Aric Almirola
|
|||||||||
| status | active | ||||||||
| NASCAR Cup Series statistics | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best placement | 16. - 2014 | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
| NASCAR Xfinity Series Statistics | |||||||||
| Best placement | 4th - 2011 | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
| NASCAR Camping World Truck Series statistics | |||||||||
| Best placement | 2nd - 2010 | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Data status: May 13, 2017 | |||||||||
Aric Almirola (born March 14, 1984 in Tampa , Florida ) is an American NASCAR racing driver. He currently drives for Billy Ballew Motorsports in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series . He studied mechanical engineering at the University of Central Florida .
Career
Early years
Almirola started racing go-karts at the age of eight . At the age of 14, he completed national races. In his debut race as part of the World Karting Association , he achieved pole position directly and finished fourth in the championship. Two years later, he switched to the so-called "Modifieds" and was named Rookie of the Year in various racing series .
For the 2002 season, Almirola moved to the NASCAR Sun Belt Weekly Racing Division and was second in the rookie classification at the end of the season. In the following 2003 season, he started from pole position five times. In 2004 he took part in NASCAR's “Drive for Diversity” program and signed a contract with Joe Gibbs Racing as a young driver. This season he drove the races at Ace Speedway and won two of them, so that he was in eleventh place in the championship. In the 2005 season he won five more races on the speedway. He also made his debut in the Craftsman Truck Series for Morgan-Dollar Motorsports . In the four races he competed in, Almirola scored two top 10 results.
Joe Gibbs Racing (2006-2007)
In the 2006 season, Almirola drove the number 75 Chevrolet for Spears Motorsports in the Craftsman Truck Series as part of Joe Gibbs Racing's junior program. During the season he achieved three top 10 finishes with a ninth place as the best result. He also drove nine races in the Busch Series for Joe Gibbs Racing in starting number 19. His best result was an eleventh place at Dover International Speedway . He was also a test driver for JJ Yeley and Denny Hamlin , while they had clashes in the Nextel Cup and the Busch Series.
In the 2007 season Almirola drove a total of 18 races in the Busch Series in the cars with starting numbers 18 and 20 for Joe Gibbs Racing. At the very first race of the season, the Orbitz 300 at Daytona International Speedway , he took the second, official pole position in one of NASCAR's top divisions - he achieved the first pole position in 2006 in Milwaukee , but had to use the car for the race give it to Denny Hamlin. Also this season Almirola again achieved the pole position in Milwaukee, but since Hamlin did not show up in time for the start of the race, he was allowed to start the race himself. Hamlin took over the wheel on lap 59 when Almirola was third at the time. Hamlin won the race, but the Almirola was awarded the victory because he had started the race. At the end of the season he finished 29th in the championship.
Almirola also made his debut in the Nextel Cup at the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 in Las Vegas in the 2007 season , which he finished in 41st place.
Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (2007-2009)
Partly due to the incident in Milwaukee, Almirola Joe Gibbs Racing decided to leave. In the 2007 season he drove five more races in the Nextel Cup for his new team Ginn Racing or after its sale for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. The best result was a 26th place. For the 2008 season in the Sprint Cup, Almirola was placed as driver of the number 8 next to Mark Martin , who share the car. His best result halfway through the season was eighth at the Food City 500 in Bristol . Later in the season, a third place at Martinsville Speedway followed .
In the 2009 season it was planned to contest the entire season with the number 8. After the seventh race of the season, however, the team had to be closed for lack of money.
Web links
- Official website
- Driver statistics on racing-reference.info
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Almirola, Aric |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American NASCAR racing driver |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 14, 1984 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Tampa , Florida |