[autotag]Aric Almirola[/autotag] was supposed to retire at the conclusion of the 2022 NASCAR season but persuasion by Stewart-Haas Racing and Smithfield Foods made him come back for another year. It is not surprising but another season of racing has brought the same retirement questions back to the equation. Now, Almirola must decide if he wants to return for the 2024 season or not.
At the end of July, Almirola said a decision on his retirement needed to come in the next 30 to 60 days so Stewart-Haas Racing would be able to make plans for next year. Almirola also said the following on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio about making the decision to retire.
“(Stewart-Haas Racing) has to plan for the future way more than I do,” Almirola said. “I’m very capable of pivoting and changing and switching, but the race team, there are a lot of moving parts with the race team. So, the race team certainly needs to have an idea of what’s going on, and the sooner, the better…Those are active discussions and there are a lot of moving parts. There are a lot of variables, and it’s complicated. It’s not very easy.”
This happened around 50 days ago and a decision has yet to be made public. Almirola should be making a decision sooner rather than later so Stewart-Haas Racing can decide what to do with their driver lineups for 2024. It is a decision that may affect the organization’s stance in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series so time might be running out.
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