2015 Reviews: Richard Petty Motorsports
Welcome to our 2015 reviews. Instead of going driver-by-driver we’re going to review teams this year. We’re starting from the bottom of the standings and working our way up. It’s time for Richard Petty Motorsports.
Drivers (standings in parenthesis): Aric Almirola (17th), Sam Hornish Jr. (26th)
Highlights: Almirola had three top-five finishes and six top 10s in 2015. He finished fifth at both Dover races and fourth at Richmond in the fall. He grabbed top 10s at Chicago, Charlotte and Phoenix. And all three of those were Chase races. It’s just that Almirola wasn’t in the Chase.
Hornish had three top 10s. He was sixth at Talladega in the spring and the other two were at road courses. He finished 10th at Sonoma and ninth at Watkins Glen.
Lowlights: Missing the Chase was going to be a lowlight for Almirola after making it in 2014 by virtue of winning the summer Daytona race. While he was once again a consistent fixture inside the top 20, Almirola didn’t have enough top-tier finishes to make a serious run at the Chase without getting to victory lane.
Hornish simply couldn’t come close to finding the consistency Almirola had. He had back-to-back 40th or worse finishes at Phoenix and Auto Club Speedway early in the season and was outside the top 30 after Martinsville following a 32nd-place run there. He never got any higher than 24th in the standings after that.
Overview: Almirola is developing into a very consistent driver. He may not be flashy, but that’s also possibly a product of not driving for a top-tier team. If RPM finds a little more speed, it’s not crazy to think he’ll sneak into the Chase in 2016.
Hornish’s return to the Sprint Cup Series went so well that he’s not back for a second year. His car wasn’t funded for the entire season so RPM turned to Brian Scott in 2016. While sponsorship hasn’t been announced, it’s reasonable to expect Scott is bringing it to the team. He’s been funded by his father’s resort while driving in the Xfinity Series.
It’s unreasonable to expect that Scott will contend for the Chase in 2016, though he has shown flashes of top-15 speed in his limited Cup starts so far. But we’re also going to be realistic here. His sponsorship money is more important to the team than his ability to potentially make the Chase. Maybe the additional money at the team’s disposal will be what Almirola needs to turn all those top 15s he accumulates into more top 10s.
Previous Reviews: Roush Fenway Racing, JTG-Daugherty Racing and Germain Racing, HScott Motorsports, Front Row Motorsports, BK Racing and Tommy Baldwin Racing.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
