Kelley Earnhardt, co-owner and general manager of JRM, said:

JR Motorsports has always been a proud supporter of the United States Military. This paint scheme on the 7 car is just a small way for all of us at JRM to say ‘thank you’ to the servicemen and women who tirelessly protect this country. 

The team’s No. 88 Degree Men Chevrolet driven by Aric Almirola will also feature “We Salute You” logos on its lower side panels this weekend.

She will drive the car in the first four races of 2011: Daytona International Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Bristol Motor Speedway.

JRM also unveiled GoDaddy.com’s paint scheme for next season, which is the same scheme Mark Martin will drive in the Sprint Cup Series for Hendrick Motorsports.

Patrick said:

GoDaddy has been extremely good to me in both series.  I know Bob Parsons is a huge fan of our racing program, and I thank him for all the support.  We’ll have four extremely challenging and unique races to start our 2011 season, and I’m anxious to return to a lot of those tracks with at least a little bit of familiarity.

JRM General Manager Kelley Earnhardt said:

Starting this weekend at Charlotte, [Patrick] will compete in each of the final five races of 2010.  Add the first four Nationwide races of next season, and that’s a solid stretch of seat time she will get to continue learning the intricacies of these race cars.  She has done a commendable job so far given the limited seat time, and we appreciate her work ethic and dedication to Go Daddy and our race team.

The 2011 GoDaddy.com Nationwide Chevy:

TaxSlayer will appear on Aric Almirola’s No. 88 Chevy twice next season; the February race at Phoenix International Raceway and the March race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. TaxSlayer will appear on the team’s No. 7 for seven more races, including the March race at Bristol Motor Speedway with team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr behind the wheel.

TaxSlayer will also appear on the No. 7 in the March race at Auto Club Speedway, the April race at Texas Motor Speedway, the May race at Darlington Raceway, the July race at Nashville Superspeedway, the August race at Iowa Speedway, and the October race at Dover International Speedway.

The drivers of those races have yet to be determined.  But, a quick look at the Nationwide Series dates in 2011 that don’t conflict with the 2011 IZOD Indy Car Series schedule, shows that Patrick would be available to drive a TaxSlayer-sponsored car in the race at Darlington. It appears she will have Indy Car conflicts for the other five races.   

JRM General Manager Kelley Earnhardt said:

This is something we are really excited to announce, because with what we have to offer, from a competition standpoint as well as a marketing and brand-building perspective, there is a lot of potential for a strong partnership with TaxSlayer. We feel like we align ourselves with the best sponsors and best people, and we look forward to building a long-lasting relationship with TaxSlayer.

Daniel Eubanks, TaxSlayer’s motorsports director, said:

JR Motorsports puts a competitive product on the track, but just as valuable is its ability to connect to NASCAR fans and the resources it uses to reach them. … This opportunity with JR Motorsports allows us to reach new customers and create new ways to educate people about our easy and affordable tax-filing service.

He has already made one start in the No. 88 car, in which he finished third at O’Reilly Raceway Park in July.

Almirola said:

The chance to drive full time in the Nationwide Series with a top caliber team is something I am extremely excited about.  was at the shop [Tuesday], and Kelley [Earnhardt] 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.

Kelley Earnhardt said:

If there is a quintessential JR Motorsports driver, we feel it’s Aric Almirola. 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 has 32 Nationwide Series starts to his credit, including one win. That win, however, came in a race in which he started in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 car and Denny Hamlin took over and finished. NASCAR rules credit the finish the person who started the race with the finish, so Almirola was credited with the win.

Almirola has been having a good Camping World Truck Series season. He is currently second in points, with two wins, five top 5s, and 11 top 10s.

Bires piloted the JRM Chevy for five races this season, after Dale Earnhardt Jr drove the season opener at Daytona due to the sponsor’s wishes. Bires was set to pilot the team’s second car at Daytona, but after Danica Patrick posted an impressive sixth-place finish in the ARCA RE/MAX Series race, she was given the ride.

Bires made his debut in the No. 88 the following week in the Stater Bros. 300. He posted a seventh place finish in his first start with the team. One week later, he crashed out of the Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas. He finished 42nd. At the next two Nationwide Series races, he posted back-to-back top 15 finishes, with a 12th at Bristol and a 14th at Nashville. At Phoenix in the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200, he was running in the top 10 late in the race. But, after being involved in a late pileup and contact on pit road, he finished 17th.  

Bires’ release has many scratching their heads, considering he had an average finish of 15th, and was 20th in points despite missing one race. JRM general manager and co-owner Kelly Earnhardt offered some clarity. She said:

We are extremely appreciative of Kelly Bires and wish him the best. Internally, it was evident the chemistry that is imperative for us to succeed in this highly competitive industry was simply not there. That is the fault of no one person. We owe it to our fans and sponsors to make necessary adjustments in an effort to put our best product on the track, and we’ll continue evaluating our progress until we are confident that our full potential is being reached.

After reading this statement, the question I’m left asking is, “Is a five-race span long enough to develop chemistry?” I don’t think you get an accurate representation of team chemistry in such a short period of time.

Looking back at Keselowski’s performance over the same five races (Daytona and Texas are not included because Bires has not competed at those tracks this season), Keselowski posted back-to-back 27th-place finishes, a 12th, and back-to-back 3rd-place finishes, compared to Bires’ finishes of 7th, 42nd, 14th,12th, and 17th.

No one can argue that the two top 5s are better than one top 10, but Bires’ average finish (18.4) wasn’t that far off of Keselowski’s (14.4). Some would argue that a four-spot difference isn’t enough to lose a ride.

But, Bires’ release is the latest indication that sponsors (and their money) are dictating (if even indirectly) what team owners can and can’t do. Gone are the days when a team could develop a driver behind the wheel for a few seasons. Sponsors want results now.

Kelley Earnhardt discussed the decision on SIRIUS XM Radio today. She said that the sponsor did not ask for the change. She said that the decision to release Bires was made by JRM officials. They feel like the No. 88 is a top 5 team, and they want to keep the team in the top 5 to keep the sponsors happy. And while the sponsor did not specifically say that they wanted Bires out of the car, I think Earnhardt’s comments indicate that sponsorship considerations played a part of it.

To me, Earnhardt said that if the No. 88 is not in the top 5 in points, and is not running up front week in and week out, the sponsor will be unhappy. And, if that’s the case, why wait until the sponsor is actually unhappy to make a change? You don’t. You make a change now, before the sponsor becomes unhappy – especially if you want that sponsor to stick by you long term.

Don’t get me wrong, I think this decision had just as much to do with team chemistry as it did with sponsorship. From what Earnhardt said about having a negative attitude and a lack of confidence in the team’s ability to compete, there were certainly issues. But, is a five-race span enough time to build chemistry? Conventional wisdom would say no. Are five races enough time to know what you have? Probably not. 

But, when I think about the fact that the JRM officials who made the decision (Rick Hendrick, Tony Eury Jr, Dale Jr, and Kelley) all agreed this was the right move, I have to think it was.

And, at the end of the day, when sponsors are involved you don’t have a lot of time. You have to do everything you can to put the best product out there. And with Bires’ release, JRM thinks it did just that.