Aric Almirola on his final race with Stewart-Haas: ‘Grateful that it happened’

When today’s race is over, Aric Almirola will move into the next stage of his career, away from full-time NASCAR Cup Series racing. Now, he’s not done going fast. He just wants to step back and race in a more part-time capacity. Xfinity and Trucks here and there, maybe some Cup racing.

While there is a lot of reason to be sad about today, Aric Almirola is choosing not to be. He’s embracing this moment. Clearly, he’s thought about this and knows that this is the decision he wants to make. Ahead of the race today, he talked about his emotions leading up to his finale with Stewart-Haas Racing.

“Grateful that it happened. Not sad that it’s over,” he wrote on Twitter, along with a video. “It’s been an incredible final weekend with the 10 team and [Stewart-Haas Racing].”

“You know what? I thought I was going to be sad, and I flew out here on Wednesday,” Almirola said in the video. “I had four and a half hours on an airplane to think about it. I’m not sad at all, I’m happy it happened. I have been so blessed and so fortunate to do what I love to do for as long as I’ve wanted to do it. And it’s not always been easy, but I am so grateful. I’ll have these last 20 years to look back on for the rest of my life and be so thankful. And the relationships, the friendships and the relationships, those will continue on, way past this weekend.”