Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Aric Almirola’s Promise To Coach Gibbs After Xfinity Vegas Win

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Gowtham Ramalingam | Last updated Oct 13, 2025 6:00 AM ET

After winning Saturday's Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas, 41-year-old Aric Almirola found himself in a familiar position. The win gave him the opportunity to deliver an owner's championship to his benefactor, Joe Gibbs. This happened last year, too, when he ran the entire playoffs with this same car.

While he came up short in the 2024 season finale, he won't be letting go of the chance easily this time. There were some initial doubts about whether the part-timer would be behind the wheel of the No. 19 Supra in the finale (It was scheduled to be run by Justin Bonsignore). But the Vegas race has cleared that road up.

There is a strong reason why Almirola feels like he owes Gibbs a huge debt.

Almirola just revealed in his post-race presser that Justin Bonsignore, who was originally scheduled to drive the No. 19 car at Phoenix, will be handing driving duties over to Almirola so that he & the 19 team can chase the owners' championship.
— Stephen Stumpf (@stephen_stumpf) October 12, 2025

He explained it to the press, "There is no explanation for why it’s happening other than God has his hands in it. This shouldn’t happen, right? When I announced I was going to retire, nobody had to give me this opportunity. Then Coach comes out of blue and said ‘I want you to come run some races with us and I think you will have some fun doing it.’

This was his 14th start of the season and his third win. To achieve this with the team that he started his career with has left him greatly moved, and the only way he knows how to pay back the trust that Gibbs put in him is by winning a championship.

Almirola's Second Coming

Last year, Almirola came up one spot short of bringing Joe Gibbs Racing the owner's championship. That's bound to be a heartbreak for any driver, and it was for him as well. But it is also why he is determined to get things done this season.

He said that winning the championship would be the highlight of his career and added, "Honestly, it would be. I left Phoenix last year pretty sad and disappointed that I didn’t get it done for the coach. What’s interesting to me is that at this stage of my career, I don’t have to have this. I love it and I want it, but I don’t have to have it."

NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Aric Almirola (19) leads a group during the Focused Health 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

He believes that god has blessed him with a second opportunity and hopes to make good use of it. The driver has started 460 Cup Series races in his career that spanned 16 years and secured three wins. In the Xfinity Series, he has started 132 races and won 10 of them. All he needs to do now is add one more win to this impressive tally.

Competing for the owner's championship alongside him will be the likes of Connor Zilisch and Justin Allgaier.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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