Weird NASCAR Rumors: Replacing Rusty

[@grungyflannel]

Jamie was also in a relationship with Rusty's daughter in 2005, and Jamie drove Rustys Busch series car part time....wonder how his career turns out if he doesnt go to Roush...where he really just never clicked.

[@RuffMotorsports93]

Yeah, it never clicked. I think his career would’ve been much better if he had just stayed at Ganassi even. If you haven’t listened to his Dale Jr Download interview then I highly recommend it. It sounds like his whole experience at Roush was miserable

[@redguysimracing2382]

Growing up a Rusty fan I still personally think he retired too early. I also found it interesting that RcR wanted Rusty to drive the #07 in 2006 before bowyer.

[@RuffMotorsports93]

That rumor about Rusty to RCR may end up coming up in a future video. Really, I think the slogans they could use with him coming out of retirement to drive the Jack Daniels car after having driven the Miller car for most of his career would have been great. “I’m gonna need something stronger to deal with this”

[@szymonkunda2197]

A lot of people think he retired too early and I always kind of wonder why. At 49 he was basically old. I mean, yeah, he was still competitive but realistically how many more seasons could he have? 2? Maybe 3. I think it's good that he retired at a stage when he was still running pretty well instead of just going downhill like so many other great drivers

[@RuffMotorsports93]

I mean, the truth is that the NASCAR schedule has gotten so grueling that I don’t even raise an eyebrow if a driver retires once they hit their 40s. Especially if they have a family. Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I’d actually be in favor of cutting the schedule down to 30 races and adding more off weeks. I think there would be less burnout in the sport and people would stick around longer

[@midwesttrainchasers8587]

​@@RuffMotorsports93 larson plans to retire in about 5 years

[@RuffMotorsports93]

And honestly, considering the fact that he has kids and all of the other things he’s done, I wouldn’t fault him at all. The schedule is a lot and you will never get that time with your kids back. And what else does he really have left to prove in NASCAR? a Daytona 500 is about the only thing he hasn’t won

[@ZPaul_]

As a Truex fan myself it would’ve been hella interesting if Truex got a ride in some top equipment like Penske.

[@RuffMotorsports93]

As a fellow Truex fan, I agree!

[@grungyflannel]

Truex in the Miller car with Jr in the Bud car....thatd have been cool to see looking back, Maybe Roger not getting Jrs first protege was a blessing...cuz landing Jrs second protege worked out pretty well

[@RuffMotorsports93]

Imagine if he’d gotten both of Jr’s protégés haha. And teach the image of Truex in a Miller car and his mentor in the Bud car would be pretty cool

[@BCanterbury42]

One thing to take into account 2006 was a very down year for the number 2 car. Kurt was off pace the first 3rd of the season despite getting a win at Bristol and missed “The Chase” completely. If Kurt struggled this much, it likely would’ve been a very disappointing year for any of these drivers mentioned in this video as a possibility replacement.

[@RuffMotorsports93]

And that's a totally fair point. That's why I really don't think it would have been a positive move for someone like Biffle or Kenseth. I think Harvick would have suffered in the short-term, but benefitted in the long-term. Mears and McMurray probably come out even. Truex is probably about the same as he was at DEI in the short-term, but better off in the long term. Rudd is probably benefits when compared to the Wood Brothers and who knows about Hornish and Tracy.

[@Alex_Mac_]

Paul Tracy is a hilarious one. The thing about that you missed was that Tracy did drive for Penske in IndyCar and the relationship ended in turmoil. Zero chance Penske was ever gonna employ Tracy again after that experience lol.

[@TheJudoJoker]

As a Jamie Mac fan... I wish he ended up in either the 2 or the 6

[@RuffMotorsports93]

Personally, I really wish he had ended up in the 2 car and not the 26, or the 6 for that matter. If you go back and listen to his interview in Dale Jr Download where he talks about everything, it sounds like his time at Roush was just a miserable experience and the environment was not good at the time. I think it really stunted his growth as a driver.

[@TheJudoJoker]

​@RuffMotorsports93 everyone forgets how hyped up Jamie McMurray was during his Ganassi stint. Kind of wild that Penske wanted to trade away Hornish Jr in exchange for McMurray. And that Jamie McMurray was the centerpiece of essentially a trade involving the champion from a year prior.

[@TheBraydenBunch58]

Rudd would’ve been pretty good for the #2, He’d maybe get a win or two

[@RuffMotorsports93]

Oh yeah, I definitely think he would’ve gotten one or two

[@NickSamon]

​@@RuffMotorsports93Then how long Ricky Rudd would last for the number 2? Maybe 2 years? Then who would be the 88 car for 2007 and where's Kurt Busch?

[@RuffMotorsports93]

So the Ricky Rudd idea didn’t appear until after Kurt Busch had signed his deal with Penske. He still had one year left on his contract with Roush and, at first, it didn’t look like Roush was going to let him out of it. So, Penske was going to need someone on a one year deal to keep the seat warm if they had to wait for Kurt. So, Kurt was always going to be in the 2 car by 2007, and ultimately, they didn’t have to wait a year anyway.

[@clifforddavidson7273]

​@@RuffMotorsports93 Rudd was cooked after 2003.

[@dmoran1093]

Harvick would probably be a 2 or 4 time champ and probably have close to 80 wins with penske

[@RuffMotorsports93]

Not sure I'd go that far, but I definitely think that stretch from 07-09 where he only had one win in three years looks a lot better. I could definitely see him with two championships and maybe 65-70 wins though.

[@plumcrazy1673]

Penske cars were pretty much equally as bad as RCR in that time frame. Harvick couldn't carry bad cars like Kurt.

[@plumcrazy1673]

2005-2011 Penske wasn't the Penske of today. Kurt carried them pretty much solo until they added help with Brad. It would've been way uglier with the others, including Harvick. No one could carry a bad car like KB.

[@RuffMotorsports93]

Well, I certainly agree with you that Penske was not the team that they are today, which is why I think the benefit for Harvick would have been more long term benefit than short term. However, I think Harvick would have performed similarly to Busch. That’s not to take anything away from Busch, but I feel like Harvick really carried RCR for a lot of years and certainly carried SHR for the final few years of his career. I think he was definitely capable of taking a top 15 car and turning it into a top 10 or even top 5 car

[@PaperBanjo64]

Kenny Wallace was NASCAR's super sub!

[@patrickanderson9023]

I highly doubt that the Captain himself (Roger Penske) ever considered Jamie McMurray as a replacement for Rusty in the #2 car.

[@justinsteffey9583]

He talks about this on the Dale Jr Download. Penske called him personally but he was already committed to Roush.

[@RuffMotorsports93]

It was a really great episode. Here a link to the relevant portion of the interview, but I found the whole interview really interesting. kzbin.info/www/bejne/amG0oIdonryEo9Esi=asi5vhAY5Z0EBFwP

[@JWD26]

Jamie Mac better make the Hall of Fame before I die

[@RuffMotorsports93]

It would be nice to see for sure. I like Jamie McMurray and if there was a hall of fame for getting most of your wins in big races, he’d absolutely be in it. But unfortunately, I kind of see him as a hall-of-the-very-good guy.

[@Staysick17]

Never gonna happen

[@PaperBanjo64]

Harvick to Penske!?

[@RuffMotorsports93]

@@PaperBanjo64 would’ve been interesting!

[@TicketyToc]

Unpopular opinion but I would've rather had a Prime Biffle over any of those other guys

[@RuffMotorsports93]

Oh man, that is a BOLD statement. I’ve got nothing but respect for Biffle and I don’t think he gets the appreciation he deserves, but you’re taking him over Busch, Kenseth, and Harvick? Although I will give you that Busch had serious attitude problems at the time and Harvick did from time to time as well back then

[@Staysick17]

As a Kenseth fan glad he never took that seat

[@RuffMotorsports93]

@ I think he was better off staying put in that situation