Tag: Aric Almirola

Playoff spoiler Almirola beats Xfinity contenders to win at Kansas

Part-time NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Aric Almirola ran down Playoff leader Cole Custer in the closing laps of Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway and pulled away for his second victory of the season in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing …

Part-time NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Aric Almirola ran down Playoff leader Cole Custer in the closing laps of Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway and pulled away for his second victory of the season in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

In a Round of 12 Playoff opener that ended with several unhappy drivers and a handful of post-race conversations between Playoff contenders, Almirola picked up his first win at the 1.5-mile track and the sixth of his career.

Almirola beat Custer to the finish line by 0.660s, with Chandler Smith trailing in third after raising Custer’s ire by squeezing the No. 00 Ford into the outside wall as Custer chased Smith for the lead—before Almirola made his late-race run.

 

To seal the win, Almirola had to overcome a brush with the outside wall on Lap 124 and a resulting cut tire that forced him to the pits. An opportune caution that interrupted a cycle of green flag stops on lap 145 was all Almirola needed to get back on equal footing with the other contenders.

Almirola is the fourth driver to win two races this season in the No. 20 JGR Toyota, joining Christopher Bell, John Hunter Nemechek and Ryan Truex.

“I’m wore out,” said Almirola, who passed Custer for the lead on lap 197 of 200. “That was a hard day at the office for a guy that’s been sitting on the couch. I just pushed too hard there when we had the issue on pit road (a slow stop), and I got in the fence and cut the right-rear tire down.

“Knew I had to put my head down and go to work after that. We got lucky to get the caution when we did, and we were out of tires, so the fact that it went green there to the end [for the final 49 laps]… that’s where we were strong. We were really strong on the long runs.”

After the race, Custer had a brief conversation with Smith and vowed revenge.

“Everybody wants to try and talk afterwards,” Custer said. “At the end of the day, he put me in the fence, and he’s going to pay for it.”

Smith countered that he didn’t believe Custer ever had position to his outside.

“We’re racing for the win and five extra Playoff points,” said Smith, who led 114 laps. “You’ve got a very, very valid statement, I understand, but I also wouldn’t change what I did, because I was giving myself the best shot to win.”

Non-Playoff driver Connor Zilisch finished fourth, followed by Sheldon Creed, who improved his position in the Playoff standings by four spots with his seventh top five in the last nine races.

Pole winner Brandon Jones, who didn’t make the postseason, was fifth, followed by Playoff drivers Austin Hill, Shane van Gisbergen, Jesse Love and Riley Herbst.

In another post-race conversation, Hill apologized to Herbst for lap 90 contact that sent Herbst’s Ford spinning through the infield grass at the end of the second stage. In yet another tete a tete between Playoff drivers, Sammy Smith took AJ Allmendinger to task for early contact that damaged Smith’s Chevrolet.

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Smith finished 22nd and heads to next Saturday’s Playoff race at Talladega 12th in the standings, 23 points below the cut line for the Round of 8.

Allmendinger (17th Saturday) and Parker Kligerman (12th) are 10th and 11th in the Playoff standings, 13 and 15 points below the cutoff, respectively.

The shockingly bad luck haunting top-seeded Justin Allgaier continued in force on Saturday. Racing in close quarters with Creed after a restart on lap 70, Allgaier’s No. 7 Chevrolet broke loose, slid across traffic and nosed into the inside wall on the backstretch.

After frantic repairs, Allgaier attempted to return to the race, but a cut left-front tire sent him into the outside wall and out of action in 36th place.

Allgaier’s exit came eight days after a series of accidents knocked him out of the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway and cost him the regular-season championship.

“I don’t know if I’ve had a stretch of races that have been like these last three or four weeks,” said Allgaier. “We’re not out of it by any stretch. Obviously, that’s why you do all the work to get all the bonus points you can.

“We’ve got a long road the next two weeks. I’ve got the team that can do it. We’ve just got to go have some luck on our side.”

Allgaier fell from first to ninth in the standings and trails Herbst by one point in the battle for the final berth in the Round of 8.

Custer now leads the series by five points over Chandler Smith, with Hill 15 points back. Fourth-place Sam Mayer, who ran 13th at Kansas, is 28 points behind Custer and three points ahead of Creed in fifth.

Van Gisbergen and Love are sixth and seventh in the Playoff standings, respectively eight and three points above cut line for the next round.

RESULTS

Aric Almirola returns to NASCAR after altercation with Bubba Wallace in 2024

Aric Almirola returns to NASCAR after his physical altercation with Bubba Wallace. Find out the details behind Almirola’s return in 2024!

[autotag]Aric Almirola[/autotag] hasn’t raced in NASCAR since May 11 at Darlington Raceway; however, that will change this weekend. According to the NASCAR Roster Portal, Almirola is scheduled to drive the No. 20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series race race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has one Xfinity Series win in 2024.

Almirola was reportedly suspended for a physical interaction with Bubba Wallace in late May. The former full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver was viewed as the instigator and hasn’t raced in over two months. Now, Almirola will return to the Xfinity Series on July 20 as NASCAR takes on a return to the oval layout in Indianapolis.

Also, Joe Graf Jr. will make his first start of the 2024 Xfinity Series season, driving the No. 19 car for Joe Gibbs Racing. The NASCAR organization will look to carry the momentum of the 2024 season into Indianapolis as the track has a storied history. It will be interesting to see how many races Almirola has with Joe Gibbs Racing for the rest of 2024.

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Wallace trying to put private Almirola altercation out of his mind

Bubba Wallace did not offer details about the altercation with Aric Almirola that happened before the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway but surfaced in the media this week. “They don’t want me to get into details; keeps some people’s images good,” …

Bubba Wallace did not offer details about the altercation with Aric Almirola that happened before the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway but surfaced in the media this week.

“They don’t want me to get into details; keeps some people’s images good,” Wallace said at Nashville Superspeedway. “I think I said enough at Charlotte last year, so all in all, life is good for me. That [expletive] happened over a month ago and a lot of good has come my way, and that’s what I’m focused on.

“I’m focused on getting our stuff turned back around and off the racetrack I’m focused on my wife and baby that’s growing and growing. That’s all you can really [ask] for, so things are good for me off track. Not so much on track — that’s what we’re focusing on right now. There you go; that’s the only question you’ll get.”

Almirola was suspended internally by Joe Gibbs Racing before the Xfinity Series race at Charlotte (May 25). He was replaced by Ty Gibbs (who found out he’d be driving mid-week) and the only available information at the time was the organization saying it was a “team decision.” Almirola is expected to return to the seat at Indianapolis Motor Speedway next month.

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Joe Gibbs Racing had no report on the altercation becoming public. It was initially reported by The Athletic.

Wallace’s reference to his comments last year stemmed from the Coca-Cola 600. On pit road at Charlotte Motor Speedway during a rain delay, the two got into a heated debate about their on-track competition. It resulted in Almirola shoving Wallace.

“When you walk around with two faces, that’s what you get,” Wallace said at the time.

Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing have an alliance, including competition meetings with Toyota. Denny Hamlin, the co-owner of 23XI Racing, didn’t have much to add about the situation or detail about what happened between Wallace and Almirola.

“I don’t really have a comment on it because I wasn’t there at the time,” Hamlin said after winning the pole for the Ally 400. “I don’t know what all transpired. It’s all hearsay from my standpoint. And at 23XI, we let Joe Gibbs Racing handle it and they did what they saw fit.

“Again, I don’t know all the details because I didn’t want to get too much into the personal business and I still don’t.”

Almirola expected to return at IMS after suspension following altercation with Wallace

Aric Almirola is expected to be back behind the wheel soon for Joe Gibbs Racing after being suspended by the team for a physical altercation with Bubba Wallace. Almirola’s next Xfinity Series race with JGR is expected to be at Indianapolis Motor …

Aric Almirola is expected to be back behind the wheel soon for Joe Gibbs Racing after being suspended by the team for a physical altercation with Bubba Wallace. Almirola’s next Xfinity Series race with JGR is expected to be at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 20.

The Athletic reported the incident Thursday morning citing industry sources. Joe Gibbs Racing had no comment about the report.

Joe Gibbs Racing has an alliance with 23XI Racing, for whom Wallace is a driver. The two organizations work closely together, including competition briefings. Allegedly, the altercation happened at a meeting.

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Almirola was supposed to compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in late May. The altercation happened before that race weekend and he was subsequently sidelined, which raised eyebrows given the lack of information on the driver change. Ty Gibbs ended up driving the No. 20 Toyota Camry, and admitted to the media that weekend he was informed in the middle of the week that he’d be driving.

It is not the first time Almirola and Wallace have had a negative interaction. Almirola shoved Wallace during a heated discussion on pit road during a rain delay in last year’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The incident spilled over from how the two raced each other on the track.

Aric Almirola indefinitely suspended for physical altercation with Bubba Wallace

Aric Almirola has reportedly been indefinitely suspended for a physical altercation with Bubba Wallace. Plus, more details on the situation.

[autotag]Aric Almirola[/autotag] hasn’t raced for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series since Darlington Raceway on May 11, despite having several events on his schedule. Several rumors have been flying around social media regarding Almirola’s absence, and The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi has now reported one of those wild stories.

According to Bianchi, Joe Gibbs Racing indefinitely suspended Aric Almirola after a physical altercation between him and [autotag]Bubba Wallace[/autotag]. The confrontation took place in a weekly competition meeting, and while the reason for the altercation was unknown, Almirola was viewed as the instigator. However, Bianchi also reported that his suspension will be lifted soon.

Almirola is expected to return for the Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 20. This is a unique circumstance, as Almirola would return to the race track in three weeks. Joe Gibbs Racing has kept the physical altercation away from the media after citing it as a “team decision” to remove Almirola from the No. 20 car at Charlotte Motor Speedway in late May.

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Aric Almirola joins Hattori Racing Enterprises for Truck race at North Wilkesboro

Aric Almirola will join Hattori Racing Enterprises for the NASCAR Truck Series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway next weekend.

[autotag]Hattori Racing Enterprises[/autotag] is making its return to the NASCAR Truck Series. According to the NASCAR Roster Portal, [autotag]Aric Almirola[/autotag] will drive the No. 16 truck for Hattori Racing Enterprises in the Truck Series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway next weekend. This would be Almirola’s first Truck Series event since November 2, 2012, at Texas Motor Speedway.

The Toyota Racing driver is set to have Richard Wauters as his crew chief, which is a throwback to his last Truck Series start as he drove for Wauters Motorsports. Wauters also served as Almirola’s crew chief for the entire 2012 season, where he picked up two victories and finished second in the point standings behind Todd Bodine.

Hattori Racing Enterprises competed full-time in the Truck Series from 2017 to 2023 but has not attempted a race during the 2024 season. It’s unclear how many more starts Almirola could make with Hattori Racing Enterprises or if this is a one-off start. Either way, having more competition on the race track is good, and Almirola should bring that with Hattori Racing Enterprises.

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Almirola claims emotional Xfinity victory at Martinsville

With a dramatic victory Saturday night at Martinsville Speedway, Aric Almirola removed an asterisk from his career record and collected a $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus in the process. With considerable help-perhaps unintentional-from Joe Gibbs Racing …

With a dramatic victory Saturday night at Martinsville Speedway, Aric Almirola removed an asterisk from his career record and collected a $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus in the process.

With considerable help—perhaps unintentional—from Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Sheldon Creed after an overtime restart, Almirola grabbed the lead from Sam Mayer and won the DUDE Wipes 250 under caution when Riley Herbst, pole winner Brandon Jones and Ryan Ellis wrecked in Turn 2 on the final lap.

 

The victory was Almirola’s first since retiring from full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition and rejoining Joe Gibbs Racing this season. The record book will show that the driver of the No. 20 JGR Toyota has five NASCAR Xfinity Series wins to his credit, but Almirola has always considered his first one tainted.

In 2007, he won the pole at the Milwaukee Mile and started the race but turned the car over to Denny Hamlin, who was late in his commute from a Cup date at Sonoma Raceway. Hamlin won the race, but Almirola got credit for the victory as the driver of record.

“Man, this is so awesome,” Almirola said. “To win for Joe Gibbs Racing… I’ve had an asterisk next to a win for Coach (Joe Gibbs) for 17 years, and this is so awesome to finally put a real win banner up inside the shop at Joe Gibbs Racing.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, Coach for calling me and giving me this opportunity to have some fun and still scratch the itch of racing but still get to spend a lot of time with our family.”

Though Almirola led 148 of 251 laps, the outcome was in doubt until he took command after the final restart. Race runner-up Sam Mayer held the lead at that point, but when Almirola’s JGR teammate Sheldon Creed took Almirola and Mayer three-wide in Turn 2 on the penultimate lap, contact slowed Mayer’s progress and allowed Almirola to break clear for the lead.

“Man, those restarts here are just ruthless,” said Mayer, who wrested the top spot from Almirola on lap 243, moments before a five-car pileup on the frontstretch caused the 10th caution of the race.

“Painful. Obviously, the No. 20 was really, really good today. It was good that I was able to keep up and be as fast as them and pass all those JGR cars there at the end and march up to the front. That’s the first time I’ve done that here…

“But at the end of the day, we needed a ‘W,’ and I got one I feel like stolen from me there a little bit.”

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Mayer’s pass on lap 243 was one of four lead changes over the final 12 laps. On lap 239, JGR’s Chandler Smith, who started from the back of the field after crashing in practice on Friday, muscled past Almirola, who returned the favor by moving his teammate into the top lane for a pass on lap 241.

“Chandler, I felt like used me up pretty good, so when I got back to him, I was going to make sure he knew it,” Almirola said. “From there the race was on. Mayer did a great job of getting to me and moving me out of the way.

“And then on that restart I knew it was going to be tough. I was really thankful to be able to hold on to it. They drilled me in the left rear, and I was able to hold on to it and get a good run off (Turn) 2.”

Smith ran third, followed by Carson Kvapil, who finished fourth in his Xfinity Series debut. Justin Allgaier came home fifth after starting from the rear. Creed, Sammy Smith, Cole Custer, Sunoco rookie Jesse Love and Josh Williams completed the top 10.

New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen was 11th in his first trip to Martinsville.

Almirola won the Dash 4 Cash bonus as the highest finisher among four eligible drivers. Since he is not competing at Texas next weekend, the four Dash 4 Cash drivers in Fort Worth are Mayer, Smith, Allgaier and Creed.

RESULTS

Aric Almirola reveals number of Xfinity Series races with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2024

Aric Almirola reveals the number of NASCAR Xfinity Series races he will run with Joe Gibbs Racing during the 2024 season.

[autotag]Aric Almirola[/autotag] announced before the conclusion of the 2023 NASCAR season that he would leave Stewart-Haas Racing. Almirola never said he would retire, which came to fruition when he signed with [autotag]Joe Gibbs Racing[/autotag]. The 39-year-old driver will compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and has officially said how many races he will run with Joe Gibbs Racing.

In an interview with FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, Almirola revealed he will run a part-time schedule of 15 to 16 races with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2024. Almirola was announced as a driver alongside Chandler Smith, Sheldon Creed, John Hunter Nemechek, Ryan Truex, Joe Graf Jr., and William Sawalich for the 2024 season.

This is an excellent opportunity for Almirola to downsize his schedule and ease his way into retirement. The former Stewart-Haas Racing driver still wants to compete, and not having the full grind of a 38-race season is the perfect opportunity. Almirola won with RSS Racing at Sonoma Raceway last season, so he is still fully capable of winning races in the Xfinity Series.

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Aric Almirola talks about returning to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2024

Aric Almirola talks about returning to Joe Gibbs Racing in the No. 20 Xfinity car for the 2024 season. Find out what Almirola had to say!

[autotag]Aric Almirola[/autotag] revealed before the end of the 2023 NASCAR season that it would be his last at Stewart-Haas Racing. Almirola would leave the No. 10 Cup car after previously announcing his retirement for 2022. However, this wasn’t a retirement for the Florida native. Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Almirola would drive the No. 20 Xfinity car part-time in 2023.

It was a surprising announcement that saw Almirola returning to where he started his career in the NASCAR ranks. In fact, the 39-year-old driver spoke to NASCAR.com about how this partnership happened and how he feels about competing at Joe Gibbs Racing moving forward.

“It was out of nowhere,” Almirola said. “I got a call from Coach [Joe Gibbs] in early September, and he said, ‘Hey, I heard you’re going to retire,’ and I said, ‘Yes, sir, I am.’ He said, ‘Well, if you are, I’d like for you to come back to Joe Gibbs Racing and retire from here.'”

“I was humbled, shocked, and I was excited. I wanted to stay involved in the sport and contribute somehow, someway. I just didn’t want to do it seven days a week for however long the Cup schedule is.”

Almirola can still compete at a high level, which was seen by his second-place finish at Martinsville Speedway in October. Joe Gibbs Racing will allow Almirola to push for victories in the Xfinity Series, and it should be expected after he won RSS Racing’s first race in 2023. Almirola’s exact schedule is unknown, but seeing how he runs next year will be interesting.

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Almirola joins JGR for part-time Xfinity program

Aric Almirola’s NASCAR program in 2024 will be a part-time schedule in the Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing. Almirola, who left Stewart-Haas Racing after six seasons with the team, was included in an extensive Wednesday announcement for Gibbs as …

Aric Almirola’s NASCAR program in 2024 will be a part-time schedule in the Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Almirola, who left Stewart-Haas Racing after six seasons with the team, was included in an extensive Wednesday announcement for Gibbs as it laid out its four-car lineup. Almirola will split time in the No. 20 Toyota Supra with John Hunter Nemechek.

It marks a return to the organization for Almirola, who made 27 starts in the series with JGR between 2006 and ’07. Almirola was credited with a win at Milwaukee in 2007 after starting the race that Denny Hamlin finished.

The number of races Almirola will run was not announced. Nemechek will drive the car in 10 races.

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Ryan Truex, William Sawalich, Joe Graf Jr., and Taylor Gray will share time in the No. 19 Toyota Supra. It will be the third season for Truex with the organization. Graf returns for a second season with the organization after making six starts last year.

Sawalich and Gray will be making their debuts in the series next year. Sawalich will run at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, and Phoenix Raceway at the end of the year. Those races are timed for after Sawalich turns 18.

Joe Gibbs Racing will have two full-time drivers. Sheldon Creed joins the organization to drive the No. 18 Toyota Supra. Creed spent the last two seasons competing for Richard Childress Racing.

Chandler Smith will drive the No. 81 Toyota Supra. Smith makes the move from Kaulig Racing where he won one race in his rookie season.

“Over the last couple of months, we’ve been working diligently to put together our 2024 Xfinity program, which will include the addition of a fourth team,” said Steve DeSouza, EVP of Xfinity Series/Development at JGR. “Our 2024 roster has a great balance of experience, youth, wisdom and talent. We believe the veteran drivers will continually benchmark our program, complement and challenge each other, as well as assist our younger drivers to further develop their skill set.

“We are also excited about our crew chiefs and the teams they have assembled. We take a lot of pride in not only our program’s on-track success, but also in the opportunity to develop and promote our team members.”

Tyler Allen will be the crew chief of the No. 20 team for Almirola and Nemechek. He moves into the role after nine seasons in various engineering roles with the organization.

Seth Chavka will be the crew chief on the No. 19 team. He was most recently the lead race engineer for Ty Gibbs.

Creed will work with Sam McAulay. For the last eight years, McAulay was the lead race engineer in the Cup Series for Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 team.

Jeff Meendering will oversee the No. 81 team with Smith. Meendering worked with Sammy Smith, who finished sixth in the championship standings, last season.