James “I’m shocked he would go for it”

I laughed a bit and though oh the irony…

I assumed it was because he was analyzing another racer, not himself.

I think James was able to reflect on the mistakes he made as a racer after he retired and he can give that advice while speaking through experience.

Did they change the lip between qualifying and races.

vdrsnk04 & Devin Davis gets it 👍🏾

He isn’t wrong this time, it was a bad decision, and James has said several times he wished he had a different outlook on his racing that probably would have let him win more 

Apparently learned from his mistakes and speaking from experience.

I'm sure in James' eyes he viewed Jett as more calculated/smart than he was as a racer so it's a fair statement. He was out front leading and sent a jump nobody else was doing after not being on the track for hours. It really was a rare poor decision from Jett in my opinion so, in a sense, it was kinda shocking for him to do that.

Its was a massive hit. Glad that dirt was soft. James is now an analyst and that was what he was doing. Great him in the booth. 

I'm shocked Jet got up at all...the whip on his head and neck was unbelievable!

I also wonder if James has a bit of hindsight/updated perspective on his own overwhelming desperation to win all the time...

To be fair, James never really crashed doing some insane jumps or combos no one else was doing.

I was a Stewart fan when he was racing. He did quads no one else would do sometimes. He did these things frequently. And you're right he typically did not crash out on those particular jump combos. However, it was '09, or a year near that when racing Daytona, and he was doing that jump up and over a way taller jump face that he did crash and throw away a win. It was gut wrenching. The back fender was bent upwards, he fell over trying to remount, and it was even unnecessary as he had done it for several laps, and had a decent lead to where he could've backed it off.

But that is the exception as most of his crashes came from other situations on the track other than risking it on big jump combos

He crashed on a simple jump out of the corner. Not that insane wall jump he kept hitting after the crash.

No, but Vegas on the 125 does. That’s the only one I can remember that bit him. But I’m sure there are others.

That was just a standard double wasn't it? After the finish?

It's funny how many people would tell you he crashed on the wall jump. And it was just a little lip out of a corner 

I was at the race in direct line of sight of Jett’s crash. I have no idea what he thought he was going to gain by doing that. He would’ve stomped the field had he gotten through the first lap.

I don’t get the sense he was trying to be strategic with that move.

I was at the race too. I think he just has the confidence to do those hops; even AFTER the crash I saw him doing similar things. It’s easy to diagnose that he took too much risk because he crashed, but going forward is he going to tone it down? Hope not. 

At least he's not majorly injured. Or doesn't seem like it. He was able to ride both motos. When you're 24-0 maybe you just think every move is going to work out. Learning experience and a reset for a dude who's only 20. Could have been SO much worse. He's pretty damn durable. Add that to all the tools he's already got. Herlings would have broken in 10 pieces. No offense, just saying

I don’t know that I ever thought Stewart went for silly things. He was just that much better than everyone else that things were in his range that others wouldn’t even consider. That jump that got Jett yesterday didn’t look crazy on tv but the idea of going for it first lap when it was also freshly watered is a lesson Jett will learn from. He didn’t need the advantage it might have given him. 

He crashed setting up for the wall jump, but he wheelied prior to the lip and it kicked him hard....

Technically it wasn't because of the wall, but doing the wall jump caused it.

Jett looked like he got a concussion, his head took a brutal hit..

It was on an easy section at Daytona as mentioned, but wasn't mentioned was that he KEPT doing the wall jump after that gnarly get off! lol

Maybe sometimes when you commit to a section its like a reflex or a marker memory and you just think it's best not to change things? 

I think James said he was surprised he would go for it on the first lap with fresh water put down.  His eye for whats happening in the race and commentating is great.

No pun intended 

It's kind of a catch 22 isn't it. I wish he'd have ridden a bit safer and decimated the record books. He was that good. But, if James didn't ride like James did, would we still love him as much? Now we have Jett who's more calculated. Yesterday was really wierd to see that happen. Last year, he analyzed the track before wicking it up. Yesterday, was an emotional Jett. Maybe he thought he needed a big lead early and felt it was worth the risk. He's a good student of experience. I don't think we'll see that Jett again.

Regardless, James will always be loved and talked about because of how he rode even without decimating the record books.

TM