Aric Almirola has been the primary driver of Joe Gibbs Racing's "star car", the No. 19 Toyota, throughout the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, though his two most recent appearances did not go according to plan.
In late July, he was viciously wrecked out at Indianapolis Motor Speedway by Austin Hill, who was later suspended for the move, and he was involved in another incident at Daytona International Speedway two weekends ago.
This past weekend at Portland International Raceway, it was Jack Perkins who made his second career Xfinity Series start. After debuting with a 32nd place finish for the team at the Chicago Street Course in early July, he was knocked out late at Portland with a suspension issue.
Now Almirola is set to return for his 11th start of the year at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
Almirola has had success since taking on a part-time role for Joe Gibbs Racing last year. He won at Martinsville Speedway twice last year and added another win at Kansas Speedway, and he won at Phoenix Raceway earlier this year. He has also scored runner-up finishes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Dover Motor Speedway this year, plus a third place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Beyond this weekend, Almirola does not have any more confirmed starts this year, but that is likely to change. The team have yet to confirm a driver of the No. 19 Toyota for the four playoff races at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, Las Vegas, Talladega Superspeedway, and Martinsville.
Justin Bonsignore, who has made six starts so far this year, is lined up to compete in the other three playoff races at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kansas, and Phoenix.
Other drivers to drive the No. 19 car so far this year include full-time Cup drivers Riley Herbst (four starts), Chase Briscoe (one), Christopher Bell (one), and Ty Gibbs (one). None of them are eligible to run Xfinity Series playoff races, which should further open the door for Almirola moving forward.
Live coverage of the Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog is set to be provided by the CW Network from World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway starting at 7:30 p.m. ET this Saturday, September 6. Begin a free trial of FuboTV today and catch all of the action!