Robby's Performance is taking some hits

Robby has done alot better than his results or standings indicate...just look at teh season so far:

Daytona- In position to get his lap back and finally had the car dialed in but gets knocked out when Junior & Vickers get together (Just Bad Racing Luck)

Fontana- Untimley caution puts the team 2 lasp down, never able to make up ground and car was Top 15 on the speed chart. (Just Bad Racing Luck)

Las Vegas - Finished 15th

Atlanta- Tire issue, finished 26th

Bristol- Finished 21st

Martinsville- Had a fantastic car, but engine let go. (Just Bad Racing Luck)

Texas- Another engine issue (Just Bad Racing Luck)

Pheonix - Gets wrecked by someone else (Just Bad Racing Luck)

Talladega - Avoided the Big One, making a late charge and gets hit by another car and taken out (Just Bad Racing Luck)

Richmond Finished 16th Solid day

Darlington - Caught up in another wreck (Just Bad Racing Luck)

Charlotte- Race strategy paid off finished 3rd

Dover - Robby has a fast car, but untimely caution catches Robby 2 laps down and gets wrecked by another car (Just Bad Racing Luck)

8 times Robby has had Bad Racing Luck wreck him, tire issue or engine problem. It's all part of racing but most of thsoe "bad luck" deals Robby was running well. The team has been solid with Kirk onboard. Biggest issue is slow pit stops. Robby is being forced to pass cars again on teh track he's already passed. Puts him in bad situations. Hopefully they can fix the pit stop issues. If you looked at last year, Robby typically showed up quick but would start to fade. This year Robby shows up slow, but seems to fast race day. Kirk must be making solid adjustments.

Listening to yesterday's race, what really hurt Robby was Robby. When Kirk called for 4 tires and fuel with no changes, Robby asked to take a little out to free him up. The car wasn't the same and then they went with 2 tires the next stop and that really bit them. Robby really needs to communicate what the cars doing and let Kirk make the call. Robby can drive better than most of the guys out there, but he tends to over adjust with his suggestions. Robby has great strategy with when to pit and when to stay out, but adjustments calls he rarely gets right. Listen to Tony on the scanner, he will tell Grubb what teh cars doing, then Grubb says let's do this, Tony then says okay. Robby should sit, playback and listen to Tony's scanner conversations. Robby & Tony are alot alike, and in my opinion two of the best. The edge Tony has is he lets his crew chief do his job.

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Permalink Reply by Karen on June 2, 2009 at 11:01pm

We have been to several races recently and the determination with which Robby has driven (usually from the back of the pack) and passed lots of cars has been pretty impressive. I like it that it is obvious he is trying so hard, unlike some of them that seem to have lost that will to win and just cruise around for the whole race. His cars seem to get better during the race and he has the speed and driving skill, but it looks like the pit stops often put him back at the pack so he has to pass all the same cars all over again. The more you do this, the more it increases the probability that one of the poorly running (or driven) cars will catch him up in an accident. Robby also seems to be slow on the restarts as well. If they can improve the time of their pit stops and get a little more oomph on the restarts - maybe that would help.

I don't know how he can do Baja, tire tests, dirt tracking, and sprint cup all in a short span! He seems to adapt readily and even thrive on this, but could it be impacting his performance? Would entering a NW race help him to get a better feel of the track and maybe pay off in the cup race?