Aric Almirola Back on NASCAR Sidelines

Just a year and change after NASCAR's most popular driver vacated the No. 8 seat, that team is suspending operations thanks to a lack of sponsorship.

Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing will not be taking Aric Almirola and his Chevrolet team any further in the 2009 season after a dismal start has failed to yield more sponsorship dollars, though the team is still actively -- and probably hopelessly -- searching for more backers.

For Almirola, though, it's just a continuation of a string of bad lack in his climb to NASCAR's highest ranks.

I'd say the first time we really got to know who Almirola was and the talent he possessed was a 2007 Nationwide Series race at the Milwaukee Mile.

In that June event, Almirola was scheduled to practice and qualify the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 car for Denny Hamlin to race later in the night. Hamlin's other commitment was the Sprint Cup Series' road course race in Sonoma, Calif.

Well, Hamlin was late getting to the track and made it to the team's pit box roughly ten laps into the race after Almirola started it from the pole. Almirola continued to lead laps until on lap 59, the team brought him to pit road, removed him the car and put Hamlin in.

Hamlin -- who had earlier in the night said it would be 'disrespectful' to take Almirola from the car mid-race -- eventually drove from a lap down to take the win in front of the car's hometown sponsor. Per NASCAR rules, though, the win was officially given to Almirola because he started the race.

It was Almirola's first career Nationwide win, and he wasn't even in victory lane for the celebration. Talk about a low blow.

Almirola asked for his release and left JGR a month later to take a part-time role in the Bobby Ginn-Dale Earnhardt Inc. operation. There, he ran five races in 2007 before sharing the No. 8 with Mark Martin in 2008 on a part-time basis.

2009 hasn't been kind to the team with the exception of some good showings leading up the Daytona 500 -- a race in which he got spun twice and finished 30th. The team has since posted a best finish of 21st at Atlanta Motor Speedway en route to a 37th position in the point standings.

To me, it's unfortunate that Almirola hasn't been able to line up sponsorship dollars to go racing with. He's one of the first drivers to make it to Sprint Cup after going through NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program (Almirola is of Cuban-American descent) and has showed talent when he's got the equipment to race with.

Such equipment, though, has been hard to come by at now-Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing in the past few years.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

4-09-2009 @ 11:54AM

CJ said...

There's a reason for that, HE SUX! He was not worthy or fit to drive the 8 car. Dale Jr is the 8 car, but Mark Martin and Bobby Labonte were classy enough where they both would, and would have as Bobby was rumored to drive the 8 this season, and both could represent the 8 well because they both can drive! Like i said, the only reason Aric had a ride was because he is a minority.

4-09-2009 @ 3:43PM

obamaizadope said...

Give his ride to Danica, sponsors will be lined up around the block..

4-09-2009 @ 5:26PM

illsell4u said...

Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn oncein a while.
MBL

4-11-2009 @ 12:05AM

smellthecoffee said...

I know this is going to be unpopular with many, but it is the truth.
It is a shame that Dale Earnhardt Jr had to go out and wreck the company his father started. His leaving the company took most of the sponsor dollars with him. For what? So he could win a championship with better equipment? How's that working out for ya? Not too good right now.
Had Dale Earnhardt Jr gained the 51% he wanted in the company, he would have kicked Theresa to the curb. Theresa would not give up control so he left taking the dollars with him. Theresa is still going to end up without a company and Dale Earnhardt Jr will still end up without a trophy. Too bad, so sad. Dale Earnhardt Jr could have stayed where he was, been just as successful as he is today, and helped keep the company his father started in business.
So, from a certain perspective, Dale Earnhardt Jr is going to go down in history as the person that destroyed his fathers company. I am sure Daddy is proud.

4-10-2009 @ 11:31PM

Kim said...

I do not know enough about Aric Almirola to speak of his talents as I haven't followed him. What I will say however is how sad it is to see DEI, the company that the legend that was Dale Sr. fall apart. It is a sad state of affairs in NASCAR when you have Petty Enterprises and DEI both merging with other teams because they cannot stay afloat on their own anymore.

I am sure the Dale Jr. fans will come on here and say it's all Teresa's fault for not "giving him" 51% ownership of the company her late husband left TO HER (everyone seems to forget that part). When in fact, the downfall of DEI is just as much Dale Jr.'s fault as it is anyone else's. I think Sr. would be sick at what has happened to his company if he were alive to see it today. I am not sure he would be very proud of some of the decisions that his son and daughter have made since his passing either.

I actually feel sorry for everyone involved with or who works within the organization that is DEI. It must be such a shock to go from a powerhouse of a team with huge sponsorship dollars to a team that cannot even keep the famous number 8 sponsored for a season. Very sad, indeed.

Kim

4-11-2009 @ 7:22AM

hafttwo said...

good point maxwellhouse but it takes two to tango theresa could have given in also . it seems she made some comments on jrs other commitments. did jr throw her under the bus at all no he did just the oposite. it would be nice to se jr live up to the hype if he can.

4-11-2009 @ 7:54AM

hilryshaves said...

the reason he left is the same reason he can't drop the "jr." from his name. if he stayed, he'd have to be the top dog, and that's not his nature. he's a follower, or a "jr", not a leader..

4-11-2009 @ 9:02AM

Yes, Theresa could have danced with Jr. But after he wined and dined her and took her home for the night he would have gotten up out of bed the next morning and never called her again.
They both did what they had to do.
I cannot imagine a situation where an employee would walk into an owners office and demand 51% ownership in a company that owner built or they go to work for the compitition.
It is obvious that the downfall of DEI is attributed to Jr's failure to support the company his father and stepmom built. Good luck convincing Jr's fans.
MBL

4-11-2009 @ 4:12PM

Brad said...

Unbelieveable,,,,and next the recession will be Jr.s fault also. Jr. only wanted more control because he didn't like the direction the company was headed in.......hmmmmmmm looks like he made the right choice to me. He wanted more say as to the decisions that we're being made at the top folks and to sit hear and even consider that it's Jr.s fault as to what is happening with the economy and how it is affecting the sponsorship $$$ in nascar is a joke at best. Mike the only thing obvious here is that Jeff's win last week has left your head still spinning from celebrating LOL. Get real.......it's not Jr's fault the dollars are not there just look around people and look at how many companies are going out of business. Ask yourself this,,,,why did Mark Martin leave, and who do you think Martin Truex will be driving for next year,,,,,both those decisions will and have been made based on a better chance to win a title. Jr. will probably never win one but the DEI co. was built by Sr. and Theresa, not Jr. Any problems the co. is having are economy related not Jr. related.

4-11-2009 @ 6:10PM

Maybe I can connect the dots. Jr announced he was leaving DEI two years ago. People rushed to buy his old stuff. He announced the new sponsor and new team number. People rushed to buy the stuff. Last year he was doing VERY well and people rushed to buy his stuff. Now, there is nothing new, he is not doing well, and people are no longer buying his stuff. As a result, we have a recession.
Its a stretch I'll admit but who knows? I can get behind it if you can. I am truthfully more bored with the off week than still giddy over Jeff's win. That and I am now only two weeks away from my spring trip to the Outer Banks and my week of MANCATION. My new motorcycle is ready and I have just finished building my new motorcycle trailer. Life is good.
MBL

4-11-2009 @ 8:14PM

To blame Jr for DEI's failure is absurd and just stupidity on anyone who says so! How hard did Teresa really work to keep Napa, Pennzoil and Chevy from leaving? How hard did she work to get top notch drivers to replace those that left? Why didnt Biffle replace Park when he left? Why didnt she try and hire Kenseth when Waltrip left? Why couldnt they land Kyle Busch when Jr left? What top companies have they replaced Napa, Bud and Pennzoil with?
They acquired Army and Mark Martin when they bought Ginn Racing, they hired Paul Menard just because of his daddies money, and Martin Truex Jr was found because of Dale Jr, not Teresa. Is ALL this Dale Jr's fault? Did Jr run off Napa and Pennzoil? Was it Jr's job to go out there and hire the talent? What the hell is wrong with those that blame Jr, are you ALL BLIND! Jr couldve said to hell with it all long ago, but at least he made an effort to put his foot down to turn the company in the right direction! I dont know if DEI would have been better if Jr ran it, but from where the hell they are now, what the hell would they have to of lost?
I got so sick of when i heard they bought Ginn and hearing "Oh, now DEI will be a top tier team", then they fall apart and then it was then they had to merge with Ganassi, and then i heard "Oh, now these two teams will move to the top" and look where it is now, NO SPONSORS want to touch the Earnhardt company. It's really pathetic to put this all on Jr's head, damn, you people are very critical for a guy that tried to save his daddy's company to keep it up and competitive with the competition.
Oh, and by the way, at Talladega, Dale Sr said in an interview, that he had built DEI to leave to his kids and that one day that it'd be Dale Jr at the helm of that ship. The reason it wasnt in his will is because his will, Dale Sr had last updated it in 1992, when Jr was only about 17 or 18 years old, far away and long ago from where he is now, at that time he still had alot of growing up to do, which he has done and moreso than most drivers on that track. All Dale Jr haters, get lost or get a clue!

4-12-2009 @ 10:48AM

LMAOROF,,,,,Mike your killing me with that one. Have fun on your MANcation and be careful on your bike.
CJ,,,,thank you for putting into words what I wanted to but couldn't as I was hiding under my computer desk making sure the sky wasn't falling and Jr. would be to blame. I am truly surprised that no one has 'CONNECTED THE DOTS' and accused Jr. of being the 2nd gunman on the grassy knoll in the JFK assassination yet.

Aloha, Brad

4-12-2009 @ 11:07AM

Mike's right. It's very simple really, folks. Would DEI have trouble with money and sponsorship for the number 8 car if Jr. was still driving it? In a word, NOPE!

Look he chose to leave his father's team for greener pastures and I for one do not fault him for doing so. He's looking out for numero uno, and why shouldn't he? The point was, without him, his name, his sponsorship and his merchandise sales, DEI has nothing, period.

It's not a crack on Jr. It simply is what it is.

Kim

4-12-2009 @ 2:31PM

I suffered LOST IN SPACE as Anna would say. My last post never made it. Funny, I was going to say pretty much what Kim said. When Jr left, almost ALL the money followed him right out the door.
The sponsors knew without someone with the Earnhardt name driving, that company is on the way out. Several people said so when Jr announced he was leaving. Why is it now such a shock? Jr's name is what brought in the money just the same as his name is what brought him many of his fans. Sorry for the slap in the face but it is what it is. He left, the money left. Yes, Theresa failed to do what she needed to do in order to secure top ten drivers. Theresa was too busy riding around on the coat tails of the Earnhardt name.
But in the end, would the team be having money troubles if Jr had stayed put? I doubt it. They still would not have any top ten drivers but the sponsors would not care. They would have plenty of fans buying their stuff.

4-14-2009 @ 2:03PM

Greg said...

Well as what did you expect from a former stripper that wanted to run DEI corporation? Think about it, who was in charge of the corporation before Dale Sr. died? Dale Sr. should have drawn up the papers on how HE wanted everything to be (In charge).

4-14-2009 @ 5:44PM

Greg,

In your comments lie some wisdom, some many of us on here complained about at the time of Sr.'s death as well as the demise of DEI over a year ago between Dale Jr. & Teresa Earnhardt. (BTW, didn't know she was a former stripper. That's interesting. Funny, I am not surprised by that all).

Anyway, Sr. was clearly a bull-headed man. To run head long each week like your butt is on fire at 200 miles per hour, refusing to wear the helmets most of the other drivers are wearing, because they were uncomfortable and heavy, (never mind the fact that they were safer) was just asking for trouble. Unfortunately, the man was so stuck on being the best, he never thought about the worst happening, hence the reason his will wasn't changed when Jr. & Kelly became adults. Or was it? Many of us on here speculated that he didn't change the will because he wanted Jr. to just simply worry about driving and wanted Teresa to worry about the company. Unfortunately, we will never know. The only thing we do know is that Dale Sr.'s beloved company is going down the crapper. Very sad, indeed.

Kim

4-15-2009 @ 2:39PM

Kim,

You are very wise when it comes to Nascar. I am impress very much on just how much you know of these people because I had a friend who was Plant Manager for Pennzoil in CA. He hated Dale Sr because he was in Texas trying to get a sponsor from Pennzoil for one of his drivers. The point is a young boy in the same elevator as Dale wanted his autograph but Dale shouted at the boy yelling, "Get the hell away from me little shit!" My friend was also on that elevator said to Dale that HIS company should NOT have the Pennzoil sponsorship and that he should apologize to the kid, Dale look at him, smile and said, "You know who I am and what I have done for this sport? Without me, Pennzoil would not be begging me to put their sticker on the hood of one of my cars!!!" Yes Theresa was a stripper, how did you think Dale met her while his wife was home with the kids??
You should look up my cousin who races out in CA Jim Pettit II, He raced against Kurt, Kyle and even beat JJ when they were in the same league.
That is where I get my info.