Daily NASCAR

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.

TheNASCARInsiders.com

Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!

Go to the original story

by Holly Cain

Filed under: Hendrick Motorsports, NASCAR

After starting his career sweeping floors at Hendrick Motorsports during a college internship 14 years ago, Marshall Carlson moved up the ranks to become president and chief operating officer (COO) of the 13-time NASCAR championship Hendrick organization, which fields cars for Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Carlson, 37, was promoted Tuesday during the organization’s quarterly employee meeting. The position has remained open for the past six years. It was previously held by the late John Hendrick, brother of team owner Rick Hendrick (pictured at right). John Hendrick was killed along with nine other people — including John’s twin daughters, Rick Hendrick’s son Ricky, and other Hendrick Motorsports executives — in an airplane crash near Martinsville, Va., on October 24, 2004.

“Hendrick Motorsports is a family and it’s been one of the great privileges of my life to work with these amazing people,” said Carlson, who has helped guide the company to four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships since he assumed the role of executive vice president and general manager in January, 2005.

After his college internship in the chassis department, Carlson worked as an engineer on the team’s Camping World Truck Series team that won a title in 1997. He’s worked in the company’s marketing and sponsorship department and oversaw more than $200 million in real estate projects working with Hendrick Automotive Group, one of the largest auto dealership conglomerates in the country before taking his most recent position.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Go to the original story

NASCAR, and its teams and drivers had the below the radar, big story of the week as they finally announced the formation of the NASCAR Teams Licensing Trust on Thursday. The trust streamlines licensing in the sport by putting it all under the authority of one agency. So far 11 teams, and more than 30 drivers have signed on. In other news, Elliott Sadler said on Friday he didn’t expect to return to Richard Petty Motorsports in 2011. RPM and Sadler have had a tumultuous time together, including a threatened lawsuit by Sadler against the team at the end of the 2008 season after rumors surfaced that then Gillett Evernham Motorsports was looking to replace him with AJ Allmendinger. And finally, Jimmie Johnson and wife Chandra welcomed a baby girl on Wednesday. The two have not decided on a name. This is the NASCAR week that was, July 4 to 10, 2010.

Commentary: Mark Martin Deserves Better

Richard Petty Motorsports deals with turmoil, success

Fresh Faces Or Big Names

When it comes to the Chase, NASCAR needs to leave well enough alone

Is IndyCar picking a NASCAR fight?

Vintage Insiders

The Other Side of the Garage

NASCAR Needs One More Road Course Race

**Remember if you have a NASCAR blog or website and would like a recent article you wrote featured in this section email me and you could be part of next week’s NASCAR Week That Was. Please only send stuff you have written.**

TheNASCARInsiders.com

Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!

Go to the original story

by Holly Cain

Filed under: Kevin Harvick, Daytona Int’l Speedway, NASCAR

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Light but persistent rain showers forced NASCAR to cancel Sprint Cup Series qualifying Friday afternoon at Daytona International Speedway. The starting field will be set according to the owners points standings giving championship leader Kevin Harvick the pole position for Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400.

Four-time reigning Cup champ Jimmie Johnson will start alongside Harvick on the front row, with Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Jeff Gordon rounding out the top-five.

The bad weather wiped out an impressive qualifying run by Sam Hornish Jr., whose Dodge was fastest among the 12 cars that got on track before the rain. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was second fastest. But with a Nationwide Series race set for later Friday evening and more rain in the forecast, NASCAR called opted out of the qualifying session. Hornish will start 30th and Earnhardt, 13th.

“For us, we didn’t have a lot of speed in qualifying trim, so this will make it a little easier at the beginning of the race to get going,” said Harvick, whose No. 29 Shell Chevrolet had been only 22nd quickest in final practice.

“Our car drives well though and we’re definitely looking forward to racing.”

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Go to the original story

by Holly Cain

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Daytona Int’l Speedway, Nationwide Series, NASCAR

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The blue-and-yellow No. 3 hats and T-shirts greet you from every Daytona Beach drugstore and supermarket display window — Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon souvenirs be damned this weekend.

The image of the bright blue and yellow No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet once famously driven by the late Dale Earnhardt seems to be everywhere. And on Thursday, a particularly large concentration of No. 3 T-shirts was gathered around a remote Daytona International Speedway garage stall typically used only by long shots and start-and-parks.

There, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s race team is preparing a retro-look No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet for a one-of-a-kind appearance, a likely final tribute run to his father in Friday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

“I have no intentions of making it a habit to run special paint schemes with my dad’s number every year, and I’m pretty sure this will be the last time I drive the No. 3,” Earnhardt said.

“It’s my dad’s number.”

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Go to the original story