Aric Almirola
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| Born: | March 14, 1984 (age 23) | |
| Birthplace: |  Tampa, Florida |
|
| Awards: | — | |
| NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Statistics | ||
| Car #, Team | 80 - Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| 2006 NEXTEL Cup Position: | ||
| Best Cup Position: | 48th - 2007 | |
| First Race: | 2007 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 (Las Vegas) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 0 | 0 | 0 |
| NASCAR Busch Series Statistics | ||
| Car #, Team | #18/20 - Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| 2006 NBS Position: | 51st - 2006 (Busch Series) | |
| Best NBS Position: | 51st - 2006 (Busch Series) | |
| First Race: | 2006 Circuit City 250 (Richmond) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 0 | 0 | 2 |
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Statistics | ||
| Car #, Team | 75 - Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| 2006 NCTS Position: | 18th | |
| Best NCTS Position: | 18th - 2006 (Craftsman Truck Series) | |
| First Race: | 2005 O'Reilly 200 (Memphis) | |
| Last Race: | 2006 Ford 200 (Homestead) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 0 | 5 | 0 |
| All stats current as of February 17, 2007. | ||
Aric Almirola (born March 14, 1984 in Tampa, Florida) is a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver who most recently drove the #75 Spears Manufacturing Chevy for Spears Motorsports and is a part-time driver in the Busch Series for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Almirola began racing when he was eight years old, racing go-karts. At 14, he began racing nationally. He won the pole position in his debut in the World Karting Association race and finished fourth in the standings that year. Two years later, he moved up into modifieds and won several Rookie of the Year awards.
In 2002, Almirola moved to the NASCAR Sun Belt Weekly Racing Division and finished second in the Rookie of the Year standings. He followed that up with five pole positions in 2003.
In 2004, he became one of the first drivers to participate in NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program. He ran the season at Ace Speedway, and won two races before finishing 11th in the points standings. He won five more races at the track in 2005, and made his Truck Series debut with Morgan-Dollar Motorsports and had two top-tens in four races.
For 2006, Almirola is driving the #75 Spears Manufacturing Chevy for Spears Motorsports in the Craftsman Truck Series, as part of the JGR development program. He's also set to start seven Busch races this season, in the #19 Husqvarna Chevrolet, for Joe Gibbs Racing. He debuted the 19 at Richmond in May, starting 12th and finishing 32nd.
Almirola will move up to the Busch series full-time in 2007, driving the #18 and #20 Chevys for Joe Gibbs. He will drive the #18 and the #20 in seven races apiece.
Almirola attended the University of Central Florida working on a degree in mechanical engineering before leaving to pursue a career in racing.
During a Busch Series test session at Daytona International Speedway on January 21, 2007, Almirola flipped his car after blowing a right rear tire and being hit by Bill Elliott and slid almost the entire length of the backstretch on his roof before finally rolling over twice and to a stop, still on his roof. Almirola would walk away uninjured and go on to praise NASCAR's new six-point harness, which has been mandated for the 2007 season.
After the test crash, Aric went on to grab his second career pole award for the Orbitz 300 at Daytona. However, this pole is the first he will actually take the green flag in, as his first pole at Milwaukee, he was forced to relieve the driving duties over to Denny Hamlin.
[edit] External links
| Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Nextel Cup Drivers | Denny Hamlin (#11) | J. J. Yeley (#18) | Tony Stewart (#20) |
| Busch Series drivers | Aric Almirola (#18)/(#20) | Brad Coleman (#18) | Kevin Conway (#18) |
| Driver development program Drivers | Marc Davis, Joey Lagano |
| Partnerships and Affiliations | Hall of Fame Racing |
| Other | Joe Gibbs | J. D. Gibbs | Coy Gibbs |
