Almirola to drive DEI's No. 8 Sprint Cup car full time in '09
By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
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Jerry Markland / Getty Images for NASCAR
Aric Almirola, who is sharing the No. 8 Sprint Cup ride with Mark Martin this year, will drive the car full time in 2009, Dale Earnhardt Inc. officials announced Tuesday.
“This is a really great race team to work with,” the 24-year-old Almirola said in a news release. “[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.”
Almirola has 11 career Sprint Cup starts, with a career-best finish of eighth at Bristol earlier this year. He began sharing the DEI ride with Martin after DEI bought Ginn Racing in July 2007.
Martin has 12 more races left in the No. 8 car this year, while Almirola has seven.
“There is no doubt Aric is ready to go full time,” said Martin, who is expected to drive for Hendrick Motorsports next year. “Aric is an incredible talent and a true student of the sport. Having him run a full-time program in the No. 8 was always part of the plan, but his development has allowed us to accelerate things.”
Almirola has 60 starts in NASCAR’s Nationwide and Craftsman Truck Series with one “win” – when he started a car that a late-arriving Denny Hamlin eventually drove across the finish line in the Nationwide race at The Milwaukee Mile last year.
“[We] know that Aric will get the job done,” said John Story, vice president of motorsports operations for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. “We appreciate everything Mark continues to do for the company. Since we first discussed with Mark our plans for Aric, he was 100 percent supportive and has done everything within his power to make it work and allow us to build a program around Aric.”
Almirola, who is of Cuban descent, got his first shot at NASCAR through Joe Gibbs Racing and its diversity program run as part of a partnership with former football great Reggie White.
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Aric Almirola
Comments
2 responses to "Almirola to drive DEI's No. 8 Sprint Cup car full time in '09 "
gayle larson said:
Jul 2, 2008 at 12:12 PMwould love to see mark martin get out of the eight now and let almirola get all the seat time he can. it would give him an edge for next year. martin is just out there having fun anyway and almirola wants to get his future under way. mark has had his fun now let almiro get down to the business at hand.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportRandy King said:
Jul 4, 2008 at 7:48 AMDEI better sign Truex Jr. They need a big "name" driver, If DEI loses Truex.. It would be a very sad day when DEI closes shop. I don't think Dale Sr planned it this way.. As a Dale Sr fan,I'm very upset at Teresa Earnhardt for not giving Dale Jr 51% of DEI.. This really sux.
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