Vorlage:CTS current driver Aric Almirola (born March 14, 1984 in Tampa, Florida) is a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series who most recently drove the #75 Spears Manufacturing Chevy for Spears Motorsports and part-time is a driver in the Busch Series for Joe Gibbs.
Almirola began racing when he was eight years old, racing go-karts. When he was fourteen, 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 7 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 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevy. The car is currently driven by J.J. Yeley
Almirola attened the University of Central Florida working on a degree in mechanical engineering before leaving to pursue a career in racing.
External links
Vorlage:NASCAR-stub Vorlage:JoeGibbsRacing
During a Busch Series test session at Daytona International Speedway on January 21, 2007, Almirola violently flipped down the backstrech after blowing a right rear tire and being hit by Bill Elliott. Almirola would walk away uninjured and go on to praise NASCAR's new six-point harness, which has been mandated for the 2007 season.