Daily NASCAR

by Holly Cain

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Dale Jarrett, Talladega Superspeedway, IRL, NASCAR

No way. Won’t happen. No need.

That’s the prevailing consensus on whether NASCAR drivers will ever create the type of drivers organization formalized in the IZOD IndyCar Series a couple weeks ago and that has long existed in Formula One and even the National Hot Rod Association.

There have been concerted efforts over the years by some of NASCAR’s biggest names, like Richard Petty, and even a rarely-talked-about effort in 1997 by the late seven-time champ Dale Earnhardt, but nothing sustainable. More often, it was a hush-hush, backroom suggestion that a committee or association was even necessary. The idea of anything resembling a union, pure blasphemy.

And that’s from current and former drivers, not just the sanctioning body.

“It’s pretty simple, NASCAR is the destination of choice for almost every driver in the world so if you don’t like it, there’s someone that will be right there on your heels ready to take your place,” driver Carl Edwards said this week. “Maybe that’s why they (NASCAR) have been able to do their own thing for so long.”

Or as 1989 champion Rusty Wallace puts it, “Having some sort of committee like that would just screw everything up.”

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In the current climate of funded drivers and retreating sponsorship dollars, it’s very uncommon for a young driver without his own money to get a second chance.  What we are seeing with Aric Almirola though, goes against all of that.  JR Motorsports announced on Wednesday that Almirola had signed a multi-year agreement to drive the team’s #88 car in the Nationwide Series.

After getting high profile gigs at Joe Gibbs Racing, Ginn Racing, Dale Earnhardt Inc., and finally Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, it appeared Almirola had washed out.  Once at EGR, his #8 team was shut down only seven races into the 2009 season due to lack of funding.  Through those seven races however, Almirola hadn’t exactly set the world on fire.  His average finish was 32.8 and his best finish was a 21st at Atlanta.  Before that, Almirola was best known for his Nationwide Series “win” at Milwaukee in which he started the race, but was pulled part way through and replaced by Denny Hamlin who went on to score the victory.

After leaving EGR in 2009, Almirola spent the rest of the season making sporadic starts for Phoenix Racing, Key Motorsports, Smith Ganassi Racing, and Billy Ballew Motorsports across all three major NASCAR series.  He was one of a small group of drivers who turned to some of the lower seriesto advance his career and get more experience.  And as it turned out, the 16 starts Almirola made for Billy Ballew in which he led 98 laps and had six top five finishes, would turn into a full time Truck Series ride for the 2010 season.

Fast forward to this season, Almirola has two Truck Series wins and sits second in the Truck Series points.  His strong CWTS runs led to him being the backup driver for both Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon while they were on baby watch, plus he was given the chance to run JRM’s #88 at ORP.  Almirola didn’t disappoint there either, finishing third behind Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards.  All of this led up to JRM signing Almirola for the 2011 season and beyond.

Before this deal came about, we’d heard (along with others) that Almirola was a candidate for some Cup organizations, including Richard Petty Motorsports.  Almirola even admitted to ESPN that he’d been offered Cup deals (see the link above).  With that said, I think it’s interesting that he decided to take the Nationwide deal with JRM.  It would seem that in a situation like Almirola’s, especially with his stock being high, that he would have wanted to capitalize fully and take a Cup deal.  Instead, he will continue to have to prove himself and his ability in the NNS with JRM.

If Almirola continues to progress, and has continued success in the future, this should help serve as a lesson to owners about driver development.  Instead of rushing these kids along, and giving them a season or two to prove themselves, why not keep them in lower series longer?  Let them develop their skills, then bring them along slowly.  Almirola is extremely lucky that he’s been given the chances to show that he can improve, and hopefully he will parlay those chances into more success on the track.

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by Holly Cain

Filed under: NASCAR

OK, let’s get this straight.

A driver intentionally wrecking someone at 180 mph under NASCAR’s “Boys Have It” doctrine is acceptable? But a driver criticizing the sport won’t be tolerated?

That’s what we’re to believe following a report this week revealing that NASCAR has “secretly” fined at least two of the sport’s star drivers for comments NASCAR believed compromised the integrity of the sport.

At last, NASCAR is drawing the line. …. in invisible ink.

What’s more disconcerting than NASCAR behaving like the KGB is the inherent distrust this situation creates. After decades of don’t-ask-and-do-what-we-tell-you governance, NASCAR had finally turned the tide into full sporting credibility.

News that drivers risk discipline for speaking out unfortunately just gives more ammunition to the vocal group of conspiracy theorists — those quick to insist that a “fix” was in when Richard Petty won his 200th victory on July 4, 1984, in front of President Reagan, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. won at Daytona this month driving a No. 3 car or even Chip Ganassi’s historic sweep this past weekend in Indianapolis.

It only encourages and invigorates those skeptics who wonder about all the mysterious “debris” cautions late in the race or how one team can be so dominant.

And that’s too bad.

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by Holly Cain

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, NASCAR Fights, NASCAR

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Grinning from ear to ear and sporting a new crew cut, Carl Edwards cheerily sat down to face a crowd of reporters even larger than the group waiting across the room to interview NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

After making himself comfortable, Edwards leaned in to the microphone and with a huge smile, dead-panned, “You guys see that race last week?”

Everyone laughed.

Good ol’ Carl — NASCAR’s Eddie Haskell.

Like Haskell, the too-good-to-be true kid next door from the 1950s and 1960s TV show ‘Leave It To Beaver,’ who was mischievous when the grown-ups left the room, Edwards is proving more complicated than he lets on, too.

Edwards has endeared himself to fans with his trademark victory back flips, smooth style and up-for-anything disposition. He’s articulate and charming — a sponsor’s dream with made-for-TV good looks and personality. And he knows how to get around a race track, winning the 2007 Nationwide Series championship and collecting 16 wins in the Sprint Cup Series.

Lately though, Edwards is making headlines as NASCAR’s new “bully” who wrecks his rivals in the name of a win, prompting fans to wonder if he is really the gentlemanly sports hero atop the white horse, or NASCAR’s new villain.

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by Holly Cain

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Danica Patrick, NASCAR

Consider this an interruption to the quick judgments, harsh opinions and commentary overload about Danica Patrick’s NASCAR debut.

As IndyCar’s most famous face prepares to make her fifth NASCAR start this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway — near her hometown of Roscoe, Ill. — it’s time to step back from all the emotion and hype.

Forget her $1,000 gold-stilettos, police escorts and the unapologetic adulation of NASCAR executives and track promoters. Let’s look at her statistics driving a NASCAR race car.

Patrick’s four-race average of a 33rd place finish in the Nationwide Series may be an easy target for those told-you-so doubters, but it’s absolutely respectable compared to other recent open-wheel NASCAR converts. And even some NASCAR champions.

Her NASCAR Nationwide Series team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr., for example, either crashed or had mechanical problems in three of his first four Nationwide races during the 1996-97 seasons, including a string of 39th, 39th and 38th place showings after his 14th place debut. That’s an average finish of 32.5, or less than one position better than Patrick.

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