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Sprint Cup
CUP: Almirola Eager To Settle Down, In At RPM
Aric Almirola will compete full-time in the Sprint Cup Series for the first time this season, driving for Richard Petty Motorsports...
Aric Almirola joined Richard Petty Motorsports ahead of the 2012 season. (Photo: Getty Images)
As much as any NASCAR driver in recent times, Aric Almirola has been bounced around.
With a full-time Sprint Cup ride for 2012 at Richard Petty Motorsports, Almirola appears to have perhaps the most stable situation of his career.
He's intent on making sure it stays that way.
"This is a great opportunity for me," said Almirola, who will carry primary sponsorship from Smithfield Foods in 15 races. "You take the last couple of years: I felt like a few years ago I had the opportunity to go Cup racing, but it wasn’t at this level. ... So to have the opportunity to get in as good of equipment as I’m getting in now, I’m really excited about it. I feel like I’m a way better race car driver than I am now than I was three years ago, so I feel like I’ll be able to make the most of this opportunity.”
Almirola, 27, is no stranger to the Sprint Cup Series or RPM, having been drafted in at the end of the 2010 season to make five starts following the abrupt departure of Kasey Kahne. But with no seats open at RPM for 2011, Almirola spent the season with JR Motorsports' Nationwide Series organization and, despite not winning, finished a solid fourth in points.
Almirola expected to return to JRM in 2012 but when AJ Allmendinger left RPM for Penske Racing, the iconic No. 43 car became available. After negotiating with other drivers, the team ultimately settled on Almirola, with whom team co-owner Richard Petty felt extremely comfortable.
"We saw a lot of potential in Aric and have watched him closely at JR Motorsports throughout," said RPM chief executive officer Brian Moffitt. "Richard always said if we had an opportunity, that he was somebody he would like to be in the 43."
Almirola's path to his new ride has been filled with detours, many of them driven by lack of sponsorship. After sharing a ride with Mark Martin at Dale Earnhardt Inc. in 2008, Almirola was expected to run a full season with DEI in 2009. But when sponsorship dried up, DEI's No. 8 team shut down after seven races, leaving Almirola on the sidelines.
He spent 2010 in the Camping World Truck Series — where he made his NASCAR national series debut in 2005 — and won twice en route to a second-place points finish with Billy Ballew Motorsports.
Last season was Almirola's first full one in Nationwide but not his first foray in the series. The Tampa, Fla., native had made select Nationwide starts in each of the previous four years, except 2008, while competing mostly for Joe Gibbs Racing. Almirola's most memorable outing for JGR — or least memorable, depending on one's point of view — came in 2007 when was credited with winning at Milwaukee.
But, in an odd set of circumstances, Almirola started the race but didn't finish it after being asked to turn over his seat to JGR driver Denny Hamlin in the middle of the event. Hamlin went on to win but it was Almirola who was scored with the victory by virtue of starting the race.
Almirola did not return to JGR for another season.
Now with yet another new team, Almirola isn't worried about acclimating to different surroundings.
“I’m getting pretty good at it," he said. "I think the biggest thing for me is I worked with Gibbs and I worked with DEI and now I’ve worked with JR Motorsports and Hendrick (Motorsports, a JR Motorsports affiliate) collectively, and then now with Richard Petty Motorsports and obviously their affiliation with Roush Fenway. The biggest thing for me is I’ve been fortunate to work with really high-quality teams."
But Almirola believes his best days are ahead. Allmendinger drove the No. 43 to 10 top-10 finishes in 2011, finishing a career-best 15th in points. Teammate Marcos Ambrose, meanwhile, took the organization to victory lane at Watkins Glen.
"It’s going to be my first year running full time in Cup, so there will be some growing pains," Almirola said. "I realize that I’ve got a lot of learning to do. I don’t expect to just go out there and win six races and run for the championship, but I do expect to be competitive. I do expect to run really good on a regular basis. Their equipment is very capable of that. I feel like Greg Erwin is among the best in crew chiefs, so I don’t really see any major reasons on why we shouldn’t be competitive."
Almirola is also excited about being a teammate to Ambrose, whom he calls a "friend." The feeling is mutual.
“Aric is really great," Ambrose said during last week's preseason test at Daytona. "We are working well and drafting with each other and we will just take it a day at a time here and build that relationship. I know that he really wants to do well for Richard Petty and his 43 team and I want to do the same.”
Almirola hopes his situation with RPM stays the same — at least until he's had a chance to prove himself.
"As a 27-year-old kid that grew up racing his whole life and wants to make a career out of this and do it at the highest level in the Sprint Cup Series, this is, by far, probably the best opportunity I’ve ever had to go and succeed at it," Almirola said. "And all the while doing it driving the 43 car is pretty special.”
Jared Turner is an Associate Editor for SPEED.com, covering NASCAR and Formula One, and is an Editor for TruckSeries.com. His professional motorsports writing career began in 2005.
With a full-time Sprint Cup ride for 2012 at Richard Petty Motorsports, Almirola appears to have perhaps the most stable situation of his career.
He's intent on making sure it stays that way.
"This is a great opportunity for me," said Almirola, who will carry primary sponsorship from Smithfield Foods in 15 races. "You take the last couple of years: I felt like a few years ago I had the opportunity to go Cup racing, but it wasn’t at this level. ... So to have the opportunity to get in as good of equipment as I’m getting in now, I’m really excited about it. I feel like I’m a way better race car driver than I am now than I was three years ago, so I feel like I’ll be able to make the most of this opportunity.”
Almirola, 27, is no stranger to the Sprint Cup Series or RPM, having been drafted in at the end of the 2010 season to make five starts following the abrupt departure of Kasey Kahne. But with no seats open at RPM for 2011, Almirola spent the season with JR Motorsports' Nationwide Series organization and, despite not winning, finished a solid fourth in points.
Almirola expected to return to JRM in 2012 but when AJ Allmendinger left RPM for Penske Racing, the iconic No. 43 car became available. After negotiating with other drivers, the team ultimately settled on Almirola, with whom team co-owner Richard Petty felt extremely comfortable.
"We saw a lot of potential in Aric and have watched him closely at JR Motorsports throughout," said RPM chief executive officer Brian Moffitt. "Richard always said if we had an opportunity, that he was somebody he would like to be in the 43."
Almirola's path to his new ride has been filled with detours, many of them driven by lack of sponsorship. After sharing a ride with Mark Martin at Dale Earnhardt Inc. in 2008, Almirola was expected to run a full season with DEI in 2009. But when sponsorship dried up, DEI's No. 8 team shut down after seven races, leaving Almirola on the sidelines.
He spent 2010 in the Camping World Truck Series — where he made his NASCAR national series debut in 2005 — and won twice en route to a second-place points finish with Billy Ballew Motorsports.
Last season was Almirola's first full one in Nationwide but not his first foray in the series. The Tampa, Fla., native had made select Nationwide starts in each of the previous four years, except 2008, while competing mostly for Joe Gibbs Racing. Almirola's most memorable outing for JGR — or least memorable, depending on one's point of view — came in 2007 when was credited with winning at Milwaukee.
But, in an odd set of circumstances, Almirola started the race but didn't finish it after being asked to turn over his seat to JGR driver Denny Hamlin in the middle of the event. Hamlin went on to win but it was Almirola who was scored with the victory by virtue of starting the race.
Almirola did not return to JGR for another season.
Now with yet another new team, Almirola isn't worried about acclimating to different surroundings.
“I’m getting pretty good at it," he said. "I think the biggest thing for me is I worked with Gibbs and I worked with DEI and now I’ve worked with JR Motorsports and Hendrick (Motorsports, a JR Motorsports affiliate) collectively, and then now with Richard Petty Motorsports and obviously their affiliation with Roush Fenway. The biggest thing for me is I’ve been fortunate to work with really high-quality teams."
But Almirola believes his best days are ahead. Allmendinger drove the No. 43 to 10 top-10 finishes in 2011, finishing a career-best 15th in points. Teammate Marcos Ambrose, meanwhile, took the organization to victory lane at Watkins Glen.
"It’s going to be my first year running full time in Cup, so there will be some growing pains," Almirola said. "I realize that I’ve got a lot of learning to do. I don’t expect to just go out there and win six races and run for the championship, but I do expect to be competitive. I do expect to run really good on a regular basis. Their equipment is very capable of that. I feel like Greg Erwin is among the best in crew chiefs, so I don’t really see any major reasons on why we shouldn’t be competitive."
Almirola is also excited about being a teammate to Ambrose, whom he calls a "friend." The feeling is mutual.
“Aric is really great," Ambrose said during last week's preseason test at Daytona. "We are working well and drafting with each other and we will just take it a day at a time here and build that relationship. I know that he really wants to do well for Richard Petty and his 43 team and I want to do the same.”
Almirola hopes his situation with RPM stays the same — at least until he's had a chance to prove himself.
"As a 27-year-old kid that grew up racing his whole life and wants to make a career out of this and do it at the highest level in the Sprint Cup Series, this is, by far, probably the best opportunity I’ve ever had to go and succeed at it," Almirola said. "And all the while doing it driving the 43 car is pretty special.”
Jared Turner is an Associate Editor for SPEED.com, covering NASCAR and Formula One, and is an Editor for TruckSeries.com. His professional motorsports writing career began in 2005.
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