Almirola Signs Multi-Year Deal to Drive JR Motorsports’ No. 88
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Aug. 18, 2010) – JR Motorsports cemented an integral part of its future Wednesday by signing Aric Almirola to a multi-year driving contract for the company’s flagship No. 88 NASCAR Nationwide Series team starting in 2011, general manager Kelley Earnhardt announced today.
A 26-year-old native of Tampa, Fla., Almirola has 32 career Nationwide Series starts, including one for JR Motorsports in which he finished third at O’Reilly Raceway Park in July. Almirola’s full-time duties as the No. 88 driver will officially begin in 2011, but he could potentially fill the seat in select races this season while he continues to run for a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship.
“The chance to drive full time in the Nationwide Series with a top caliber team is something I am extremely excited about,” Almirola said. “I was at the shop yesterday, and Kelley gathered all the employees around to announce our deal. The energy and excitement was addicting. We raced at ORP together a month ago and had a really good run. There is no reason why we cannot compete like that every race, and there is no reason why we shouldn’t be running for a championship. I would expect nothing less.”
Almirola comes to JR Motorsports with proven credentials. In 2006-07, he competed in the Nationwide Series with Joe Gibbs Racing, earning three poles and six top-10s. He is credited with one victory – the June 23, 2007, race at Milwaukee Mile – in which he and Denny Hamlin shared seat time in the victorious No. 20 car. That performance was part of a successful 2007 campaign, which opened doors to a lifelong dream of racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Dale Earnhardt Inc. signed Almirola to a part-time driving deal in 2008 with the unique task of splitting seat time with one of NASCAR’s all-time greats, Mark Martin. Nineteen of Almirola’s 30 Sprint Cup starts came with DEI (later to become Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing). In his very first race of the 2008 season, Almirola scored a career-best Sprint Cup finish of eighth at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Almirola continued racing in sporadic Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races in 2009 and 2010, but the opportunity to compete full-time this year with Billy Ballew Motorsports in the Camping World Truck Series was too good to pass up. In 15 races so far this season, Almirola has two wins (Dover on May 14 and Michigan on June 12) and has finished in the top-10 in all but four events. He currently sits second in the championship point standings.
“If there is a quintessential JR Motorsports driver, we feel it’s Aric Almirola,” Kelley Earnhardt said. “The way he drives, the ambition he carries, the way he represents himself on and off the track, it all fits within our company’s dynamics, our core objectives, and the values of our sponsorship partners. We look forward to putting him in our No. 88 car so he can continue his success.”
Almirola’s one stint for JRM took place on July 24 at O’Reilly Raceway Park. He started the Kroger 200 in sixth position, led one lap, ran among the top-five all night, and finished third in his debut in the No. 88 GT Vodka Chevrolet. Almirola is one of 10 drivers who has or will have raced the No. 88 Chevrolet at least once in 2010. Team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive the No. 88 Realtree Outdoors Chevrolet at Bristol this Friday night in the Food City 250.
“This has been a far different year than anything we have ever experienced before, but we feel like our decision to take our time and not be rushed into naming a full-schedule driver for the No. 88 paid off with the signing of Aric,” Kelley Earnhardt said. “He brings a lot to the table for us, as well as our sponsors. He is someone they can build their brands around, and he has the talent to take them to the Winner’s Circle.”
JRM announces Delta Apparel as new sponsor; Sadler as new driver
JR Motorsports acquired more sponsorship Wednesday, with the announcement of a five-race sponsorship agreement with Realtree Outfitters Through Delta Apparel for their Nationwide Series team.
“Our deal with Realtree Outfitters is one of those partnerships that won’t be too difficult getting our fans and team members to rally around,” team co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “Our shop is loaded with avid hunters, starting with (Crew Chief) Tony Eury Jr. He’s a die-hard and big supporter of Realtree. My uncles – the Gee boys, Robert Jr. and Jimmy – are the best body-hangers in the business, but before they agreed to come to JR Motorsports, they made me promise to give them the entire month of November off so they can hunt… every year. It was the only way I could get them to come to JR Motorsports, so I agreed. I’ve never heard of a contract quite like it.”
The sponsor will debut in the June race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in two weeks. The other four races include the July event at Iowa Speedway, the August race at Bristol Motor Speedway, the September race at Dover International Speedway and the October race at Gateway.
JRM is still searching for a driver to run the Iowa and Gateway Races.
Earnhardt will run the Bristol race for the sponsor, making it his third appearance in the Nationwide Series this season. Earnhardt ran the Daytona race in February and is scheduled to race in the July Daytona race in the No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet. The Bristol race will have Earnhardt behind the wheel of the No. 88 car.
Elliott Sadler will kick his ten-race deal with JRM off in two weeks with new sponsor Realtree Outfitters. He will also race the Dover event under the sponsorship. The other eight races at O’Reilly Raceway Park, Michigan, Richmond, Kansas, Auto Club Speedway, Texas, Phoenix, and Homestead-Miami for Sadler will be sponsored by Grand Touring Vodka.
“I am grateful to Dale Jr. and Kelley for this opportunity,” Sadler said. “Dale Jr. and I have been friends since our days of racing late models, so it’s a great opportunity for us to partner together in the Nationwide Series. Everyone knows that I hunt every single day during the off-season. So, this was like a dream come true for me to have a chance to represent Realtree Outfitters at my inaugural race with JR Motorsports. Last year on a Realtree Outdoors hunt I harvested a monster bull elk, thanks to Bill Jordan. We’re mixing together my two biggest passions in life: racing and the outdoors. I’m going to go out and give it everything I have to put this No. 88 in victory lane for these 10 races.”
Cassill begins four-race deal with JRM at Phoenix
Nearly 17 months after he won the Nationwide Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year award for JR Motorsports, Landon Cassill is getting back behind the wheel of a Dale Earnhardt Jr.-owned racecar.
What took so long? Cassill isn’t sure, but he doesn’t seem to care, either. He’s simply excited to be driving JRM’s No. 7 Chevrolet in the next four races, beginning with Friday’s race at Phoenix International Raceway.
“I don’t know what it was that got the call made,” Cassill said. “I’d helped out Danica (Patrick) in Las Vegas and was working with JR Motorsports in that sense. They really decided to jump in with both feet and try to make this car get to every race. It really is too good of equipment to be at the shop.
“Finally, though, yeah, I’m finally happy to be back in the car.”
Cassill won the rookie title in 2008, winning a pole and posting five top-10 finishes in 19 starts for JRM. But sponsorship issues put Cassill on the sideline for 2009, and he ran one race—for Phoenix Racing.
Naturally, Cassill wants to do well in his stint in the No. 7, but he’s not trying to prove he belonged in the No. 88 instead of teammate Kelly Bires. No, Cassill instead said he wants to be a good teammate to Bires.
“I’m not trying to go out and say, ‘Ha, you should’ve hired me in the first place,’ ” Cassill said. “That’s not it at all, I’m just glad to be driving for Go Daddy and for JR Motorsports and to be part of the team.
“Being in a racecar, there’s nothing better. I’m just ready to remind everybody what I can do in a racecar.”
What can he do after being out for so long? Cassill said he can “run what the car is capable of doing,” whatever performance that is.
“He’s got a lot of ambition right now,” Bires said. “He wants to get in the car. He’s a good driver, and I think he’s going to be a good teammate.”
Cassill said he has a good relationship with Earnhardt and JRM co-owner Kelley Earnhardt, dispelling notions he was sidelined because he and Dale Jr. didn’t get along.
“They’re great,” Cassill said. “It was cool when I sat down, and they said, ‘Hey, we need you to drive this car. You’re our guy. … We feel like you can (take) this team and do what we need you to do.’ I’d say I have a good relationship with them.”
Fast facts
What: Bashas’ Supermarkets 200
Where: Phoenix International Raceway; Avondale, Ariz.
When: Friday, 9:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN, 9 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN/Sirius Satellite Ch. 128
Track layout: 1 -mile oval
Race distance: 200 laps/200 miles
Qualifying: Friday, 5:10 p.m. ET
2009 winner: Greg Biffle
2009 polesitter: Carl Edwards
Points leaders: 1. Carl Edwards, 820; 2. Brad Keselowski, 804; 3. Justin Allgaier, 799; 4. Kyle Busch, 764; 5. Kevin Harvick, 759; 6. Paul Menard, 658; 7. Joey Logano, 589; 8. Mike Wallace, 570; 9. Greg Biffle, 563; 10. Michael Annett, 544.
Cassill gets four-race gig with JR Motorsports
Landon Cassill will be joining JR Motorsports for four races in the No. 7 Chevrolet starting with next week’s race at Phoenix International Raceway, the team announced today. Cassill drove for JR Motorsports in 16 races in 2008—the same year in which he won the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award in the Nationwide Series.
- Rookie of the year Landon Cassill poses for photos at the NASCAR Nationwide banquet at the Portafino Hotel on November 22, 2008 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Cassill’s effort at Phoenix will be sponsored by GoDaddy.com. The other three races, scheduled for Texas, Talladega and Richmond spring races are still to be determined.
“Landon is a familiar face at JR Motorsports, and it is with great pleasure that we welcome him back to drive our No. 7 Chevrolets these next few weeks,” Kelley Earnhardt, vice president and general manager of JR Motorsports, said. “We are committed to keeping this No. 7 team racing as long as possible, because with Tony Eury Jr. and an extremely dedicated group of employees, this team is too good to not be at the race track. We are fortunate to have GoDaddy.com on board at Phoenix. I know it’s a big deal to have GoDaddy.com represented there, because the Valley is home to Bob Parsons and the GoDaddy.com team. They are great partners.”
Cassill is at the track this weekend at Nashville to be reacquainted with the team. Cassill hasn’t raced in the Nationwide Series since Oct. 24, 2009 at Memphis Motorsports Park with Phoenix Racing. In all, Cassill has 26 starts in the Nationwide Series, posting six top-ten finishes and one pole—at New Hampshire with JR Motorsports.
The Fairfax, Ia. native also has recorded eight starts in the Camping World Truck Series, in which he has accrued one top-five and three top-ten finishes.
Scott Wimmer is in the No. 7 Army Wives Chevrolet this weekend at Nashville, completing his two-race commitment with the popular Lifetime television series.
Danica Patrick is scheduled to be in the car for ten more races this season.
JRM to attempt to run No. 7 for the full season
JR Motorsports officials announced this week its goal for the No. 7 program is to race the full 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule as opposed to the previously-announced 13 races in which Danica Patrick will drive. Complete sponsorship details and drivers are to be determined; however, veteran racer Scott Wimmer will take the wheel of the No. 7 Chevrolet this Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway and April 3 at Nashville Superspeedway.
“This is something we’ve been considering for awhile now, and the bottom line is the No. 7 car is too good not to be at the race track,” said JRM co-owner and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. “Our goal at JR Motorsports has always been to have two full-time Nationwide Series teams competing every week. Our sponsorship situation with the No. 88 has shown significant progress, and hopefully we’ll have announcements soon. We’ll work just as hard to get the No. 7 fully funded.”
Patrick’s remaining 10 races include New Hampshire Motor Speedway (June 26), Chicagoland Speedway (July 9), Michigan International Speedway (Aug. 14), Dover International Speedway (Sept. 25), Auto Club Speedway (Oct. 9), Charlotte Motor Speedway (Oct. 15), Gateway International Raceway (Oct. 23), Texas Motor Speedway (Nov. 6), Phoenix International Raceway (Nov. 13), and Homestead-Miami Speedway (Nov. 20).
JR Motorsports PR
Hot Wheels to sponsor Patrick’s Michigan race
Hot Wheels and JR Motorsports announced today during a press conference at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday that Danica Patrick’s No. 7 Chevrolet will be sponsored by Hot Wheels at Michigan this year. Hot Wheels VP of Marketing Simon Waldron said during that Patrick also designed a car that Hot Wheels will add into their product line, and it will be called the “Danicar.”
“I had some ideas going into the design process but then I also just kind of let my mind wander a little while I was there,” Patrick said about the design process of her Hot Wheel car. “I had a great artist there sketching my ideas to make it look even better. My first idea, they brought out a whole big plastic case of all the different wheels and so I looked at them all then I thought ‘Well, let’s do six,’ and then they increased in size, of course ‘cause more grip and given my situation with running IndyCar and NASCAR I kind of made it look more like an IndyCar in the front with the cockpit and more like NASCAR in the back with the wheels covered.”
The car, which will be released by Hot Wheels, will also allow for buyers, targeted towards, to pick their own number for the car. The car is expected to be released this September and will be included in the main Hot Wheels range.
“It’s really great to have Hot Wheels back in NASCAR,” Kelly Earnhardt Elledge, vice president of JR Motorsports, said during the press conference. “(They are a) very recognized lifestyle brand, much like JR Motorsports. (We’re) happy to have them on board and to make their re-entry into the sport with Danica and the No. 7 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports. It’s going to be fun to see what they have in store for the year and I think we’re going to see some different designs for the GoDaddy Chevrolet which should be fun.”
Notebook: No contract? Knaus isn’t concerned
CONCORD, N.C. — Jimmie Johnson re-upped with Hendrick Motorsports last year. Crew chief Chad Knaus, an equally important part of the team that has won four straight Cup championships, hasn’t extended his current contract beyond 2010.
Knaus, however, is convinced his deal will get done in due time.
“The contract deal will get done at some point,” Knaus said. “I’m signed up through the end of 2010, and it’s not on the forefront of my mind right now. What’s important to me right now is just getting the cars built, getting to Daytona and getting the season back in place. Once the contract negotiations start, then we’ll worry about that.”
Johnson and Knaus are viewed as an inseparable combination, but Knaus said he could envision working with another driver — just not any time soon.
“We really enjoy working with each other — and why change it?” Knaus said. “Will I at some point work with another driver? Yeah — I mean, more than likely. Will he work with another crew chief? Yeah, more than likely. Let’s be honest. He’s younger than I am. He’s probably going to drive longer than I want to be a crew chief.
“Am I in a managerial role somewhere else doing something, or am I in a managerial role here working with these other teams? At some point, yeah, I’ll be working with other people. Do I hope that he’s always a part of my relationship with Hendrick Motorsports? One hundred percent. I’d love for that to be the case.
“There are no guarantees in life. You don’t know what’s going to happen years down the road. I feel like I’ve got four to six more years that I can do this, and then that’s it. Then I’ve got to go and do something else. Now, hopefully, that go-and-do-something else is here.”
NATIONWIDE RUN AT DAYTONA UNLIKELY FOR PATRICK
Danica Patrick will make her competitive stock car racing debut Feb. 6 in the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 ARCA Re/Max event at Daytona International Speedway. Lest you think success in that race will lead to a start in the Camping World 300 Nationwide Series race a week later — an event heavily populated with Cup drivers — car owner Kelley Earnhardt adds a cautionary note.
“It’s going to be her decision after the ARCA race,” Earnhardt said Wednesday after a Nationwide announcement on the media tour. “The thing that we’ve all discussed is that the Nationwide Daytona race is basically a Cup race, and with someone like her, that may not be the best situation to put her in. …
“My expectations for her are to go out and run in the top 20. We provide her a competitive car, she’s a capable driver, she’s done well at the test — the key will be her being around 42 other cars and how she’ll handle that, so we’ll see.”
SHORT STROKES
Darlington Raceway will replace the Milwaukee Mile on the 2010 Camping Wor1d Truck Series schedule, NASCAR announced Wednesday. The Too Tough to Tame 200 will be run Aug. 14 at the 1.366-mile speedway, which hasn’t hosted a truck series event since 2004. … Aaron’s, which sponsors the No. 00 Toyota driven by David Reutimann in the Cup Series, has added six points races and the Sprint All-Star Race to its commitment to Michael Waltrip Racing, which fields Reutimann’s Camry. All told, Aaron’s will serve as primary sponsor for 24 races.
IMG looks to double down with Danica and Dale Jr.
Danica Patrick’s representatives at IMG soon will be talking to the brands endorsed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. as both camps seek opportunities to combine the star power of the two drivers.
Even though Patrick’s move to NASCAR has been in the works since the summer, she just last week signed to drive a dozen or so Nationwide Series races for Earnhardt’s JR Motorsports, a team he co-owns with Rick Hendrick. She’ll continue to drive a full Izod IndyCar Series schedule for Andretti Autosport.
“Now that there’s something real to talk about, we can sit with (Earnhardt’s) partners to find the right opportunities for both of them,” said Mark Dyer, senior vice president, strategic planning and development at IMG, the agency that represents Patrick and engineered her move to NASCAR. Dyer is part of an IMG team that includes Alan Zucker, Patrick’s agent from the client representation group; Tom Worcester from business development; and Tom Knox from motorsports business development.
GoDaddy.com will be the primary sponsor on Patrick’s No. 7 Chevrolet at JRM, and two other associate sponsorships are close. Primary, full-season sponsorships in the Nationwide Series run anywhere from $5 million to $7 million a year for the top teams.
Go Daddy also sponsors Patrick in IndyCar, so the potential for sponsor conflict has been limited so far. IndyCar primary sponsorships run about the same as Nationwide team deals, in the mid-to-high seven figures.
Additionally, Go Daddy is spending well into eight figures to sponsor Mark Martin’s No. 5 Sprint Cup car for a majority of the 36 races next year, bringing the total sponsorship spend for the domain name provider to more than $20 million. That doesn’t include Go Daddy’s significant media buy, which will include two spots for Patrick ads in the Super Bowl.
Go Daddy also sponsored a JRM car last season and is expected to have a relationship with Earnhardt this season.
As IMG and JRM work together to fill out the sponsorship on her Nationwide Series car, the more compelling possibilities are how Patrick might work together with Earnhardt, NASCAR’s most popular driver for seven straight seasons. Earnhardt’s co-primary sponsors are Pepsi’s Amp Energy and National Guard, while he also endorses Nationwide Insurance, the title sponsor of NASCAR’s No. 2 series. John Aman, associate vice president of sponsorships for Nationwide, has said the insurance giant is studying endorsement opportunities, which could play off Patrick’s participation in the series or her ties with Earnhardt.
“Absolutely” there will be opportunities, Dyer said, for Patrick and Earnhardt to work together. “There are a lot of brands within Pepsi, and Dale has his own affiliation with Go Daddy and Nationwide as well.”
Just as interesting is the potential for a brand to pair Patrick and Earnhardt’s sister, Kelley, the president of JRM who negotiated the deal with IMG to bring Patrick to the team. Kelley Earnhardt, like Patrick, is blazing trails as a woman in a profession dominated by men.
“There are some great story lines there about Danica coming to NASCAR and the female executive who helped bring her into the sport,” Dyer said.
Other entities can’t wait to put Patrick’s star power to use as well, given her perceived ability to drive ticket sales and TV ratings, two areas that have slumped in recent years. Chris Powell, president of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, is already devising promotional possibilities that would incorporate Patrick in a ticket-selling plan.
Patrick has not yet committed to a race schedule, but with the Feb. 27 Las Vegas race the third event on the Nationwide Series schedule—well before the March 14 season opener in IndyCar—she is expected to include Vegas on her calendar.
“It’s a breath of fresh air for the sport,” Powell said. “We’re hoping to create a promotion around her appearance that will be exciting for fans and potentially rewarding. What we hope is that a fan or fans will win something based on where Danica finishes. Ever since there’s been talk about her coming into NASCAR, we’ve been talking about ways to leverage her presence and profile.”
Patrick, likewise, will figure heavily into ESPN’s promotion of the Nationwide Series, which typically begins with a brand campaign around late January, about three weeks before the start of the season. ESPN2 carries most of the Nationwide Series races, with some bouncing over to ESPN or ABC. Viewership for NASCAR’s No. 2 series was down 12.7 percent in 2009, averaging 1.8 million viewers for 35 races.
“Danica is one of the drivers who has proven she can move the meter,” said Julie Sobieski, ESPN’s vice president, programming and acquisitions. “In 2005, we saw significant increases in the Indy 500 when she was a rookie. She’s a story that transcends the sport and has the power to bring in different viewers. Casual fans will gravitate to this story line. We see advantages across both of the series, Nationwide and IndyCar.”
Dyer said the strategy with Patrick has been to position her as a NASCAR driver, not solely a Nationwide Series driver. And despite her partial schedule in NASCAR as she continues to compete full time in IndyCar, “there will be the ability to market with her yearlong,” Dyer said.
It remains to be seen where Peak, one of Danica’s longest-running partners, will fit in on her Nationwide or IndyCar car, but that relationship is expected to continue.
Michael Smith is a reporter with SportsBusiness Journal.
Danica Patrick announces limited Nationwide schedule
A year’s worth of rumors and speculation regarding Danica Patrick’s move to NASCAR were put to rest on Tuesday in Phoenix, Ariz. when it was announced that Danica Patrick would drive the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet in the Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports. After signing a three-year contract with IndyCar Series team Andretti Autosport, 27-year-old Patrick will race open-wheel and stock car races concurrently.
- GoDaddy PR
According to JR Motorsports Vice President Kelly Earnhardt Elledge, the No. 5 Nationwide Series team will not race next year, as it stands right now. Earnhardt Elledge continued to say that Patrick will be locked into the field, however she did not directly say the points would come from the No. 5 team. This means that JR Motorsports will continue to be a two car team with a full-time operation, the No. 88 driven by Kelly Bires, and the No. 7 part-time operation.
Patrick will drive a limited schedule in the JRM Chevrolet with her NASCAR Nationwide Series debut and number of races still to be determined. Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s former crew chief in the Sprint Cup Series, Tony Eury Jr., will be her Nationwide Series crew chief.
“We’re not a 100 percent sure on the all of the details (NASCAR schedule) at this point, but the primary focus will be before and after the IndyCar Series season as IndyCar is the primary focus,” Patrick said.
Patrick will be with a JRM Chevrolet on Dec. 18-20 for the ARCA Series test at Daytona.
- GoDaddy PR
“One of the things JRM has to offer is proven NASCAR experience,” Kelly Earnhardt Elledge said. “This is a team sport, and our team will help Danica get up to speed quickly. She’s slated to begin working with our crew starting with the upcoming ARCA tests.”
Before arriving to race at Daytona, however, Patrick will first participate in the ARCA Series event at Daytona on Feb. 6. This is because of a technicality in which NASCAR requires competitors to race a restrictor plate race in another series before they can do so in one of NASCAR’s top-three national touring series.
Once she participates in the event, she will be cleared to race at any track, a NASCAR official confirmed.
This will be the first time in Patrick’s auto racing career that she will be driving a stock car in a competitive setting. The Roscoe, Ill. native did test a Nationwide Series car in 2002 before deciding to race in the IndyCar Series.
She made her IZOD IndyCar Series debut at Homestead in 2005 with Rahal Letterman Racing. After a two-year stint with RLR, she joined Andretti Autosport in 2007. With 81 career starts and three full-time seasons in the IndyCar Series, Patrick has posted one win and a career average finish of 10.1.
Patrick will be the 33rd woman to race in NASCAR and the 13th women to race in the Nationwide Series.
