Aric Almirola

Aric Michael Almirola (born March 14, 1984) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver.

He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing.

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 also signed with Joe Gibbs Racing as a development driver under a partnership with former NFL player Reggie White.

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 drove the No. 75 Spears Manufacturing-sponsored Chevy for Spears Motorsports in the Craftsman Truck Series, as part of the JGR development program.

Almirola moved up to the Busch series regularly in 2007, driving the No. 18 and No. 20 Chevys for Joe Gibbs, driving each car in ten races apiece.

He won his second career pole award for the Orbitz 300 at Daytona.

He won the pole again, for the second straight year, at the AT&T 250 at the Milwaukee Mile, but thought he was going to give up driving duties to Hamlin again; Hamlin's helicopter was unable to land in time for Hamlin to make it to the track, so Almirola started the race, leading the first 43 laps of the race.

On lap 59, during a caution period, because of sponsor commitments, Hamlin took over for Almirola while he was running in the third place.

Hamlin went on to win the race, but Almirola was credited with his first NASCAR Busch Series win because he was the driver who started the race.

Almirola did not participate in team victory celebrations after the race as he had already left the track.

He soon asked for his release and later joined Dale Earnhardt, Inc. following the sale of Ginn Racing.

He drove the No. 01 Chevrolet in five races in 2007 and had the best finish of 30th.

Almirola was named co-driver of the No. 8 United States Army-sponsored Chevrolet for the 2008 Sprint Cup Series, sharing the ride with Mark Martin.

His best finish during the season was an eighth-place finish in the 2008 Food City 500 at Bristol, and his best start in Sprint Cup was a third-place start at the 2008 Goody's Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville.

Almirola was named the full-time driver of the No. 8 for the 2009 season.

Seven races into the 2009 season, Almirola lost his ride due to lack of sponsorship.

He later signed a five-race deal with Key Motorsports to drive their No. 40 Chevrolet Impala SS in the Nationwide Series.

He returned to the Truck Series, driving part-time in the No. 15 Graceway Pharmaceuticals-sponsored Toyota Tundra for Billy Ballew Motorsports, and had a seven-race streak of finishes eighth or better.

He also made one attempt and one race in the No. 09 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet in the Sprint Cup Series.

In October 2009, he filed paperwork in North Carolina Superior Court indicating that he has a breach-of-contract dispute with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc. Almirola competed in seven Sprint Cup races in 2009 for the team before his No. 8 Chevy car was parked because of a lack of sponsorship.

The lawsuit was dropped a month later after being settled out of court.

He started every race and had three Top 10 finishes, including a best finish of ninth, ending the season 18th.

That season, he also drove nine races in the Busch Series for Gibbs in the No. 19 Husqvarna/Banquet Foods-sponsored Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

His best finish was eleventh at Dover International Speedway.

He also served as a test driver for Gibbs teammates J. J. Yeley and Denny Hamlin when their Nextel Cup and Busch Series schedules conflicted.

He also scored his first career pole at the Milwaukee Mile, qualifying the No. 20 car for Denny Hamlin, who competed in the race.

For 2010, he was to drive full-time for Phoenix Racing's No. 09 Cup series Chevrolet Impala.

Almirola ran the season at Ace Speedway, and won two races before finishing 11th in the points standings.

Almirola previously competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2012 to 2023, driving for Richard Petty Motorsports from 2012 to 2017 in their famous No. 43 car and for Stewart-Haas Racing from 2018 to 2023 in their No. 10 Ford.

He has previously competed in the NASCAR Truck Series as well as what are now the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West.

A graduate of Hillsborough High School in Tampa, Almirola attended the University of Central Florida to work on a degree in mechanical engineering before leaving to pursue a career in racing.

Almirola was born on Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, of Cuban descent.

He began racing go-karts when he was eight years old.

At age 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.