| ESPN Network: ESPN.com | RPM | NBA.com | NHL.com | ESPNdeportes | ABCSports | FANTASY | |
 |
|
 | |
 |
  |
 |
|
Monday, December 22 Updated: January 3, 7:17 PM ET  Comments on Cup drivers ESPN.com We spotlighted Cup drivers Derrike Cope, Ricky Craven, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Bill Elliott. Here are your thoughts on their '03 campaigns and prospects for next season:
Gary Williams Tampa, Fla.
Like Kyle Petty, Derrick Cope and the rest of the bottom feeders who take spots away from more deserving racers are a disgrace to the sport. Week after week we see Cope qualify 40th and race? Five laps and take his car to the garage with suposed engine trouble. Do us a favor and quit the sport please. Pat McJilton Cockeysville, Md.
If he only had the money. Seems that is what all the bottom of the barrel teams say. I say time to give it up. Todd Blackburn Jonesboro, Ind.
Derrike Cope and the 37 team are going nowhere. Cope is a great personality, but his team is awful, and his sponsor, Friendlies, is a regional company that does not want to advertise in all the Nascar venues. Therefore, Cope will never get the full exposure to the circuit, unless he signs more deals. Even so, he cannot compete with the resources he has. Look at other small teams that can't do it alone, CNC Haas, Petty Enterprises, Wood Brothers Racing, etc.
While Cope may be talented, his team will never be able to compete in Cup.
We are talking about Derrick Dope here, ummm I mean "Cope"? How does this guy even merit a review in "Driver Spotlight"? And answer me this, besides winning one race, what has he ever done? Lot of guys out there who have won one race.
The fact is, no one has given him the opportunity for a premier ride in recent years is that he is a perennial poor performer. I encourage all too look up those stats. 139 DNF's!!!! Are you kidding? Anyone reading your column could rack up that many DNF's. There is way too much talent in the pool to continue riding the coat tails of 1 win in the Daytona 500. There are no more provisionals left, the "Dope" must go! In fact I here CART is looking for a few good men.
Nick North Port, Fla.
Being a fan of almost any "underdog" driver in the Cup series, it was great seeing Ricky win the Darlington spring race in spectacular fashion. Feeling that he was about to turn the corner in his career and prove critics wrong, I was disppointed to see one major supporter, Pontiac, leave the series. Instead of having the chance to run up front with the top Pontiacs in the series, PPI Racing will most likely struggle with Chevrolet's leftovers and minimal support. Considering Ricky's lack of success in "bow tie cars" throughout his cup career (Remember, driving Monte Carlos resulted in no wins and two major injuries from 1995-2000), one can only hope Toyota comes to Cup racing quickly and saves PPI. Andrew Wolf Readlyn, Iowa
For 2004 Craven has an outside shot at a top ten finish for the season. A top 15 is within reason. Craven is more than capable if he gets the equipment, team and some luck that he needs. He needs more consistency which means more reliable engines and cars that are set-up competitively on race day. Mike Beam returning,and his new crew chief seem to be a positive step. His pit crew did a yeomen job in 2003 and hopefully will return.
There is a lot of comaraderie and faith in Craven on this team, which should go a long way to making a successful year for Craven. Now if they only had a second team.
Any team that can win a race has something going in the right direction. Maybe with a little more balance and a touch of luck a top 15 in the points could be his in 05'. Todd Blackburn Jonesboro, Ind.
"Chemistry" is a vital ingredient in any organization. It was evident from mid season on the Tide Team lacked confidence with one another and drifted about like a ship without rudder. The return of Mike Beam coupled with new crew chief Dave Charpentier coming from DIE provides the potential to get the Tide Ride back in the hunt for a top 10 finish. First on the agenda...consistancy off the trailer as experienced in 2002 to get better qualifying effort. Dale LaRose Temple, Texas
Melanie Dallas, Ga.
He gave us a great ride from Daytona to Homestead. Many times this past season we were at the edge of our seats. He proved to those who doubted that he could compete well at short tracks and road courses. He never gave in, if he had raced badly he just got right back up and moved on never once blaming anyone on his team. Nothing could keep him down. It takes a driver, team and car to make it all work well. He was totally focused, an awesome young man, talented, maturing, caring, giving, honest, loyal, great sense of humour, entertaining, yet shy and quiet. He also speaks well to the media, they in turn are not always kind about him. Losing his father, a serious and minor concussion, he got through it and he just gets stronger. He is determined, has strength, teamwork, talent and a fast car with great equipment and sponsorship. He and the Bud Crew had a great season, the best yet. They have worked hard. Dale and the team want to win, always will. The 2004 season should be or better than the 2003 season.
Dale has the attitude and aptitude to get him the altitude in life.
I think he is the best driver and that he will win the championship in 2004. Georgia Childs Danielsville, Ga.
Needs to make some changes in the pits and get a couple of poles and nobody will be able to catch him. Mark Hellwig Dover, Del.
With Dale Jr's newly found "racing" focus I feel that he has to be considered as a top championship contender. I think based purely on his driving ability he can be as competitive as anyone out there. But as we all know racing is a "team" sport and from time to time the BUD crew is inconsistant on pit road. In today's racing world you can't have an off day in the pit's. Also I feel that on certain tracks the Eury's (Dale Jr's car and crew chief) are sometimes out engineered by other crew chiefs when it comes to making adjustments on an ill-handling car. The sport has become extremely technical and usually the guys with the engineering degrees take the upper hand. The days of flying by the seat of one's pants is over in the world of Nascar.
If Dale Jr's team can overcome the less than stellar times on pit road and the Eury's can improve their research on car adjustments then Dale Jr is going to be tough to beat in 2004. I think the sport could really use another "Earnhardt" championship...I know I could!!!!
I definitely think Jr. is on the uphill swing. If not in 2004, it will be for sure in 2005! I think his main competition will be Ryan Newman. That kid could easily win 36 poles, and run fuel mileage races just about every race ( which isnt racing in my opinion). Jr. has been able to overcome adversity this season. He was able to make the most of his pit stops and deal with what he was driving, even if it wasnt to his liking. He definitely has the maturity and the desire. He is going to be a champion, it's just a matter of when. It's going to be fun to watch. Sharon Bundy Thompsonville, Ill.
Don Morris Salem, Ind.
As a long time fan of Bill, it will be hard to see him go. We all must move on. He is doing the right thing. He had a great end to a great career. Nobody was going to catch the man at Homestead, but bad luck it's self. I'm looking forward to seeing how he will do with some of the pressure taken off of him. Just drive! Don't worry about points. It should be inetresting to see how others feel when he gets in the mix with them and he is not battleing them for points. Sure it may stir up some bad blood. Go Bill!!! Todd McClellan Pompana Beach, Fla.
I feel Bill has very good chance to win a race in 2004, he's shown that the fire still burns and birghtly I might add. I wonder if at the time he told Ray "he couldn't do it on full time basis anymore" Bill had any ideal just how good the rest of the year would be? The look on his face after not winning the Homestead race due to a flat tire on last lap and the, "I'm ready to race" comment sure looked a man on a mission. Ed McBride LaVergne, Tenn.
It was nice to see Bill Elliott go out on a "winning" note so to speak. Will he win again? No. It is just too tough to win now which will make it virtually impossible for a part time driver/car to win a race. Jim K. St. Charles, Mo.
I think Bill has a very good chance of winning every race he enters next year do to the fact he is choosing the races he wants to enter. As long as the test equipment holds up he has as good as shot as anybody out there. Todd Slatington, Pa.
I understand and support Bill's semi-retirement but to me it looks more like he was forced out due to Evernham wanting to bring up Kasey Kahne. When it is your time to retire it is your time but with a strong run at the end of the season as Bill did, he could have battled for it all in 2004. What could have been.... Phil Cook Lawton, Okla.
Every Sunday (or Saturday) during the season I listen to the race; I listen for my driver, Awesome Bill, to run to a respectful finish. At the end of the day that is all that mattered, where did Bill finish. When I go to the race, that is all that mattered too. As is the case with all drivers, some races end early. That is what I worry about the most. When Bill has been knocked out in the past I just do not listen much and I'm afraid that the sport I've grown to love may go by the wayside now that my driver is part time. Greg Davis Sugar Hill, Ga.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|