John Wes Townley's tenure at Richard Childress Racing – and perhaps in NASCAR – appears to be over.
RCR announced a "revised" sponsorship plan for its No. 21 car on Friday, a plan which includes sponsor Zaxby's but not Townley, whose father is one of the fast-food company's founders.
Zaxby's will cut back to 21 races this season of an originally-scheduled 35, and drivers Clint Bowyer and Scott Riggs will split duties behind the wheel.
Townley was not mentioned in the RCR press release as being on the schedule for any more events.
That's certainly a disappointing ending for the "Chicken Man," who RCR pledged to help develop as a driver but only waited through five races of wrecked cars and poor finishes before giving him the boot.
In a shrewd move by team owner Richard Childress, RCR kept the sponsorship money Townley brought to the team (albeit for less races) without having Townley actually in the seat.
There's no word on Townley's future or whether he'll try to stay in the sport, but he hasn't been spotted at the track since being pulled from the car at Phoenix.
If this is the end for Townley, his career will finish with some astounding statistics. In 34 career starts, Townley:
And yet, Townley will be missed. In a series that is all-too-often dominated by Sprint Cup regulars, Townley was a fascinating sideshow for fans. You never knew what he was going to do next and his frequent visits with the wall made him a topic of conversation.
If he does not return, we plan to declare Townley as the winner of "The Bet." Why? Because the bet was for whoever finished higher in head-to-head races between Townley and Danica Patrick.
And Townley was better in all three. That's a clean sweep.
Maybe the problem wasn't Townley, but the curse of the Chicken Car. Townley had an average finish of 22.4 in five starts this season; his replacement, Clint Bowyer, has an average finish of 23.2 in six races.
Will JWT ever return? Only time will tell. But if not, better get your checkbooks out for charity.
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A Salute To John Wes Townley, The Chicken Man
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Comments
Aww, now I feel guilty for being so mean to Townley …. okay, I’m over it.
He was in over his head and should have been racing at some lower level. Money may buy opportunities, but it doesn’t buy driving ability.
by Ron Frankl on May 28, 2010 6:29 PM EDT reply actions
Wait just a minute
At the beginning of the season Danica set her Nationwide schedule and committed to certain races. The bet was who would do better in the races she was scheduled to run. I contend that if you lose your ride, you lose those races. I don’t see how losing your ride can make you a winner.
Danica will be in a car in those races and JWT will be frying chicken at a Zaxby’s. In my book, that makes Danica a winner!!!
Not that I have any conflict of interest with this bet or anything…. :)
by gosmoke on May 29, 2010 10:17 AM EDT reply actions
Where's the improvement?
As you note, Bowyer hasn’t run appreciably better than Townley, who was showing improvement. It’s kind of unfair to slam this kid for his career stats when most of the really bad stats are from last year.
I just don’t know how these young drivers are going to gain experience if no one is willing to give them a chance to get through a bad streak. Look at the Kelly Bires situation; what if Jr. was held to the same standards that he holds his drivers?
The weird thing in this case is that they are pretty much shutting down this team, rather than let JWT back in the car. I suspect this is an argument over money.
I don’t know if Townley will resurface, but if he does, he’s still young, and could yet develop into a decent driver.
by goat10000 on May 29, 2010 5:26 PM EDT reply actions
Townley's Decision
I’ve read elsewhere that Townley wanted out of the 21 car, and may be done with racing. Would love to find out if this indeed the case.
by Ron Frankl on May 30, 2010 12:33 PM EDT up reply actions
Chicken Car curse
Do the research on how many Zaxby’s wrecks at the ARCA level :)
by DRLDeBoer on May 30, 2010 8:58 AM EDT reply actions
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