The 2023 NASCAR season witnessed the retirement of two veteran racers of Stewart Haas Racing. Kevin Harvick retired and embarked on a broadcasting journey, while his long-time teammate Aric Almirola is set to race part-time in the Xfinity Series with Joe Gibbs Racing. He is returning to the team where he got his NASCAR break.
One of the major reasons Almirola decided to retire from the sport was his desire to spend more quality time with his family after his compact racing schedule in the last 20 years. He was planning to retire in 2022 but decided to have one last go in 2023 following the pressure from his team and sponsors, Smithfield.
He was then approached by JGR’s Joe Gibbs, who wanted Almirola to race full-time in the Xfinity Series for them. But it wasn’t something he or his family wanted to do. Hence, they agreed to race in 15 selected races of the 2024 season, which both the team and Almirola’s family can adjust to.
Coach first asked me about racing full-time. I told him, ‘I don’t think I can tell Janice (his wife) I’m retiring from full-time racing to go full-time racing. So, we talked through that and we kind of settled on what would be ideal for me, which was about 15 races. Almirola said, as reported by Motorsports.com.
Aric Almirola’s JGR move was accidentally made public during an NFL game
Going into the 2024 season, Almirola had already indicated that he would drive in the Xfinity series, but it wasn’t known which team he would race for. Joe Gibbs accidentally made this news public during the NFL game between the Washington Commanders and the Miami Dolphins.
Gibbs, the former championship-winning coach of the Commanders, attended the game with Almirola Christopher Bell . While introducing his drivers to Commanders’ co-owner Josh Harris, he said Almirola now drives for JGR.
With the new Xfinity job comes the challenging role of mentoring young Toyota drivers hoping to climb the sports ladder to the top. This gives a new purpose and meaning to the potential final chapter of Almirola’s racing career.
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