NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: RPM Puts Almirola In The 43
Aric Almirola will be running full-time on the Sprint Cup tour for the first time…
Mike Hembree  |  Posted January 04, 2012   Charlotte, NC
Aric Almirola spent 2011 driving in the Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports. (Photo: Getty Images)
Aric Almirola’s family background adds a level of interest to his first full-time season in the Sprint Cup Series.

Almirola was named Wednesday as driver of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Fords for 2012. He replaces AJ Allmendinger, who moved to Penske Racing.

Almirola’s grandparents came to the United States from Cuba as part of a “freedom flight” in 1966, giving up virtually everything they owned – including, Almirola said, his grandmother’s wedding ring – to move to Florida. Almirola grew up in Tampa.

“When I was younger, I really didn’t appreciate that,” Almirola said Wednesday. “But the older I’ve gotten, I understand what they went through. They gave everything back to the Cuban government to come to America to live the American dream.

“I get to be living proof of that. I get to drive a race car for a living. That means a lot to me – to live out that dream.”

Almirola has driven in 35 Sprint Cup races – including five in 2010 for RPM – since 2007, but this season will be his first as a full-time driver in the series. He finished fourth in the Nationwide Series standings for JR Motorsports last year. JRM named Cole Whitt Wednesday to replace Almirola in the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolets.

“We are thrilled to welcome Aric Almirola into the RPM family,” said team co-owner Richard Petty. “We feel extremely fortunate to have had a number of very talented drivers interested in joining our organization, but ultimately we felt Aric would be the best fit for the team and for our current and potential partners. We have had the chance to watch his progress for the past several years, and we had success with him in the past. We are really confident in his potential as a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver. We think Aric has all the makings to be the next bright star in our sport.”

Almirola was an original member of the Joe Gibbs Racing/Reggie White Drive for Diversity program. Almirola made his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut in 2005 and began his Nationwide Series career in 2006, driving for JGR. Almirola drove a part-time Cup schedule for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. in 2008 before heading back to the Truck Series and earning a runner-up finish in the point standings in 2010.

Almirola said he hopes to be competitive every week in cars that Allmendinger drove to a 15th-place finish in points last year.

“There will be some growing pains,” he said. “I realize I have a lot of learning to do. I don’t expect to win six races and run for the championship, but I do expect to be competitive.

“I’ll make my share of mistakes. … I feel very confident we’ll be competitive and run up front. We’ll have some weekends that are great and some that are just OK, but I feel like on a regular basis we should run competitively.”

RPM chief executive officer Brian Moffitt said the team will be making announcements regarding sponsorship for the 43 team soon.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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