1984 NASCAR RNG

saladmander: first up is dale earnhardt
the 1980 champion is a popular choice among team owners
he's spent two years breaking bud moore's cars, and he's a bit sick of not winning - fortunately, he has plenty of choice in that regard
hagan and melling both are pursuing him as their first choice, and junior johnson has also expressing some interest
there's been some interest as well from the petty and hendr-- i mean, all-star camps, but those aren't title contending teams so dale isn't particularly interested
so, the RNG looks like:
1-40 Hagan; 41-80 Melling; 81-100 Junior Johnson
54!
earnhardt makes a shock switch to melling racing for 1984!
Getz: I'll take it
RIP to Bobby Allison
Wazzle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qogVHlmFcx0
Needs more of this in the background :P
saladmander: "i'll take it" he says
you only have the greatest driver of the era racing for you :P
Getz: I love it, but this means Bobby has no ride
Dom: RIP to Allison indeed if he goes to Moore
saladmander: no it doesnt
i have a contingency
Wazzle: We're literally one driver in Getz :L
saladmander: next in line is terry labonte
Dom: Allison is my first choice lmao
Getz: I must of misread the bids then if I missed Bobby as your pick
saladmander: a fellow '79 rookie, labonte has only scored two cup wins to date, but memorably led the points through most of '82 despite not winning
and he is just as popular with the team owners as earnhardt - even if the caliber isn't quite as top-notch
he's being pursued quite strongly to lead the new all-star and morgan-mcclure teams, as well as getting some interest from mach 1
stavola have had some contact as well, as have hagan - though not nearly as much as labonte would like, given that he helped make hagan racing into the contender they are today, but he will consider them a bit
petty also have displayed some interest but not enough to garner labonte's interest
so the RNG looks like:
1-60 All-Star; 61-75 Morgan-McClure; 76-90 Mach 1; 91-95 Stavola; 96-100 Hagan
5!
terry labonte is quite impressed with rick hendrick's start up team and eagerly signs for them
next in line is the 1983 champ, bobby allison
a legend of the sport, allison has finally captured the championship he so dearly wanted, and he now comes to a crossroads
should he stay with digard, with whom he won the title, or try to re-capture the glory days of the '70s with his old car owner bud moore?
Dom: just come here, old mate :P
saladmander: melling also had some contact with him, but since they've announced earnhardt, obviously they are no longer an option for him
the RNG for allison looks like:
1-50 DiGard; 51-100 Bud Moore
85!
bobby allison shockingly leaves the team to drive for bud moore once again!
the next driver to decide their fate is 'hollywood' tim richmond
richmond has been the primary target for junior johnson's new #12 car, but also has an offer to stay with his current employers at blue max racing
Dom: Oh yes I got Allison
saladmander: he also was a backup option for bud moore but even if that was open, he was way too far down the list to have any interest in that
richmond would very much like to win, and win a lot, so he has a huge preference for the #12
1-85 Junior Johnson; 86-100 Blue Max
30!
richmond will make up half of junior johnson's double thunder in 1984!
Wazzle: Aww yeah
Bring on the drug-fueled orgy parties :P
saladmander: darrell waltrip is next
Dom: oh yeah
if Hendrick doesn't win a race in 1984 then they're going under :P
saladmander: no theyre not dom
that would be boring
junior johnson would very much like to seal their driver lineup with the man who delivered the title 2 of the last 3 years for him, but hagan have an intriguing offer
bud moore was also in the mix but have since signed bobby allison
ol' DW knows sticking with junior johnson is his best shot to win, but he hasn't exactly been enthusiastic about the move to 2 cars, and is considering the offer from hagan
1-60 Junior Johnson; 61-100 Hagan
32!
waltrip decides that it's best to stick with what he knows
besides, how much trouble could tim richmond cause a 2-time champ and 50+ race winner like him?
the next driver on the list is mark martin
Wazzle: Like Tim isn't even a threatening name :P
saladmander :P
Wazzle: He sounds more like your local Toolman :P
Dom: Home Improvement
:P
Klon: that show wouldn't air until like 10 years later iirc
Wikipedia says 7 years
Wazzle: I remember loving that show as a kid
saladmander: martin's cup career looked to be at its end by the close of 1983, and he is strongly considering a move back to ASA - however, he has had a number of offers which could prove to be a final lifeline for him
Dom: wasn't Tim Taylor an NHL player? :P
saladmander: he's been courted very strongly by the stavola brothers to lead their new operation, and has also fielded queries from all-star racing, blue max racing, and the legendary wood brothers
although all-star has ultimately gone with terry labonte, blue max has only stepped up their interest in him, and the chance of going to a winning team is very attractive to a young driver still trying to establish themselves on the circuit
1-30 Stavola; 31-90 Blue Max; 91-100 Wood Brothers
74!
mark martin will take over tim richmond's old ride, and hope that he will be able to emulate the playboy's success in that car in 1984
next up on the list is ricky rudd
having had a breakout season with richard childress' car in 1983, rudd was looking like he might stick in #3 for '84, but a last second contract offer from the wood brothers has changed the situation a little
both teams are winners, but probably a little short of title contenders at the moment - but the wood brothers are a legendary name in the sport, and it surely won't be long before they return to their dominating ways
there as also been some interest from the likes of petty, bud moore, mach 1, and melling, but 2 of those rides are filled, and the other 2 aren't enough of a step up to overlook the two concrete offers on the table
1-40 Childress; 41-100 Wood Brothers
85!
ricky rudd will be moving over to the wood brothers #21 for 1984!
the next driver to sign is the king himself
winner of 200 races, 7 daytona 500s and 7 cup championships
RICHARD
PETTY
Wazzle: <insert Randy Johnson hype music here> :P
https://youtu.be/btmSpLVmJAk?t=375
saladmander: there are two offers for him to consider - one from mike curb, who has practically set up a team to house him following the nascar decree that he can't drive for petty enterprises in 1984, and the other, an increasingly desperate billy hagan, for whom petty is his last solid option to fill his car at the moment
the deal with curb is practically done, but hagan does have a competitive car... is it enough to make the king think twice?
1-70 Curb; 71-100 Hagan
100!
Wazzle: 200 NASCAR wins
7 NASCAR titles
7 Daytona 500s
saladmander: the king makes a shock switch from his car number and sponsor for so many years, and will drive the hagan #44 in 1984!
Wazzle: Punched Cale Yarborough once :P
saladmander: what
Wazzle: Oh wait
That was Donnie :L
saladmander: was wondering how long it would take you :P
Dom: also, TIL
Wazzle: Was it like "Surely he can't be that stupid?"
saladmander: yes :P
Wazzle: And then as the seconds ticked by it was like "Oh wait, he actually is" :L
Dom: Richard Petty drove the #6 car for one race in 1986 :L
saladmander: the next driver on the list is bill elliott
having been forsaken from what was his family team, awesome bill from dawsonville still has a solid offer on the table
he was fielding requests from the wood brothers and all-star racing, but both have since announced their drivers, leaving mach 1 as his only option
it's a winning car, so elliott has absolutely no qualms about signing with them
no RNG necessary
a similar story for our next driver, kyle petty
the son of king richard has an interest in spreading his wings outside the family team, but his only offer outside of them was the wood brothers, who went and signed ricky rudd
so yeah, with only the one solid offer, kyle plumps for the #7 in 1984, no RNG necessary
handsome harry gant, having been dropped from the skoal bandit #33, has found himself with a couple of decent offers to consider
following richard petty's shock defection to hagan, he is now the lead candidate for mike curb's new team
however, the reigning champion team digard has also looked to him to replace the departing bobby allison
Wazzle: Does that make Petty the OG carney? :P
saladmander: sure why not :P
curb's team is new and unproven, but darrell waltrip has told anyone that will listen that digard's owners are assholes and driving for them is the worst mistake you can make
ricky rudd will tell you that he ignored that advice, and was fired after a single season
so it a bit of a coin toss on which one to go with
1-50 Curb; 51-100 DiGard
36!
gant will fill the shoes intended for the king - only time will tell if he's up to the task
this leaves two seats to fill at morgan-mcclure and the stavola brothers
both of whom are pursuing drivers who haven't been able to establish themselves on the cup circuit and have no other solid offers, in sterling marlin and joe ruttman
saladmander: they are quite happy to have a solid season to try and embed themselves in the garage area and promptly sign without hesitation - ruttman for the stavola brothers, and marlin for morgan-mcclure
though we've still got a few decent drivers and decent teams who haven't sorted anything out
childress, digard, and rahmoc
digard has the pick of the litter and they quickly sign neil bonnett
childress, with solid backing from wrangler for the forseeable future, is the next most desirable seat
there aren't a huge amount of established drivers left to choose from - probably his best bet is geoff bodine, or try to lure benny parsons or buddy baker into a full-time deal
Wazzle: Or take a punt on one of the boys like Gregory Sacks :P
Or Dave Marcis
saladmander: nobody knows who greg sacks in at this moment in time
Dom: not even his friends & family? :P
saladmander: marcis is probably gonna drive for the 75 tbh
well no
his family know who he is
that's why hes driving for his dad's team this year :stuck_out_tongue:
yeah i'm gonna say childress takes a punt on geoff bodine
he had a few good runs in cliff stewart's blehmobile the past couple years
which leaves the #88 nicely open for rookie of the year contender rusty wallace
i think that's pretty much everything i need to sort out
knock yourself out wazzle :P
Getz: Well we got a knackered grid
saladmander: nah this is fun as hell
richard petty in a title-winning car in his twilight years?
this is gonna be awesome
Dom: I kinda want to see an absolute scrub go to Childress :P
saladmander: geoff bodine in the #3 amuses me
Getz: Some of the old guard (Yarbourgh, Pearson, Parsons) forced to a part-time schedule then.
saladmander: and timmy richmond in the #12 is gonna tear shit up :D
Wazzle: Are we gonna get a repeat of the Great Bodine Wars? :P
saladmander: those guys are already running part-time schedules getz
Getz: Right, and Baker too
saladmander: Wazzle we'll have to wait for brett to show up in a couple years but of course :P
actually hell
bodine in the #3 is gonna be really interesting to watch
hes a pretty aggressive racer himself
he could turn into this timelines dale earnhardt :P
Wazzle: Going full Chaotic Evil on everyone? :P