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.
Veteran racer Mark Martin is the "cautious" in the expression, "cautiously optimistic." That's why his unabashed excitement coming into the season was a story in and of itself.
His fans and competitors alike hoped a prime job in the No. 5 Chevrolet for mighty Hendrick Motorsports would land this popular four-time championship runner-up a last really good -- perhaps long -- shot at a Sprint Cup title. Instead, a string of uncanny bad racing luck -- uncharacteristic Hendrick engine problems and a flat tire -- have left Martin ranked 34th in the standings entering Sunday's race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
He's got only a nine-point cushion on 35th place, and a fall outside the top-35 will cost him a guaranteed starting spot on the grid beginning next week, when the guaranteed starts are allotted based on the current top-35 standings.
Just as surprising as seeing Martin in this perilous predicament is the high-quality company he's keeping there.
He went from having no Nextel Cup ride, to having a third-rate Cup ride to possibly taking over what is now the most popular Cup ride on the circuit.
According to Marty Smith, DEI might solve their "too many drivers not enough cars and lack of a new high-caliber driver to replace Dale Earnhardt Jr." with the most obvious solution: putting veteran Mark Martin behind the wheel of the #8.
"If there's anyone that would represent Dale Earnhardt Inc. and what the No. 8 means to this company it would be Mark Martin."
Martin doesn't want a full-time Cup ride, though, so he'd split the season with Almirola, but nothing is written in stone yet.
The car would be sponsored by The Army and presumably this means that Regan Smith could still have a job driving the #01 for 2008 with sponsor TBD. But, it sounds like DEI is keeping their "several options" open and is still looking at Greg Biffle for 2009.
Almirola will make his DEI debut Saturday night in the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway in the #01. I don't know what to make of his racing abilities yet since I haven't seen him race too much and he hasn't completed even one full season in any NASCAR series. But I do know he's gonna have to work his a** off to get the same kind of love showered on the #8 car as it gets now.
Regan Smith is disappointed that he won't be starting his full-time Nextel Cup career this weekend at Indy, but the young'n is being smart about what he says out loud and that's wise, because all hope is not lost. Yet.
"I'm not worried, I'm not upset, I'm not frustrated. For me, I was extremely disappointed. On Monday, I was planning on going to the Brickyard and starting my full-time Cup career and getting to start it at one of the biggest venues that you could possibly start it at. I was extremely excited about that and looking forward to that. Then on Tuesday, things changed and [I] found out I wouldn't be racing [there]. I was disappointed from a personal standpoint."
I'd be a little more than disappointed--I'd be pissed after getting dissed like that. He's handling things a lot better than some drivers would and way better than I would. DEI hasn't even had the courtesy to sit down with him and discuss his future yet.
When Tony Stewart announced on his radio show in February that without Dale Earnhardt Jr. DEI will become a museum, many race fans agreed.
Others thought he was putting the nail in Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s coffin prematurely.
None--that I'm aware of--thought that DEI headquarters, aka The Garage Mahal, would literally become a museum overnight, but alas that is exactly what is happening.
That's the word coming from inside DEI this afternoon.
Tim Packman, former website editor of www.daleearnhardtinc.com, was a guest on Dave Moody's show this afternoon and said that DEI has finalized its merger with Ginn Racing. Under the deal, the #13 team's owner points will be transferred Paul Menard to lock him into the field.
Mark Martin will drive the #01 in Indy as planned and will presumably finish the season splitting with Aric Almirola, who just signed with Ginn.
The #14 team's owner points will reportedly be sold to Furniture Row Racing to lock Kenny Wallace in.
Ginn Racing's decision to cut veterans Joe Nemechek and Sterling Marlin was "sponsor driven." I suspect that the majority of fans accept that. That doesn't mean we to have to like it. And we don't:
Both Marlin and Nemechek are among the most popular drivers in the Nextel Cup garage. When word of their firings became public yesterday, internet message boards lit up with comments critical of Ginn Racing. Ginn's own Fan Forum was shut down late Tuesday, after fans clogged it with scathing criticism of the team.
Where is the respect for our elders? It's hard not to be critical of a team firing two veteran drivers maintaining position in the top 35 in owner points in the middle of the season. But the move is far from surprising--with change in ownership usually comes a change in key personnel.
Update: Official Release Almirola grateful to Gibbs, Nemechek released ...
A month ago, Aric Almirola denied wanting to leave Joe Gibbs Racing, despite being unhappy about the team giving his first win to his teammate, Denny Hamlin, at Infineon:
"I'm under contract at JGR. I have a long history with them. I've been there since I was 18 years old. I started racing late models with them, and they've become like family to me. I see our relationship growing."
I guess he meant growing apart.
No official announcement has been made, but according to Dave Moody, Aric Almirola has asked to be release from his contract with JGR and David Caraviello confirms the move to Ginn.
I understand that some fans, including the Fanhouse's own Geoffrey Miller, were quite passionate about Almirola getting robbed of his first win by his own team and called on him to leave the team immediately. But really? Almirola knew he was the fill-in driver for that race. Yeah Hamlin was late, but it was his car and his race to run. Everyone was on the same page going in.
As Almirola himself said, he has a long history with Gibbs. I certainly wish him the best whatever decision he should make for his future, but I sure hope he considered more than just one bad day at the office before making a career-move like this one.
Almirola's plan is to head to Ginn Racing to split the remainder of the 2007 season in the #01 with Mark Martin, with Regan Smith moving over to the #14 taking over driving duties for Sterling Marlin. The plan presumably eliminates the idea of a full-blown Ginn / DEI merger, but I imagine the #13 is still in play.
This whole situation still has me sick to my stomach.
Yes, Aric Almirola won his first career Busch race Saturday night at Milwaukee. No, there will be a photo anywhere of him with a trophy.
Why's that? All because a group thought it would be better to break a law of the racing gods by taking Almirola out of the No. 20 while he was in third on lap 59 than to let Denny Hamlin sit on the sidelines.
J.D. Gibbs said a number of factors -- like a lack of respect for your employees? -- led to the demise of Almirola on the No. 20 driving seat.
"It was obviously frustrating from Aric's standpoint, and from our standpoint because we think he has all the talent in the world," said Gibbs.
Frustrating for you? To take a young guy out of a race he could have easily won?
UPDATE: Denny Hamlin ended up winning tonight's AT&T 250 at Milwaukee, but he's not going to get credit. Aric Almirola officially won his first race, despite only running 59 laps.
I'd imagine Almirola was ready to win that first one, but he's gotta be severely ticked that he didn't get to personally do it.
I really feel for Almirola -- a victim of money, not racing.
Original: Joe Gibbs Racing doesn't respect their employees. Or at least one.
Denny Hamlin was supposed to be in tonight's Busch Series race. Aric Almirola, Joe Gibbs Racing Busch Series driver was nominated to practice and qualify the No. 20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet at Milwaukee in preparation for Hamlin who was in Sonoma for tomorrow's Cup race.
Hamlin did indeed get into the No. 20 car, but his entrance could win Joe Gibbs Racing the "Biggest Jackass of the Year" award. Or, more importantly, it should be created in their honor.
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.
Veteran racer 
It's been quite a month for 
Regan Smith
When Tony Stewart announced on his radio show in February that without Dale Earnhardt Jr. DEI will become a museum, many race fans agreed. 
That's the word coming from inside DEI this afternoon. 
Ginn Racing's decision to cut veterans Joe Nemechek and Sterling Marlin was "
Update: 
This whole 
