| Full Name | Aric Almirola |
| Date of Birth | March 14, 1984 |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 6' |
| Role | Driver |
Aric Almirola is a member of a dynamite four-car Cup Series operation, Stewart-Haas Racing, joining the team in 2018. He raced a partial schedule from 2007-2010 before taking over the iconic No. 43 for Richard Petty Motorsports. His teammates are former series champion Kevin Harvick, Cole Custer, and rookie Chase Briscoe.
Introduced to racing by his maternal grandfather, spring car racer Sam Rodriguez, Aric started at eight years old. By the time he was 16, he was competing in open-wheel modifieds. He qualified on the pole for the World Karting Association Grand Nationals at Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium. He finished fourth in points that year.
Almirola won top rookie honors in two modified divisions in 2000, the Florida Modified and Southern Automobile Racing Association. He also raced in the NASCAR Southern Region in 2002-03 and was rookie of the year runner-up. He won three poles at USA International Speedway in Lakeland, just up the road from his Tampa home. Additionally, he claimed two poles at New Smyrna Speedway and another at Bronson Speedway.
Almirola made his debut as a member of the Joe Gibbs Racing development Program in late models at Ace Speedway in Atamahaw, NC, in 2007.
His first Cup Series start was for Joe Gibbs Racing in Las Vegas, and it didn’t end well, finishing 41st after a crash. Later that year, he was in the No. 01 of Dale Earnhardt Inc. but never cracked the top-25. In the DEI No. 8 for a dozen races in 2008, Almirola cashed in an eighth-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway in his first outing.
With only 35 races in his first four years in the Premier Series, Almirola was on the way to becoming a journeyman. He had only two full-time rides in the Camping World Truck Series (2006 for Wayne Spears and Billy Ballew in 2010) and one in Xfinity (2011 with JR Motorsports). Once he landed at RMP, he has been on the regular scene since.
Almirola’s first Cup win came in 2014, holding off Brian Vickers in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. It was the 30th anniversary weekend of team owner Richard Petty’s 200th career win, just one of the reasons why The King is in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
2014 Coke Zero 400 winner
2021 Bluegreen Vacations Duel winner
Aric Michael Almirola was born on March 14, 1984 (now 36) in Tampa, Florida. He currently lives in Mooresville, NC, with his wife Janice and two children, Alex and Abby. Janice’s father is a noted motorcycle racer and NASCAR crew chief Randy Gross. Almirola is of Cuban descent; his father, Ralph, came to this country during the Cuban Freedom Flights in the 1960s. His hobbies are road and mountain biking, hiking, and snow skiing.
