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NASCAR: It’s about time that Aric Almirola got a chance to shine

By Asher Fair

KANNAPOLIS, NC - NOVEMBER 08: (L-R) Tony Stewart, co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, John Pauley, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Smithfield, and NASCAR driver Aric Almirola, pose for a photo opportunity with the #10 Smithfield Ford during a press conference at Stewart-Haas Racing on November 8, 2017 in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Stewart-Haas Racing introduced Almirola as their driver of the #10 Smithfield Ford for the 2018 season. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Stewart-Haas Racing via Getty Images)
KANNAPOLIS, NC - NOVEMBER 08: (L-R) Tony Stewart, co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, John Pauley, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Smithfield, and NASCAR driver Aric Almirola, pose for a photo opportunity with the #10 Smithfield Ford during a press conference at Stewart-Haas Racing on November 8, 2017 in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Stewart-Haas Racing introduced Almirola as their driver of the #10 Smithfield Ford for the 2018 season. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Stewart-Haas Racing via Getty Images) /
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Aric Almirola has been in the NASCAR Cup Series as a full-time driver for six seasons now. It’s about time he got a chance to shine.

Aric Almirola was finally officially confirmed as Danica Patrick’s replacement in the #10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford in the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season, confirming previous speculation. It’s about time he got the chance to shine as a driver for a top-tier team, something he has never had the opportunity to do as a full-time driver in the Cup Series.

Almirola, 33, has been in the Cup Series for longer than you probably would have thought. For the record, the 2018 season is slated to be his 11th season in the sport. To most, that may not seem accurate, but it is, as he really has been around for that long.

Almirola made his Cup Series debut in the 2007 season after a season as a full-time driver in the Truck Series the previous year. He started in a combined six races for Joe Gibbs Racing and Dale Earnhardt, Inc in 2007. The following season, he started in 11 races for the latter team.

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In the 2009 season, Almirola started in a combined eight races for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing and Phoenix Racing before starting in a combined nine races the following season for the latter and Richard Petty Motorsports. He also attempted to qualify for one race for Tommy Baldwin Racing at Talladega in 2010, but he failed to do so.

The 2011 season is the only season since Almirola made his Cup Series debut in 2007 during which he made no Cup Series appearances. Instead, he raced in the Xfinity Series as a full-time driver for the first — and likely last — time, and he finished in 4th place in the championship standings. The following season, he was hired by Richard Petty Motorsports as a full-time driver in the Cup Series for the first time ever. He has driven the #43 Ford for the team even since, doing so in each of the last six seasons.

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It is more than safe to say that Aric Almirola has paid his dues and deserves his new ride with Stewart-Haas Racing. In 242 career NASCAR Cup Series starts, Almirola has just one victory, which came at Daytona in the July race back in 2014, but the fact that he has that victory along with 11 career top 5 finishes and 31 career top 10 finishes despite the fact that he has never driven for a top-tier team goes to show that he has earned this opportunity to shine for one of NASCAR’s top teams. How will he perform?

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