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With 'elbows up,' Almirola grabs career-best finish
By SceneDaily Staff
Monday, March 17, 2008
BRISTOL, TN - MARCH 16: Aric Almirola, driver of the #8 U.S. Army Chevrolet, races during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 at the Bristol Motor Speedway on March 16, 2008 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)
Nick Laham
Getty Images
BRISTOL, Tenn. – The best finish veteran Mark Martin could get in four starts this season in Dale Earnhardt Inc.’s No. 8 Chevrolet was a 10th at Las Vegas. But rookie Aric Almirola drove the No. 8 to an eighth-place finish in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday.
That’s easily the best career finish for the 24-year-old Almirola, who celebrated his birthday last Friday. His best prior finish in six starts was 36th last November at Phoenix.
“That’s where we should run,” Almirola said. “I’ve been telling all these guys on this crew for so long now throughout my career, whether I was at Joe Gibbs Racing or last year when I first got part of the merger, I tried too hard to run all the laps and learn as much as I could.
“Coming into this year, I’ve taken a different approach and I’ve got my elbows up and I’m going to go out there and race with these guys. These guys on this team deserve it. They build great race cars. It makes it very possible for me to go out there and do my job.”
Almirola moved to Ginn Racing from JGR last year just before Ginn’s merger with DEI. He’s scheduled to race 12 times this season, with Martin getting the other 24 starts in the car.
"Awesome, just awesome," crew chief Tony Gibson said. "Aric drove the wheels off that Army Chevrolet. We had a decent car, not a great one. But Aric drove both patiently and hard. He has talent. The team believes in him and he believes in us. He is the future and we're just happy that he is driving our stuff."
Almirola was making his first start since Phoenix last year, as he was forced to watch Martin drive the No. 8. Almirola will be in the car at Martinsville next weekend and would gladly run more races.
“Yeah, I don’t want to sit on the pit box any more,” Almirola said. “It is what it is. I get to race 12 races, and I’ll hopefully go get 12 top-10s.”
Mentioned Drivers: Aric Almirola
2009 Sprint Cup Race for the Chase Standings
Driver Standings after the Dickies 500
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 6297 |
| 2 | Mark Martin | -73 |
| 3 | Jeff Gordon | -112 |
| 4 | Kurt Busch | -171 |
| 5 | Tony Stewart | -178 |
| 6 | Juan Pablo Montoya | -236 |
| 7 | Greg Biffle | -247 |
| 8 | Denny Hamlin | -322 |
| 9 | Ryan Newman | -324 |
| 10 | Kasey Kahne | -399 |
| 11 | Carl Edwards | -440 |
| 12 | Brian Vickers | -520 |
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