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Post by BarryB on Jan 31, 2014 19:51:52 GMT 12
The 6th driver for many teams is somebody without a car, but then maybe Pete's car could be used. I'm not sure if Andy McCabe is still 6th driver for the Panthers, or not?
Let's do it on the terracotta,
Barry B
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Post by conrod on Jan 31, 2014 19:52:56 GMT 12
Graeme Barr is 6th i think Think the poms have his car |
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Post by mordecai on Jan 31, 2014 19:54:07 GMT 12
no way leave the mustangs alone and no w hemi is a wildcat
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Post by fastrota78 on Jan 31, 2014 20:01:00 GMT 12
Andy Mcabe maybe ?
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Post by conrod on Jan 31, 2014 20:01:12 GMT 12
Ill have a wild guess and say one off the Mustangs ,and claim the mustangs is the feeder to the panthers ?? J miers ?? Well it won't be Wayne Hemi, or will it? I dont think he will ,Hes committed to wildcats now ,If his car holds up we may see the old Hemi this year, But thats a big if |
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Post by mordecai on Jan 31, 2014 20:04:47 GMT 12
top 4
busters wildcats hawkeyes mustangs
any of those 2 teams in the final would be gr8 |
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Post by HIGHWAY45 on Jan 31, 2014 20:09:19 GMT 12
most open teams champs in a while. all strong sides and the group draw will create a close top 4. Don't miss this one.
Some dark horse teams there that not getting as much mention as others also...
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Post by conrod on Jan 31, 2014 20:11:49 GMT 12
Nelson will be hard out this year,This is the last we will see of Dale Ewers
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Post by conrod on Jan 31, 2014 20:17:32 GMT 12
most open teams champs in a while. all strong sides and the group draw will create a close top 4. Don't miss this one. Some dark horse teams there that not getting as much mention as others also... Agree there Highway 45 ,for me the Glen Eagles are the sleepers ,if these Guys all click they could win it |
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Post by fastrota78 on Jan 31, 2014 20:17:35 GMT 12
My top 5 in no special order   WARRIORS Tigers Busters Hawkeyes Panthers |
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Post by mordecai on Jan 31, 2014 20:18:50 GMT 12
yes its a gr8 teams lineup even the allstars could top4
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Post by Stumo on Jan 31, 2014 20:29:18 GMT 12
I think the Mustangs have gone past being the feeder team and become a team of their own.
Id like to see
Jack into Panthers
William Humphries into top 5 of Mustangs
Chad Ace come in as new Mustangs 6th driver
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Post by mordecai on Jan 31, 2014 20:32:18 GMT 12
I think the Mustangs have gone past being the feeder team and become a team of their own. Id like to see Jack into Panthers William Humphries into top 5 of Mustangs Chad Ace come in as new Mustangs 6th driver no way leave the mustangs alone |
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Post by supastocknut on Jan 31, 2014 20:59:11 GMT 12
yes its a gr8 teams lineup even the allstars could top4 this is why drinking and typing don't mix lol |
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Post by chunkey on Jan 31, 2014 21:03:08 GMT 12
yes its a gr8 teams lineup even the allstars could top4 this is why drinking and typing don't mix lol its just an age thing mixed with excitement lol |
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Post by HIGHWAY45 on Jan 31, 2014 21:04:48 GMT 12
most open teams champs in a while. all strong sides and the group draw will create a close top 4. Don't miss this one. Some dark horse teams there that not getting as much mention as others also... Agree there Highway 45 ,for me the Glen Eagles are the sleepers ,if these Guys all click they could win it Glen Eagles could easily go either way. Be giant killers or be right at the bottom of the list in my opinion. If they don't gel they will struggle. Auckland is a team not being talked up but that could definitely surprise, particularly if they get a friendly draw. Scrappers are fresh and ready, with no expectations on them. Probably the least talked about side this year but definitely capable of surprising |
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Post by chunkey on Jan 31, 2014 21:13:34 GMT 12
Agree there Highway 45 ,for me the Glen Eagles are the sleepers ,if these Guys all click they could win it Glen Eagles could easily go either way. Be giant killers or be right at the bottom of the list in my opinion. If they don't gel they will struggle. Auckland is a team not being talked up but that could definitely surprise, particularly if they get a friendly draw. Scrappers are fresh and ready, with no expectations on them. Probably the least talked about side this year but definitely capable of surprising People don't write off the poms, Tom Harris and crew are here for a reason. Tony Mac as manager, don't count them out if they get a good draw. Or the wildcats. They have got a point to prove also and with Hemi And Tye you have 2 race winners there alone for different reasons.... |
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Post by scotty10 on Jan 31, 2014 21:19:42 GMT 12
Rotorua have great drivers and machinery, be good to see them right up there this year. Tigers and panthers will be tough, mustangs could come close too
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Post by BarryB on Feb 1, 2014 6:33:42 GMT 12
It's quite funny every year, the passion of supporters and how unrealistic some of their analysis appears. Macgor's postings seem to have built up the chances of every team in the field this year, except the Panthers, yet until last night the Panthers where the same team they've always been with some of their members going better than ever. Look at their record over the last 8 years. In that time they've had the same manager and only one driver change, Scott Joblin in for Wayne Hemi. The core nucleus of Peter Bengston, Shane Penn, Scott Miers and Peter Rees has stayed there right through, their machinery is top notch and they have home track advantage. In that 8 years they've won seven. The one they lost happened because 1/ their race winning car was DQ'd in race 1 (and we won't be getting in to a debate on whether he should have been or not) and 2/ there was an error in the format that year that pitted the wrong teams against each other in the Semi Finals. The Panthers should not have met the Tigers until the Final. Had that have happened the result may not have been different, there's no way of knowing that, but the DQ and the format error set them up on a different path than they otherwise would have been. Now Scott Joblin is an awesome driver, we all know that, but when he was first drafted into the Panthers he was so obviously driver #5. Some of it was probably nerves, coming into such a successful squad and replacing a legend - and boy did he fall over a lot. But the Panthers were looking years into the future with that decision, and now they're back to a 5 driver team. How do you beat that? How do you beat a team selected 4 years ago with a team you cobbled together a week or two out from the event? A team that contains the current 2 x NZ Champion, the current and 2 x World 240's Champion (being the current NI Champion as a bonus), a driver 5 times NZ champion in another contact class, a driver 2 times NZ champion in another class as well as being a World 240's winner.......and the irrepressible Scott Miers? A team that over all 5 cars has better machinery and resources than most? How do you beat that? Yet reading the posts above you'd swear the Panthers of 2014 were dead and buried. Can they be beaten? Sure, everybody can at some point in a one-off race, but it's going to take something very special like the Tigers brought to the table in 2010. Is that likely? In a word, no, but we all live in hope!! Individually you have 4 of the country's best individual Superstock racers of a generation, teamed together with a teams racing genius and all guided by a master in Gary Parkes. Peter Rees missing may give the opposition a glimmer of hope, but the Baypark Busters when they ruled the roost back in the day won this with only using 4 drivers all weekend. While we obviously don't know who any replacement driver for Rees might be at the moment, if I were a team manager I'd be hoping that driver will have to brought into play. Like Joblin when he first came in, nerves will play a part, Palmy is the biggest stage, and reducing them to effectively a 3 car team might be the only way. But that means somebody is going to have to damage one of the other cars so bad it cannot return. But, of course, that driver can return, although it would be in a car he is unfamiliar with. Maybe Craig Boote will change breed of cat for a weekend? I think I'd better stop now, as I'm starting to sound like a rabid Panthers supporter  What I'd like to read from these supporters of the other teams is, instead of just saying how great this team and that team looks on paper in 2014, tell us what you think they have got, to offer a challenge to the beast at the head of the table. Cos that's who you're gonna have to beat to win this thing. Or in the case of two poor teams, it's who you're going to have to beat just to make Night 2. What does YOUR team bring to the table? Barry B |
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Post by Admin on Feb 1, 2014 7:09:52 GMT 12
Barry I think you summed it up in one part sentence ' Peter Rees missing may give the opposition a glimmer of hope'.
That's about what it comes down to as a result of the incident with Peter Rees last night.
I do think there are a couple of teams more than likely to surprise this year , whether they can topple the Panthers though is yet to be seen obviously. The Panthers are the standard, they are the current best and can't be built up any higher .
It's the other teams that need lifting if they are to have any chance. Many of the posters are trying to do just that, some are trying to nobble the Panthers ahead of the game. It's all passion and extremely good fun.
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