Aric Almirola is having one of the worst seasons ever by a top tier ride

JJ_14

JJ_14

Go Briscoe!
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Drivers ahead of him in the standings thus far:

Erik Jones
Chase Briscoe
Ross Chastain
Ryan Preece
Daniel Suarez
Darrell Wallace Jr.
Ryan Newman
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Michael McDowell

I don't know what's up with this team but overall they're severely underperforming. I don't recall a year where a top tier driver in top tier equipment was 28th in the standings this late in the season. Michael McDowell has looked like a title contender compared to Almirola. This is a guy who has made the playoffs every year since joining Stewart-Haas.

I think he should undoubtedly be on the hot seat. There are plenty of drivers in the lower ranks who would be worthy replacements. He's barely ahead of Anthony Alfredo in the standings! That's unacceptable.
 
JJ_14 said:
Drivers ahead of him in the standings thus far:

Erik Jones
Chase Briscoe
Ross Chastain
Ryan Preece
Daniel Suarez
Darrell Wallace Jr.
Ryan Newman
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Michael McDowell

I don't know what's up with this team but overall they're severely underperforming. I don't recall a year where a top tier driver in top tier equipment was 28th in the standings this late in the season. Michael McDowell has looked like a title contender compared to Almirola. This is a guy who has made the playoffs every year since joining Stewart-Haas.

I think he should undoubtedly be on the hot seat. There are plenty of drivers in the lower ranks who would be worthy replacements. He's barely ahead of Anthony Alfredo in the standings! That's unacceptable.
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Almirola is not a top tier driver.

As to why is he still there? One answer....

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And I don't think this is unprecedented. Not gonna pull up Racing-Reference, but JPM, Paul Menard, and Dale Jr. all had seasons where they were in the 20s in points in decently good equipment.
 
Aric is 28th in points. Chase Briscoe is 26th and Cole Custer is 25th. Aric isn’t a hall of famer, but he is a better version of menard and keeps the car clean and has made the chase every year with the team. He also won the duel race. SHR as a whole is terrible this year. Harvick has made that team look better then it is every year other then 2018 when all 4 cars actually had speed. Newsflash: Harvick is the best driver of this generation
 
Maybe the wheel well issue was a larger advantage than previously thiught
 
SHR has been mediocre outside of Harvick for about two-three years.

Briscoe and Custer are inexperienced. They have talent, they need additional years behind the wheel. Almirola I think is solid, but nothing exceptional. I feel as of Aric would function better in a one-car team like he was at RPM. Very up and down at times, but its interesting when he gets hot, he stays hot.

Last year during the summer, he was a man on fire with a string of like five top 5s and eight or nine top 10s. He can get hot in spurts, I just wish he would be closer to Harvick. Not to mention, he did almost make the final four a couple of years ago.

Aric is not short of talent or speed, its just its either there or not.
 
My personal opinion of top-tier: teams who SHOULD make the playoffs each year with EVERY DRIVER. The 10 is certainly in that camp. Hendrick, SHR, Penske, Gibbs. Any driver from those organizations who does not make the playoffs is undoubtedly underperforming.

Mid-tier: teams who CAN make the playoffs with ONE OF THEIR DRIVERS but need some luck and shouldn't be expected in it each year: Roush, Ganassi, RCR, Wood Brothers, JTG-Daugherty, Petty

Bottom tier: teams who WILL NOT make the playoffs in any conceivable scenario: Starcom, Spire, ect

And then you have Rick Ware racing lol.
 
Why do people think SHR is an elite team? The only elite team other then the 14 when smoke was still great has been Harvick/Childers in the 4. Kurt Busch is one of the most talented drivers in the garage, he was basically a token win a year guy in the 41. Bowyer had one dominant win at martinsville and a rain shortened win in 4 years. Aric has done better then his predecessor and brings full funding (emphasize how important this is), but the only year he competed for wins was 2018 where he should’ve won 2-3 times. Other then that, nobody has been close to winning other then Harvick and Kurt. I think Harvick is significantly propping this team up like Carl Edwards did in RFR’s last decent years. They will regret not putting Larson in the 14, as he’s one of the drivers that could’ve had the 14 in the top 10 every week with a token win or two.
 
Turtle84 said:
Turns out Suarez wasn't too shabby in the 41
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I told y'all, Saurez wasn't the problem. JGR and SHR used that man for his money, that was it.

Imagine SHR without Harvick, its more than likely a B-team without him.

Harvick is the only driver really "elite" within the team. A lot of work needs to be done there. The question is, who will be that next "elite" talent in the 4 when Harvick hangs up his helmet?
 
Kiante said:
I told y'all, Saurez wasn't the problem. JGR and SHR used that man for his money, that was it.

Imagine SHR without Harvick, its more than likely a B-team without him.

Harvick is the only driver really "elite" within the team. A lot of work needs to be done there. The question is, who will be that next "elite" talent in the 4 when Harvick hangs up his helmet?
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Deegan ;)
 
DaBiff1618 said:
Why do people think SHR is an elite team? The only elite team other then the 14 when smoke was still great has been Harvick/Childers in the 4. Kurt Busch is one of the most talented drivers in the garage, he was basically a token win a year guy in the 41. Bowyer had one dominant win at martinsville and a rain shortened win in 4 years. Aric has done better then his predecessor and brings full funding (emphasize how important this is), but the only year he competed for wins was 2018 where he should’ve won 2-3 times. Other then that, nobody has been close to winning other then Harvick and Kurt. I think Harvick is significantly propping this team up like Carl Edwards did in RFR’s last decent years. They will regret not putting Larson in the 14, as he’s one of the drivers that could’ve had the 14 in the top 10 every week with a token win or two.
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I agree with a lot of that, but Tony commented on Twitter or Instagram late last year that he’d been trying to sign Larson for quite a while and Ford wouldn’t approve it. I don’t think the makeup of the team with two very young drivers and a perennial wheelholder supporting a superstar is necessarily what they want there, just what circumstances led to. Unless another big sponsor - or Ford - decides to come in and bankroll another star I think this roster is what they’re going to look like until Harvick retires.
 
Kiante said:
I told y'all, Saurez wasn't the problem. JGR and SHR used that man for his money, that was it.

Imagine SHR without Harvick, its more than likely a B-team without him.

Harvick is the only driver really "elite" within the team. A lot of work needs to be done there. The question is, who will be that next "elite" talent in the 4 when Harvick hangs up his helmet?
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Sheldon Creed I wish 🙃
 
DaBiff1618 said:
Sheldon Creed I wish 🙃
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Is Creed's grandfather willing to front the Xfinity bill?

Creed could easily switch, but let's be honest, Herbst's money is keeping the operation open. Creed would be an interesting prospect, just I think he will need multiple seasons in Xfinity to get to the level he needs to be at. Ford already has Deegan, Gray, and Briscoe on their books in terms of sponsorship directly from them.

I was saying Ford should have kept JHN in the Ford Performance tree, but it looks like going back down to trucks with Toyota has been a success, so far.
 
When teams get this much younger this quickly they suck for a while. Hendrick did the same thing but their gamble paid off because their young guys are excellent. Bowyer and Busch feedback going to Custer and Briscoe feedback has bit Aric pretty badly.
 
Aric isn't a bad driver by any stretch it's more that SHR apparently got hammered by this wheel well thing. It clearly isn't a Ford issue as Penske is very strong.

The facts are the facts and I don't see him going anywhere unless the money dries up. Gene is already sponsoring a good number of races over there to start with

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
wi_racefan said:
Aric isn't a bad driver by any stretch
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Let’s be real here. He’s not bad but he’s nothing special either. He had one top tier season in 2018 but outside of that he’s only shown to be good enough to finish between 13th and 20th, no matter what ride he has.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
Let’s not act like Danica and Aric are on the same plane here. The #10 is a decent ride and Danica absolutely gave it no service. That team went from 0 top 5s and 7 top 10s in 5 seasons to 1 win, 13 top 5s and 47 top 10s in 3 seasons.
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I still think she was shafted in terms of equipment at SHR. Maybe Aric is beginning to be as well
 
wi_racefan said:
Lol!!!! She was the cash cow. What possible reason would they not want to give her the absolute best stuff?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
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I take offense to Patrick being called a cow! LOL

Lots - if the brass thought they could pull the wool over the teams eyes ....give to kurt and Harv
 
Kiante said:
SHR has been mediocre outside of Harvick for about two-three years.

Briscoe and Custer are inexperienced. They have talent, they need additional years behind the wheel. Almirola I think is solid, but nothing exceptional. I feel as of Aric would function better in a one-car team like he was at RPM. Very up and down at times, but its interesting when he gets hot, he stays hot.

Last year during the summer, he was a man on fire with a string of like five top 5s and eight or nine top 10s. He can get hot in spurts, I just wish he would be closer to Harvick. Not to mention, he did almost make the final four a couple of years ago.

Aric is not short of talent or speed, its just its either there or not.
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Because Kevin is the best driver there.
 
DanicaFreak said:
I take offense to Patrick being called a cow! LOL

Lots - if the brass thought they could pull the wool over the teams eyes ....give to kurt and Harv
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I think Kevin more than funds his team from a sponsor standpoint.

You realize how much more money they would be able to demand had she been successful? If she goes out there and wins a race or two a year people would have been willing to pay stupid money to put their name on the side of the first successful female driver in cup.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
wi_racefan said:
I think Kevin more than funds his team from a sponsor standpoint.

You realize how much more money they would be able to demand had she been successful? If she goes out there and wins a race or two a year people would have been willing to pay stupid money to put their name on the side of the first successful female driver in cup.

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good point. I agree until they "felt" she wasnt on their track for success
 
DanicaFreak said:
good point. I agree until they "felt" she wasnt on their track for success
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Because their track for success is, wait for it, actual success. Danica was losing sponsors and they had Smithfield staring at them in the face with a driver who was actually competitive. Smithfield > merch sales.
 
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