Silly Season: Making The Best Of A Bad Situation
5/10/13
Kevin Abraham
After
this past weekend’s race, I started to reflect on what happened at the end of
2011. As most everyone knows, after his
many verbal outbursts, Kurt Busch and Roger Penske ‘mutually agreed’ to part
ways. When this occurred, it opened a
seat with a top NASCAR team at the end of the year. The main drivers that were considered for the
No. 22 car were David Ragan, and A. J. Allmendinger. Allmendinger ultimately
ended up with the No. 22 car, while David Ragan was rumored to take A. J.’s
seat with RPM; however Aric Almirola was ultimately chosen to drive the iconic
No. 43 in 2012. This left David Ragan to
drive for the underfunded Front Row Motorsports, piloting the No. 34 car. Kurt Busch ended up driving for owner James
Finch in the No. 51 car. Let’s take a
look at how each driver has fared since December 2011.
The first driver to look at is Kurt Busch
himself. Kurt started off 2012 strong
for Phoenix racing, however by the time the series got to Darlington, the
wheels fell off the car. Kurt had a
major meltdown, and almost hit a crewmember of Ryan Newman’s, causing Kurt to
be placed on probation. Typically probation
is nothing more than a slap on the wrist, but while under probation, after the Nationwide race at Dover, Kurt had an interesting verbal exchange
with a member of the NASCAR media.
“It refrains
me from not beating the (expletive) out of you right now because you ask me
stupid questions,” Busch stated. “But
since I'm on probation, I suppose that's improper to say as well."
This earned Kurt a one race suspension along with his
probation being extended to December 31, 2012.
Near the end of the year, Kurt was signed to drive the No 78 car for
Furniture Row Racing, where he has had more top 10’s along with competing for
wins again.
The next driver to review is A. J. Allmendinger. A. J. was picked as Kurt’s replacement in the
No. 22, due to his success with RPM, along with his clean cut image; however
that was not meant to be. With only 3
top 10’s in 17 races for Penske racing, A. J was suspended from NASCAR for
violating the substance abuse policy. Later A. J. admitted to testing positive
for Adderall, a drug used for treating ADHD, but he also admitted to thinking
it was a supplement a friend gave him to stay awake, and he took it without
thinking twice about it. A. J. worked
hard to get re-instated into NASCAR, and drove four races for Phoenix racing
after Kurt Busch left to drive for Furniture Row. A. J. currently drives part-time for Phoenix
racing, along with driving part-time for Penske in the IZOD Indycar
series.
The next driver to look at is Aric Almirola. Aric drove in 2011 for Jr Motorsports. Even though he did not win for the team, he
did put together 18 top tens in 2011. Aric finished in the top 20 in points in
2012, and currently in 2013, he is 7th in points, his highest Sprint
Cup position to date.
The last driver to review in this column is David
Ragan. David was picked by Jack Roush to
drive the No. 6 car after Mark Martin left at the end of 2006. David showed some promise, finishing 13th
in points in 2008. However he did not
follow that up in following years. When
David lost his sponsor UPS in 2011, Jack chose to close the team down vs.
running a fourth car unsponsored. David was considered for the No. 22, the No.
43, and even had a handshake deal to drive the No. 51, before Kurt Busch was
released from the No. 22. David ended up
not getting any of these rides, but ended up with Front Row Motorsports driving
the No. 34. David went from a team that
could compete for championships to a team that only had two top 10 finishes in
its 6 year existence. He was expected to
struggle with this team, and ended up 28th in points in 2012. However, Ragan showed he could drive at
Daytona and Talladega, and just this past weekend, he won at Talladega, giving
this team its first win ever.
To review each driver’s accomplishments: Aric Almirola was given a chance in Sprint
Cup for more than a couple of races, and has steadily gotten better. Kurt Busch ended up in a good situation as
well. Kurt is a talented driver, and has
an owner behind him to help him through the taming of his mouth. This is also combined with technical support
from Richard Childress who has vast experience dealing with volatile
drivers. A. J. Allmendinger was given
the golden goose in the No 22 car, but made an unwise decision. He has grown from it, and has been given
something rare in Sprint Cup racing: a
second chance. David Ragan has helped a
small team improve and even get a win at the top level of NASCAR, which is an
accomplishment of which many others can only dream.
After reviewing all the facts on each driver and seeing all
they have accomplished, it could be concluded that all four drivers got a good
deal, and are trying to make the most of their respective situations in the
end.
If you agree or disagree with me, please feel free
to comment below. I really want to know
what YOUR thoughts are on this.
Follow me on Twitter @Kevdogg329