January 16, 2008
By Rebecca Gladden
With just a few weeks left until the start of the 2009 NASCAR season, 24-year-old Aric Almirola's professional life is full of questions.
Dale Earnhardt, Inc., the company that Almirola drove for in 2008, finalized a merger during the offseason with Chip Ganassi Racing, creating the new Earnhardt Ganassi Racing (EGR) organization with co-owners Teresa Earnhardt and Chip Ganassi.
While it's possible that EGR could field as many as four cars this season, the only car/driver/sponsor combination that seems relatively certain at press time is that of Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 1 car with Bass Pro Shops as primary sponsor. Juan Pablo Montoya will also be in a full-time EGR ride, though neither his car number nor sponsor has been revealed.
And then there's Aric, who split time in DEI's No. 8 car last year with veteran driver Mark Martin. Martin left DEI at the end of '08 to take a full-time ride at Hendrick Motorsports, making Almirola the presumptive full-time driver of the No. 8 car this year.
But that was before the Earnhardt-Ganassi merger, which created tremendous uncertainty in terms of the organization's driver lineup and sponsorship arrangements for 2009, including their plans for Almirola.
"The main focus is that we get all four of our race cars funded -- I think that's what Chip and Teresa have been working hard at and trying to figure out," Almirola told me in a recent phone interview. "I think that's the big picture, whether it's four cars, three cars, two cars or one car. They're trying to sort through everything and figure out what they have, what they don't have, and what they still need."
So is a two- or three-car team a possibility for EGR this season?
"I think anything's possible, but I don't want to speculate or put words in Chip or Teresa's mouth, because I don't know that. But from the outside looking in, it's hard to say. I think it's a possibility with the way everything is right now. Who would have ever thought that Richard Petty's race team would close after so many years, with all the success that they've had and being the team of a legend like Richard Petty?"
Bobby Labonte was rumored to be in contention for the No. 8 car as recently as Monday with Almirola going to a fourth team, possibly on a part-time basis. Wednesday's announcement that Labonte has signed with Hall of Fame Racing leaves Almirola back in the running for a full-time ride, though sponsorship remains the biggest hurdle.
"They're working really, really hard on that," Almirola said, though he declined to name any specific companies involved in talks. "There's nobody I'd be confident in saying right now -- you'd have to talk to management about that. But we have talked to quite a few people. We're talking to several people and trying to mix and match and just trying to put the whole team together. The way everything is right now, I'm just excited that there are people that we're talking to and that people are inquiring about the possibility of sponsoring us."
Almirola certainly has a lot to offer a potential sponsor. He's charismatic, attractive and well-spoken, a self-described "respectable young man." But he acknowledges that this is a result-oriented sport and that winning at the Cup level will not be easy. "The thing that's hard for us is, we are asking a sponsor to basically bet on me and that I'm going to get better and better. I know I've got a lot to prove on the racetrack, but I feel like I've made the most of the opportunities that I have had so far. I am very excited about the success that I have had and about being in the race car this year."
Born and raised in Florida, Aric began racing go-karts at age 8 and moved on to open-wheel modifieds and late models. But he always had an eye on NASCAR and particularly his childhood racing idol, Dale Earnhardt, Sr. "It's not because I drive for his team or anything, but I was a Dale Earnhardt fan growing up. My grandfather and a lot of people in my family were Big E fans, so I actually grew up being an Earnhardt fan and was a huge supporter growing up. It's a huge honor when I go to the shop. I can remember as a little kid go-kart racing in the Carolinas, and we left home early one time to go to a race just so that we could stop by the shop on Highway 3. They had just got done building it - the huge garage majal - and I remember sort of taking a field trip there on the way to a go-kart race to look at it. Now, to actually walk in that building and just see all the history that's there is pretty neat."
In 2003, Almirola was signed as a development driver with Joe Gibbs Racing, where he remained until making the move to DEI last year for the shared driving duties with Mark Martin.
Now that things are so uncertain at EGR, I asked Aric if he has any regrets about his decision to leave JGR.
"No, not at all. I love the Gibbs family and the way that I felt when I was there was like part of the family, not just a coworker. I owe the world to Joe and J.D. Gibbs for giving me an opportunity when I was nobody, when I was just some kid that raced late models. I owe them for helping me get my career started. When all this came about with Mark, he talked to Joe and J.D. about me coming over there to share a ride with him. They gave me their blessing and they encouraged me, so we didn't leave on bad terms or anything. If we had parted on bad terms, I would have had some regrets about that."
Almirola also defends his choice to move to DEI (now EGR), arguing that the organization has all the pieces in place to win races and even championships. "The biggest thing is that everyone over at DEI gets a bad rap and they don't deserve it. They have a lot of great technology and I think they've been very competitive over the last few years. It's been tough to break into the win column, but the guys that show up at the shop aren't satisfied with running 10th -- they want to win races and they put the hard work and effort into winning races. A lot of the time I feel like they don't get the credit they deserve."
If EGR does run four full-time cars this year, Aric is not concerned about who the new team member might be, though he believes his opinion will be taken into consideration. "As of right now they've got three drivers under contract, and they are trying to sort everything out and see how everything else plays out. They talk to us about (a fourth driver), but ultimately they make the decision. But, I can work with anybody."
Still, Almirola knows that it will be hard, if not impossible, to replace the mentoring he received at DEI from co-driver Mark Martin. "That meant the world to me. Mark is not only a helluva racecar driver, he's a great person to have on your side. Over the last year and a half or so of working with him, I feel like I have had him on my side and I feel like I can pick up the phone and call him and ask him questions. He's always been there for me in that respect and I truly appreciate that. I cherish the relationship that I've gained sharing a race car with him last year."
With all the uncertainty regarding his status for this season, I asked Aric to summarize his emotions in one word -- nervous, worried, hopeful … ?
"I'm excited," he said without hesitation. "You know, it's what every kid dreams about - to race at the highest level and be competitive, and I feel like I've got the perfect opportunity to do that. We definitely have the people and the cars and the equipment to be competitive this year."
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