Aric Almirola News

See Also: Aric Almirola Biography

Monday, April 12, 2010

Almirola and Phoenix Racing part-ways: Aric Almirola, who qualified for four of the first seven Sprint Cup races for Phoenix Racing, said Monday he has mutually agreed to part ways with the team and will focus on competing for the Camping World Truck Series title with Billy Ballew Motorsports. Phoenix Racing lost its sponsorship from Miccosukee Resort & Gaming prior to the start of the season and has dropped out of the four races with Almirola within 60 laps. “We both agreed it was time to do something different,” Almirola said in a phone interview. “I am going to focus a lot more on my truck program, which is really important to me and Billy Ballew Motorsports and all the guys over there.(Scene Daily)

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Almirola to attempt full season in No. 09: Aric Almirola said he will drive the No. 09 Phoenix Racing car in 2010. The former Earnhardt Ganassi Racing driver said the plan is to compete in all the races in the James Finch-owned car. "I went into Homestead having no idea what I was going to do [in 2010]," Almirola said Saturday at the Sprint Sound and Speed event. "Over the winter months, I was pleased to find out that I'm going to run the No. 09 Cup car. & I talked with James about it. His plan is to go full-time. [We're] still working on a lot of things. When I got off the phone with him just the other day, it was, 'We're going racing, and the rest will take care of itself.' Hopefully we can get everything situated in the next couple of weeks." Almirola drove in eight races last year. He finished 29th at New Hampshire in September in his lone start for the Phoenix Racing organization. "I've asked them, 'Are we going to race or start and park? What's our plan?'" Almirola said. "[Finch] told me, 'Just get in and drive it.' So I'm excited. I'm looking forward to 2010. I'm ready." Almirola said he also plans to run a Billy Ballew Motorsports truck in select races this year.(SceneDaily)

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Almirola files breach-of-contract suit against EGR: Aric Almirola has filed a lawsuit in North Carolina Superior Court alleging that Earnhardt Ganassi Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc. have breached their contract with him. Almirola, who drove in seven Sprint Cup races this year for the team before his car was parked because of a lack of sponsorship, filed the complaint last Thursday. DEI had announced last year that Almirola would run a full season in 2009, but the organization later merged its Cup operation with Chip Ganassi Racing to form Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. The complaint does not detail the circumstances surrounding the breach-of-contract claim and asks the court to refer the matter to arbitration. Almirola had filed two notices of a claim last month, and he had until Thursday to file the actual complaint. He is dismissing his claim against Chip Ganassi Racing and EGR co-owner Teresa Earnhardt but proceeding in the one against EGR and DEI. The team had no comment.(SceneDaily.com)

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Almirola has an uncertain future: Since the No. 8 team folded, Aric Almirola has gone to almost every Cup race in an effort to keep his name circulating in the garage as a driver looking for a ride. "I've been going and talking to people and showing my face," said the 25-year-old Tampa, Fla., native. "I'm really scared of basically [being] out of sight, out of mind. I've been trying really hard to not let that happen. I don't want to be forgotten, and I want people to think about me if they have an opportunity or if they're looking to put somebody in the seat. … Or if I run into somebody and they're thinking about it, I want to be someone that crosses their mind." Almirola, who remains under contract with EGR, says he has talked with team officials about possibly returning to the seat at some point but has been given no indication that will happen. Whether with EGR or another team, Almirola still wants to return to NASCAR's top series as soon as possible. He says he would be open to taking a full-time Truck ride in 2010, however, if the opportunity arose. Right now, though, he doesn't know what his future in the sport - long term or short team - holds.(SceneDaily.com)

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Almirola being considered as Truex's replacement? Drivers and crew members were quick-stepping through an emptying garage area about an hour before the Coke Zero 400 on Saturday night, and Aric Almirola was on the hunt. He stopped to pat a shoulder at the Red Bull hauler, waved to a Penske crewman, chatted up Michael Waltrip Racing general manager Ty Norris. "Looking for a job, man," the 25-year-old Tampa native said. "At least nobody is shooing me away." This was supposed to be Almirola's first full season at NASCAR's highest level, as Mark Martin's replacement in the No. 8 Chevrolet at Dale Earnhardt Inc. But as the economy sunk, DEI merged with Chip Ganassi Racing, their five combined Cup programs withered to two, and sponsorship for the No. 8 car ran out after seven races. Earnhardt/Ganassi could have an opening in 2009 if, as expected, Martin Truex announces this week he will leave for MWR, but Almirola said he had not spoken with Ganassi about it. "That's not up to me," he said. "Those have been internal discussions that really have not involved me. Whatever happens I will be ready, race there or race somewhere else." (St. Petersburg Times)

Saturday, May 16, 2009

No. 8 close to signing a sponsor? Aric Almirola hasn't given up on returning to the Sprint Cup series this season. The driver of Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing's No. 8 car lost his ride seven races into the season due to lack of sponsorship. He said on Friday that recent talks with sponsors have gone well and that there are discussions about a deal for the second half of the season. "Now it's about getting them to sign the deal," Almirola said. Almirola said losing the ride has been challenging for him, that he's spending a lot of time playing video games and doing yard work waiting for something to break. "I just want to race," he said. "I'll race Nationwide, Cup, whatever. I don't do this because it's a job. I do it because I love it."(ESPN Insider)

Thursday, April 8, 2009

EGR official confirms No. 8 closure: Earnhardt Ganassi Racing president Steve Lauletta is optimistic the No. 8 car made famous by Dale Earnhardt Jr. will return to the track one day, but not until sponsorship is found. Lauletta confirmed on Wednesday an ESPN.com report that operations for the car driven by Aric Almirola has been suspended until sponsorship is found. Lauletta would not confirm how many employees were released, but sources said the total would be between 40 and 50. "The plan was to run the 8 all season," Lauletta said. "We worked really hard to get a few sponsors. We're working really hard to continue to get it back on the track. "But when you're in the position we're in where you don't know what sponsor goes on a car a couple of weeks out, how the team is going to progress in order to race two and three weeks out, it takes a lot of focus away from everybody at the shop." (ESPN.com)

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Report: Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing to park No. 8: Earnhardt Ganassi Racing has suspended operations of the No. 8 Sprint Cup Series team. An official announcement is expected to be made on Wednesday, sources told FOXSports.com. If sponsorship can be found, there is a possibility that the car could return but additional layoffs at EGR are forthcoming. Through the first seven races of the season, the team had picked up single-race sponsorship from video game Guitar Hero (four races total), portable GPS maker TomTom (one race), outdoor equipment maker Cub Cadet (one) and Champion Apparel (one). (FOXSports.com)

Friday, March 27, 2009

Almirola to sport Guitar Hero paint scheme: Coinciding with the launch of Activision Publishing, Inc.’s Guitar Hero Metallica, the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates’ No. 8 Chevy, driven by 25-year-old Aric Almirola, will be primarily sponsored by the highly-anticipated video game at Martinsville Speedway. This will be the third race during the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) season under the Guitar Hero banner for Almirola and the No. 8 team. The No. 8 Chevy powerful design draws it’s inspiration from the intense yet electrifying music of Metallica. For more information anout the game, log onto metallica.guitarhero.com.(EGR PR)

Friday, March 13, 2009

No. 8 Almirola still looking for sponsorship: Earnhardt Ganassi Racing has sponsorship for Aric Almirola for the upcoming NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Bristol and Martinsville and will definitely enter him April 5 at Texas, but his schedule beyond Texas is still pending sponsorship, EGR President Steve Lauletta says. Dale Earnhardt Inc. had intended to run Almirola the full 2009 season, but after the partnership with Chip Ganassi Racing was formed last November, Almirola’s situation has been cloudy with no full-time sponsor. (SceneDaily.com)

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Almirola to run first five Cup races: Aric Almirola will not run the full 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season unless funding is secured, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing co-owner Chip Ganassi said Friday afternoon. Ganassi would not specify how many races Almirola, who has sponsorship from Guitar Hero for a select number of events, would run, but he said he definitely will run the first five. “I’d like to sit here and tell you we’re close,” Ganassi said. “But the fact of the matter is we’re not. We’re not unlike ... a situation we were in a year ago, but we’re going to give it our best shot. We need more funding to run Aric.” (SceneDaily.com)

Sunday, February 8, 2009

EGR swap No. 8 & No. 42 owner points: Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, whose largely sponsorless No. 8 car was 14th in 2008 owner points, has swapped positions with new teammate Juan Montoya, who was 25th last year while driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. The assumption is that if the 8 was shut down within the first five races, Montoya would have an 11-position advantage if qualifying was rained out. In conjunction with the point swaps, Chip Ganassi now owns the No. 8 and Teresa Earnhardt took ownership of the No. 42 from Ganassi's father, Floyd. (NASCAR.com)

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Guitar Hero to be featured on No. 1 and No. 8 EGR cars: Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates announced a partnership with Activision Publishing, Inc., the publisher of the top-selling Guitar Hero video game franchise, for a multi-race deal that will include primary sponsorship of multiple races with Aric Almirola and his No. 8 Chevy, and multiple races with Martin Truex Jr. and his No. 1 Chevy. In the 2009 Daytona 500, the first race to feature a Guitar Hero branded car, the No. 8 will race around the track with a paint scheme of Activision’s latest #1 music-based video game - Guitar Hero World Tour. The orange and black car will sport the familiar Guitar Hero World Tour logo and the same graphics as the game’s packaging. Subsequent races will feature the No. 8 or the No. 1 cars branded with upcoming Guitar Hero titles. Aric Almirola: Driver,No. 8 Chevy: “I was excited about running my first Daytona 500 to begin with, but now having the Guitar Hero brands on my car will make it even that much more fun. I can’t think of another brand that I would rather have on my car. I play the Guitar Hero games all the time and to now be representing it is very cool.”
Martin Truex Jr.: “I am really looking forward to pairing up with Activision and Guitar Hero. It is one of my favorite video game brands and I can’t wait to see it on my car.”
Steve Lauletta: President, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing: “I really love to see big brands come into the sport and it is even better when they are on one of our cars. I don’t know if there is a bigger or hotter video game brand right now than the Guitar Hero franchise. We had an opportunity to work with them last season and now look forward to a long and mutually beneficial partnership with Activision.”(Aric Almirola site)

Monday, January 12, 2009

Labonte in the No. 8? Almirola part-time? Bobby Labonte in the No. 8, Juan Pablo Montoya in the No. 41, Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 1 and Aric Almirola in a part-time role. That is the scenario officials at Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing are discussing, sources close to the situation told ESPN.com. Almirola was slated to drive the No. 8 vacated by Mark Martin this season, but the company was having trouble finding sponsorship for the untested driver. (ESPN.com)

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Dale Earnhardt Inc. announces Aric Almirola in the #8 in 2009: After spending two seasons sharing a car with veteran Mark Martin, 24-year-old Aric Almirola will take over the No. 8 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chevrolet full time in 2009. “This is an incredibly exciting opportunity,” said Almirola. “When you get into racing, you always dream of competing at the highest level and I’ve had the chance to do that on a limited basis for the past two seasons. Now I will have the opportunity to race the car full time and I could not be more excited about driving the No. 8 car each week for Dale Earnhardt Inc. “This is a really great race team to work with. (Crew Chief) Tony Gibson and these guys have put me in really good race cars this season and they’ve never treated me like a rookie. They are committed to being competitive every week and I’m really looking forward to working with them on a weekly basis next season.” (Dale Earnhardt Inc PR)