fan, and came to respect their dominance that much more.
Having said that, I can be the first to get sick of the K.B. cars dominating Pro Stock. I respect what they've done the last bunch of years a ton. But, I guess just from the fact that I have real favorites in Pro Stock (while I don't really in Top Fuel), they're just not the guys I want to see win all the time.

 

[JFrechJr]

IMHO Tony wouldn't be where he is without Alan Johnson

Or Daddy haha

But when Bob said it..he meant it as an ultimate compliment...

Yes and I was taking it from context as such; like I said no disrespect to the team. Just get tired of the same people holding the Wally all the time and seeing the same people on the cover on ND every time a new one is laying in the mailbox.

 

[hellfirejim]

I am a major alan johnson fan. What I was wondering was at what point does Tony and Alan go funny car racing??? How many TF championships before it is time to move on to funny car??? I know that both Tony and Alan have said that they want to do a funny... Just thinking out loud.

 

[Bullet]

Can I play devils advocate? Ok, granted I'm not the biggest Tony fan either..actually I remember getting a little bored when Larry Dixon was winning race after race..I quit watching PS for a while because it was always Greg Anderson winning week after week... that being said...in the previous posts it's all about how "Tony is the true champion" - "John Force is the true champion"...well, look behind the "champion" and they didn't get their by themselves.

IMHO Tony wouldn't be where he is without Alan Johnson...Force wouldn't be there without Coil...and not just the Crew Chiefs..but the whole TEAM (as is referenced in every top end interview with the drivers).

Just an observation...bash me if you must....

T >

T. I kind of agree with you to an extent, but in my opinion, you could replace any of the ARMY crew members with anyone who knows what they are doing in that role ie. head guy, clutch guy, bottom end guy, heck even the driver, and that car would still be a winner if AJ is calling the shots. Take ANY other Crew Chief on the tour and put them on the ARMY car instead of AJ, and even with the exact crew they have now that car wouldn't be half as successful as it is. right now.

This is in no way a slam on any of the other Crew Chiefs, the current ARMY crew or Tony. But that car is the way it is because of one man.

 

[BaldyLochs]

I think don't they're living the life of riley "over there" though... I guarantee every one of his employees know thier ass is on the line any given Sunday.... with 15 cars breathing down thier neck, knowing that everybody out there is waiting and ready to stomp them at the first glimpse of them making the slightest mistake. And they do make mistakes - every one of them. That's got to be a tremendous amount of pressure. Having said that, I guess they're the ones who can deal with the pressure the best and make the fewest mistakes right now.
I for one would like to see Alan pursue a career in the grocery business.

 

[willy]

It's the nature of the beast. Any individual or team that dominates..will hear it. It's always been that way.

Yankees..love 'em or hate 'em.
Patriots
Kinser
Wolfgang (booed weekly @ Knoxville)
Petty, etc, etc

Personally, I love it and think it's great for any sport and see no downside to it.

 

[mick]

It's the nature of the beast. Any individual or team that dominates..will hear it. It's always been that way.

Yankees..love 'em or hate 'em.
Patriots
Kinser
Wolfgang (booed weekly @ Knoxville)
Petty, etc, etc

Personally, I love it and think it's great for any sport and see no downside to it.

couldn't agree more

 

[Kris]

All sports are identified with their champions. Think back, Force, Bernstein, Prudhomme, Muldowny, Garlits...etc. They set the bar high and made everyone dig deep to knock them off. That is the Army Team now. I think they do a fantastic job representing our sport and our troops. Sooner or later though, there will be a new sheriff in town.................

In my opinion the phrase I emphasized with bold type is quite important.

I kind of feel neutral about Tony Schumacher. But he's good for the sport. When he wins, I find it fun to watch, especially considering how he came back both in 2006 and 2007 to win the title. It seems some forget quickly that he was what, 335 points back about mid-way through the 2006 season, then came back and snatched it away from Kalitta with that spectacular moment in drag racing history with "The Run."

To me it's incredible to look back at 2006/2007 and see how much the team struggled to go rounds during the first half of both seasons then figure it out to the point they won the title.

My thought now is it's about time they carried over second half season success from last season to the next.

I'm also a believer in karma. And with the Countdown it's very possible someone could come along and do to Schumacher what he did to Hot Rod last year.

And besides, there are plenty of people out there who like to cheer for the winner, there are more Yankees and Red Sox fans in the world than I care to admit.

Again, he's a good ambassador for drag racing (though just as good when he's losing but your message goes further when you're winning) and anything that promotes support for our soldiers is fine by me.

 

[paoldtimer]

HIJACK....

Kinser
Wolfgang (booed weekly @ Knoxville)

I could never boo those two!! Even though I was a big Sammy fan, I've always appreciated the talent those two possess!! Put the 3 of them on the same track (in the 80's)...pure bliss for this sprint car fan

ok, back to the regularly scheduled topic....

 

[T-Bone]

T. I kind of agree with you to an extent, but in my opinion, you could replace any of the ARMY crew members with anyone who knows what they are doing in that role ie. head guy, clutch guy, bottom end guy, heck even the driver, and that car would still be a winner if AJ is calling the shots. Take ANY other Crew Chief on the tour and put them on the ARMY car instead of AJ, and even with the exact crew they have now that car wouldn't be half as successful as it is. right now.

This is in no way a slam on any of the other Crew Chiefs, the current ARMY crew or Tony. But that car is the way it is because of one man.

Yes..AJ.. The heart and soul of the "team" is the Crew Chief... It's really HIS a$$ on the line if the car doesn't go rounds consistently week after week as we've seen over the years with the "Crew Chief Musical Chairs"...hmm..kind of like my company with the Annual July Re-org....

T

 

[Watchman]

It seems to me that the past few years they dominated by having .1 to .05 seconds on the entire field but they lost when they made mistakes.

This year they do not seem to have as great of a performance advantage. They are just not making mistakes.

2005 They overwelmed with performance.

2006 some mistakes with car a couple of driving mistakes then owned that last few races and won with the " Run"


Last year not as big of a performance advantage until the end and stayed consistent at the end.

This year there are very few mistakes. There have been some. At Norwalk There was an oildown then a downpour right before Tony raced Hot Rod. He had the best reaction time and the lead until he hit the oil, Fuller won. He told me Alan told him he should have swithced lanes but did not.

That was one of the few mistakes.

I say this because the other teams have it within reach but just are not as consistent.

Alan has made very few mistakes and Tony has not made any that cost a race that I remember.

Question

I wonder how many National event wins Alan Johnson has total with Blaine, Scelzi, and Schumacher? Anyone know?

I think the biggest threat to the Army team will be if Obama gets elected and dismantles our military. Which he has said he would.

I think it helps the sport because there are always those who want a hero and those who want the underdog.

mike

 

[willy]

HIJACK....



I could never boo those two!! Even though I was a big Sammy fan, I've always appreciated the talent those two possess!! Put the 3 of them on the same track (in the 80's)...pure bliss for this sprint car fan

ok, back to the regularly scheduled topic....

Doug raced weekly at Knoxville and held the record for most wins until Lasoski took it away.
Remember the Weikert (29) car? Man..Wolfie dominated in that car.

[/hijack x 2]

 

[Terry]

It's the nature of the beast. Any individual or team that dominates..will hear it. It's always been that way.

Yankees..love 'em or hate 'em.
Patriots
Kinser
Wolfgang (booed weekly @ Knoxville)
Petty, etc, etc

Personally, I love it and think it's great for any sport and see no downside to it.

On the nose, David. Remember the year a bunch of fans got together and hired a plane to fly over Knoxville with a sign that said "anyone but Kinser"?

 

[Suzie Q]

I think the biggest threat to the Army team will be if Obama gets elected and dismantles our military. Which he has said he would.

mike

I am sorry but...........GIVE ME A BREAK!!!

 

[Alan]

I think the biggest threat to the Army team will be if Obama gets elected and dismantles our military. Which he has said he would.

Whhhhhhhhhaaaaattttttttt????? Where did that come from??

 

[Suzie Q]

Whhhhhhhhhaaaaattttttttt????? Where did that come from??

That is the most RIDICULOUS thing I have heard! Honestly, do you think this country would EVER not have a military? Someone been eatin' a crack sandwich!!!

more than likely, it is in the political propaganda that if floating around like a turd in the toilet!