2022 Silly Season

Idk.. cars coming out of the Penske shop have been a lot faster than SHR ones. I don't think Custer and Briscoe are THAT bad. If anything I would guess the 21 is a better car but again that's just a guess. They're equal enough cars for the sake of the argument.

Hypothetically if the 10 team was choosing between Aric and Matt they should just keep Aric for the continuity. I have not seen anything from Matt that makes me think he's better than Aric. In my perfect NASCAR fantasy world Erik Jones gets the 21 and Matt takes the 43 or something but that's not the world we live in.

The only thing that Matt doesn’t have over Aric is more opportunities in the lower series and a W in Cup. Just look at his 2021 stats, much more consistent.

Matt should take the Aric Almirola route of going back to Xfinity or Trucks
 
The only thing that Matt doesn’t have over Aric is more opportunities in the lower series and a W in Cup. Just look at his 2021 stats, much more consistent.

Matt should take the Aric Almirola route of going back to Xfinity or Trucks
That "only thing" is also the most important thing. There's a reason that even with all he did wrong along the way, and as the Cup series field gets younger, Kurt Busch is still hanging around at age 43.

You might be right about the lower series part, but hed have to CRUSH down there and leave no doubt
 
That "only thing" is also the most important thing. There's a reason that even with all he did wrong along the way, and as the Cup series field gets younger, Kurt Busch is still hanging around at age 43.

Yeah well Aric was out out of the playoffs pretty quickly. Fact of the matter is that Matt just is too nice of a guy and doesn’t have an agent.

Ever since they redid the Elimination system, we’ve never seen any Cinderella March Madness story.
 
No question? Based off of what? Hopes and dreams?
Matt is seven years younger. Aric's win @ New Hampshire is as flukey as it gets. This year, Matt D. has the statistical edge easily.

Aric had the best equipment in the sport last year & he went winless. That's embarrasing. If it wasn't for that lucky win earlier in the season, he'd be 25th in points, well behind Matt.
 
Statements that have "no question" need to have plenty of data to support them. Both drivers have had top shelf cars for the last two years...

Aric AlmirolaMatt DiBenedetto
Head-to-Head
33 wins​
36 wins​
Actual Race Stats
Wins
1​
0​
Top 5's
8​
6​
Top 10's
21​
20​
Avg. Finish
16.8​
15.8​
I don't put too much stock into stats. Almirola had the best equipment last year & didn't do anything with it, aside from a nice stretch of top 10's. He should've been in victory lane a few times.

Give me 30 year old Matt anyday if we're choosing between the two. Age matters in this sport as well.
 
Matt is seven years younger. Aric's win @ New Hampshire is as flukey as it gets. This year, Matt D. has the statistical edge easily.

Aric had the best equipment in the sport last year & he went winless. That's embarrasing. If it wasn't for that lucky win earlier in the season, he'd be 25th in points, well behind Matt.

A win at NHMS isn’t a fluke, but I have to agree it’s been a bit of a disappointment outside of that.
 
I don't put too much stock into stats. Almirola had the best equipment last year & didn't do anything with it, aside from a nice stretch of top 10's. He should've been in victory lane a few times.

Give me 30 year old Matt anyday if we're choosing between the two. Age matters in this sport as well.
Matt D. is not mediocre. He has had a very nice stretch since the playoffs started. Ford hasn't set the world on fire this year.
He’s rideless.

Potential employers are aware of his mediocrity.
 
LOL

Danica Patrick was vilified all over the intergoogle because she snatched up a good Cup ride having never won a B Main. The lambasting continued from one race to the next over the course of her winless Cup career.

Matt seems to have struck a different chord with fans.
 
LOL

Danica Patrick was vilified all over the intergoogle because she snatched up a good Cup ride having never won a B Main. The lambasting continued from one race to the next over the course of her winless Cup career.

Matt seems to have struck a different chord with fans.
Matt and Danica’s NASCAR careers couldn’t be more diametrically opposed. What a joke. You’ve been reading more blog posts written by that 14 year old again.
 
Also I forgot NASCAR counts one of Aric’s wins at the Milwaukee Mile where Rockwell Automation came in and basically humiliated Aric because they wanted Denny in so bad.
 
About as disingenuous as it gets.
Matt and Danica’s NASCAR careers couldn’t be more diametrically opposed. What a joke. You’ve been reading more blog posts written by that 14 year old again.
Neither of them has ever won a NASCAR race, irrespective of their ”diametrically opposed” career paths.

Sooner or later, that catches up with race car drivers. 3 more chances for Matt to snap the visor down and go get one. I’m not holding my breath.
 
Also I forgot NASCAR counts one of Aric’s wins at the Milwaukee Mile where Rockwell Automation came in and basically humiliated Aric because they wanted Denny in so bad.
From what I recall Denny was late getting there due to something running long on the cup side. They paid for Denny to be in the car not Aric.
 
From what I recall Denny was late getting there due to something running long on the cup side. They paid for Denny to be in the car not Aric.

I understand that, made a fool out of Almirola any way you put it I thought at that time
 
Neither of them has ever won a NASCAR race, irrespective of their ”diametrically opposed” career paths.
Danica didnt get kicked because she didnt win. She got kicked because she couldnt even squeeze a single top 5 and barely ran in the top 15. For her equipment that was inexcusable and her sponsors no longer saw the ROI and jumped ship.

To equate that to Matt’s current situation is lunacy.
 
Danica didnt get kicked because she didnt win. She got kicked because she couldnt even squeeze a single top 5 and barely ran in the top 15. For her equipment that was inexcusable and her sponsors no longer saw the ROI and jumped ship.

To equate that to Matt’s current situation is lunacy.

Yeah I agree, if Danica improved herself to around the 20th in points we’d have a different discussion and she would have bought herself more time. I also have an issue with the fact that NO ONE including herself was trying to run more Nationwide/Truck/ARCA races like she should have that Kyle, Joey, Brad, Carl, etc did, but people always make these claims of why she didn’t.

Pretty good open wheel driver, she’s decent in the booth at least IMO.
 
and thats exactly why the “win or get out” logic isnt a 1 size fits all.
He's held to a high standard as well, but I'm not pleading that he should have a seat anywhere.

He's a top 5 driver in the Xfinity Series, he has every record in terms of being a bridesmaid. Just needs to breakthrough, which he can this year and next season with Kaulig. To be fair, all of the full-time Xfinity JGR drivers have goose eggs this year.

He's been the best out of the bunch, but he has to win in order to stay around any longer after next season.
 
Still trying to figure out how this made a fool of him? Now if he started the car and was so slow that he was 3 laps down, then Denny jumps in and makes up 3 laps and wins the race I'd agree.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
I think it's a bad look for ANY driver to pulled out of the car in the middle of the race for any reason other than illness or injury. Once the race started, they should have just let Almirola run the whole race. Even if it's not not meant that way, it implies that you are removing a lesser driver to put a better one in.
 
I think it's a bad look for ANY driver to pulled out of the car in the middle of the race for any reason other than illness or injury. Once the race started, they should have just let Almirola run the whole race. Even if it's not not meant that way, it implies that you are removing a lesser driver to put a better one in.

Bingo. Not Denny’s fault Rockwell Automation did it, but still I thought was silly
 
Bingo. Not Denny’s fault Rockwell Automation did it, but still I thought was silly
Rockwell Automation had been around the sport long enough that they SHOULD have known better than to pull a stunt like that. Makes you wonder how hard anybody tried to talk them out of it.
 
Yeah I feel so bad for Aric on that. Like he has a win on his record he himself doesn’t even count. It’s why when he finally won one there where he was in the car at the end, he called it his first win. Like it has to suck to have your first one come like his did.
 
Rockwell Automation had been around the sport long enough that they SHOULD have known better than to pull a stunt like that. Makes you wonder how hard anybody tried to talk them out of it.
Stunt? In reality the only one pulling a stunt was Denny by not showing up in time to start the race that Rockwell was paying him to run.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
 
Stunt? In reality the only one pulling a stunt was Denny by not showing up in time to start the race that Rockwell was paying him to run.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

Wasn’t Denny’s fault, there was no stunt. Any driver would have done the same thing. Just a crap situation.
 
Wasn’t Denny’s fault, there was no stunt. Any driver would have done the same thing. Just a crap situation.
I get that, but Rockwell wasn't pulling anything. Denny wasn't fulfilling his obligations to them and they had to make the best of a bad situation. I can't see how Rockwell is somehow the bad guy in this?

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
Any PR from the DiBenedetto camp? Nothing to report?

A big fat W would take care of that and a lot of other things. The hypocrisy on display here is embarrassing.
At this point, I don't think a win changes much of anything. There isn't a whole lot out there unless somebody is willing to make a spot for him, about as unlikely as flying pigs when you don't bring money. I'm not sure what hypocrisy you are talking about.
 
I get that, but Rockwell wasn't pulling anything. Denny wasn't fulfilling his obligations to them and they had to make the best of a bad situation. I can't see how Rockwell is somehow the bad guy in this?

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
Almirola earned the right to finish what he started. Rockwell sponsored Denny in that race KNOWING, that he couldn't qualify the car, and that he would have to fly to the race and there could be issues. The classy move would have been to stick with the guy already in the car. From a PR standpoint, it would have made a lot better story anyways.
 
I get that, but Rockwell wasn't pulling anything. Denny wasn't fulfilling his obligations to them and they had to make the best of a bad situation. I can't see how Rockwell is somehow the bad guy in this?

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

Huh? Denny was late because of a practice in Sonoma. I guess he can refuse to fulfill his sponsor obligations?
 
Huh? Denny was late because of a practice in Sonoma. I guess he can refuse to fulfill his sponsor obligations?
It doesn't matter in that situation he was going to fail to fulfill obligations that were promised to someone.

I can't understand why people think it was bad for Denny to jump in the car late. Rockwell paid for Denny to be in the car not AA. If AA was to be in the car from the very beginning I doubt they would have wrote a check.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
 
It doesn't matter in that situation he was going to fail to fulfill obligations that were promised to someone.

I can't understand why people think it was bad for Denny to jump in the car late. Rockwell paid for Denny to be in the car not AA. If AA was to be in the car from the very beginning I doubt they would have wrote a check.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

Because Aric gets credited with the win, it’s embarrassing as hell for Aric. This isn’t about Denny. Aric was also running well all day.

Why would any driver (a SOPHMORE driver) skip practice at Sonoma way back in 2007?
 
Back
Top Bottom