Aric Almirola was set to retire from NASCAR competition following this season, but he has decided to return, a move that has been seen before.
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series silly season unofficially started in late January when Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola announced that he would retire following the 2022 season. But since that announcement, Almirola has signed a multi-year extension with the team to pilot the #10 Ford for the foreseeable future.
The Fort Walton Beach, Florida native took a play out of Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady’s playbook, announcing his retirement before backtracking on the move before he ever missed a single event.
Retiring from the NFL versus retiring from NASCAR is quite different, as drivers aren’t forced to sign papers to cement their move and are often welcomed back with open arms.
Almirola did say to “never say never” when discussing a possible return with Beyond the Flag back in June, and his decision to take back his initial announcement is one made by many past drivers.
Here are five drivers who pulled a “Tom Brady” and came out of retirement.
Drivers who pulled a “Tom Brady”: No. 1 – Darrell Waltrip
Darrell Waltrip is an interesting one, as he was able to retire twice in two different facets of NASCAR. The three-time Cup Series champion’s retirement tour came during the 2000 season, driving the #66 Ford for Haas-Carter Motorsports. Be he came out of retirement to occasionally compete in the Truck Series from 2002 to 2005.
Waltrip even returned to stock cars in 2006, when he competed for his brother Michael in the Busch Series, finishing in 28th place at Martinsville Speedway. But coming out of retirement wasn’t exclusive to the race track for Waltrip.
The NASCAR Hall of Famer began a full-time career in broadcasting following his initial retirement from racing. He retired from the sport for the second time in 2019. But much like his first retirement, Waltrip came out of retirement to call the 2022 dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
At 75 years old, the Owensboro, Kentucky native seems content in his retirement life. But never say never when it comes to Good Ol’ D.W.
Drivers who pulled a “Tom Brady”: No. 2 – Terry Labonte
Before 2007 Formula 1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen made his NASCAR Cup Series debut this season, the original “Iceman” in the sport was none other than Terry Labonte.
The Corpus Christi, Texas, native spent the majority of his career with Hendrick Motorsports, piloting the #5 Chevrolet. During his tenure with the organization, Labonte was able to capture the 1996 Cup Series championship.
His full-time run in the #5 car came to end when he announced his plans to retire from full-time Cup Series competition, with Kyle Busch taking his spot in 2005. But Labonte didn’t stop altogether, as he ran a part-time schedule in a fifth car for Hendrick Motorsports, the #44 Chevrolet, as part of a farewell tour.
Even that was far from his last ride in NASCAR.
Labonte went on to compete on a part-time basis until 2014, when he last drove the #32 Ford for Go Fas Racing. His final start came at Talladega Superspeedway, where he was caught up in a wreck and was scored in 33rd place.
Since then, Labonte has kept his promise of retirement from the sport and kept a low-profile life in NASCAR. Outside of an occasional appearance on television or podcasts, the 65-year-old is hardly seen or mentioned compared to his brother Bobby, who currently serves as an analyst for FOX Sports.
But he isn’t the only Hendrick Motorsports driver to return to the team in a part-time capacity.
Drivers who pulled a “Tom Brady”: No. 3 – Jeff Gordon
The word NASCAR is arguably synonymous with the name Jeff Gordon. If not for the four-time Cup Series champion, the sport arguably wouldn’t have earned the popularity from which it has benefited for decades. The driver of Hendrick Motorsports’ #24 Chevrolet took stock car racing to unseen levels, and his departure wasn’t clear-cut either.
After announcing in 2015 that he would retire from full-time competition, Gordon found himself back in the driver’s seat the following year in the #88 Chevrolet when former teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. had to sit out the second half of the season due to issues stemming from a concussion.
Gordon split the ride Alex Bowman, Earnhardt’s future full-time replacement, and recorded the best finish of his 2016 season, sixth place, at Martinsville Speedway.
He hasn’t competed in a stock car since, but he did find himself in another post-retirement race during the 2020 iRacing stint when NASCAR was sidelined due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Like Darrell Waltrip, Gordon moved from the race track to the booth to begin a career in broadcasting. He has since left the booth to take on an increased ownership role at Hendrick Motorsports.
Gordon found himself coming out of retirement from that career as well when he returned this season to call the March race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
And the three-time Daytona 500 champion has once again found himself coming out of retirement, as he is set to compete at IMSA’s Porsche Carrera Cup at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. With an interest in competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year, this race will most likely serve as a warm-up for the NASCAR Hall of Famer.
Who knows? Gordon may even have one more NASCAR race left in his arsenal.
Drivers who pulled a “Tom Brady”: No. 4 – Matt Kenseth
Matt Kenseth’s tenure in the NASCAR Cup Series saw many endings, but none of them were ever official. His initial retirement came following the 2017 season when he was replaced by Erik Jones behind the wheel of Joe Gibbs Racing’s #20 Toyota, but he found himself back in the sport part-time the following season.
Initially unsigned for 2018, Kenseth returned to Roush Fenway Racing, the team for which he competed for the first 13 years of his full-time career. He split the driving duties of the #6 Ford with Trevor Bayne. After the 2018 season, it seemed Kenseth’s days of Cup Series competition were over.
That was until 2020, when Kyle Larson was released by Chip Ganassi Racing. Without much time to replace the Elk Grove, California native, Ganassi signed Kenseth for the rest of the season. Kenseth may have not produced his best season, but he was still able to grab a second place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Kenseth stated at the end of the year that his days of full-time Cup Series competition were behind him, but like many mentioned beforehand, he still returned to the sport as a guest commentator, with a booth appearance at Auto Club Speedway this past February.
As far as on-track completion, Kenseth competed in three SRX races this year and earned a podium finish in the season finale at Sharon Speedway. The Cambridge, Wisconsin native still competes locally, running various late model races, but his days of running in NASCAR full-time do indeed seem to be over.
Regardless, like others, Kenseth has come out of retirement several times for different opportunities. This leads us to the man who introduced Kenseth to now RFK Racing co-owner Jack Roush, and maybe the most memorable name among drivers who pulled a “Tom Brady”.
Drivers who pulled a “Tom Brady”: No. 5 – Mark Martin
For most, when it comes to backtracking on retirement or deciding to return when once mentioned otherwise, the name that comes to mind is Mark Martin. The Batesville, Arkansas native had a career in NASCAR that spanned over three decades. But it wasn’t complete without some false retirements along the way.
Martin spent the majority of his career driving the #6 Ford for Roush Racing and initially planned to cut back on full-time Cup Series competition, driving a “Salute to You” car in 2005 to thank the fans for their support over his career. Jamie McMurray was set to replace him, but plans changed.
McMurray instead went to Chip Ganassi Racing, Martin spent another year in the #6 Ford, and David Ragan was tabbed to replace him for the 2007 season. But this didn’t stop the NASCAR Hall of Famer from competing past 2006, however, and his plans of retirement flew out the window once again.
Martin went on to drive part-time for Ginn Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc. in 2007 and 2008 before returning to NASCAR on a full-time basis when he agreed to drive the #5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in 2009. In his debut year behind the wheel of the #5 Chevrolet, he scored five wins and finished in second place in the championship standings.
Even after two more full-time seasons in the #5 Chevrolet, Martin still wasn’t done with racing. He went on to spend time driving for Michael Waltrip Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, and Stewart-Haas Racing in 2012 and 2013. Martin’s final start came at Homestead Miami Speedway in November 2013, when he finished in 19th place.
Since his last race, Martin has stuck to his guns and has not hopped back into a stock car, and he has remained adamant about his retirement when fans ask him to come back for one more time or even race in other series such as SRX.
At 63 years of age, it’s easy to think Martin’s retirement is true this time around, but he will always be remembered as the original driver to pull a “Tom Brady” and walk back on his initial plans.