By the time RCR had other cars, other teams like Hendrick, Roush, and the relatively new JGR and Penske were beginning to catch up to RCR, but for a decade they were CLEARLY the gold standard among race teams. The only other car they had during Dale's lifetime was the 31, and that was Mike Skinner for cripes sake. With Skinner's success in the Truck Series, Childress kind of got cornered into putting him in that car, kind of like how Hendrick got stuck with Brian Vickers. Dale's uncooperative attitude towards having a teammate CLEARLY didn't help the situation either. (I find it ironic and hypocritical that a guy who didn't want a teammate for himself, owned a three car team at the time of his death). Unfortunately for them, other than Harvick, the rest of the drivers they chose (for whatever reason) haven't been ANYBODY that moves the needle as far as I'm concerned. Harvick clearly COULD have kept RCR near the top, but be needed a few years to mature, and by then the landscape had changed quite a LOT. Also never forget how much money the death of Dale Earnhardt took out of that company over time. He was the ultimate cash cow for that team, and without him, that was a huge blow at a time when team budgets were absolutely exploding. I'm not an RCR guy and CERTAINLY not a Roush guy, so it doesn't really matter to me, but would you say Roush was never really very good based on the last ten years without considering the first twenty?