Motorsports

Youngster's truck debut brings mixed feelings

By BRANT JAMES
Published July 23, 2005

Aric Almirola's thoughts should be squarely on the opportunity laid out before him this afternoon. At age 21, he has reached one of those figurative crossroads, in this case where pit road meets Turn 1 at Memphis Motorsports Park.

This is why he quit college, abandoning plans to pursue a mechanical engineering degree at Central Florida and leaving Tampa to live, work and be seen in the stock car capital of the world, Charlotte (N.C.).

That's why he slogged with his NASCAR Weekly Series Late Models team at little tracks throughout the South facing competitors not always friendly to an outsider and part of a big NASCAR team's diversity program.

They always assumed his team had an unending financial well and permanent patience from the big shots because he was Hispanic and set up to succeed. They were wrong.

Almirola earned this chance to test himself in NASCAR's Truck series. At 4:30 today, he will attempt to qualify the No. 47 Chevrolet in Memphis. If he's good enough, he will make his first start at 8. His thoughts should be squarely on the job. (His family even stayed home so he can concentrate.) But his thoughts will inevitably turn to Reggie White, who partnered with Joe Gibbs to form the diversity program.

"I'm still really sad we lost Reggie because I'm sure if he were here, he would be laughing and carrying on and getting me pumped up," Almirola said. "I used to sit and have conversations with him. And he talked about the old days and when he played for the (USFL's Memphis) Showboats. And it's just kind of ironic my first truck race I get to go to after Reggie White gave me an opportunity is in Memphis."

Without the former NFL star, Almirola likely would have pursued that degree and continued running Late Models back home with his grandfather, Sam Rodriguez, wondering if he really could have run in the big show.

When White loaned his name and fame to Gibbs' diversity program, he went looking for serious minority candidates. He went looking for winners, and after watching Almirola in a tryout in Hickory, N.C., in 2003, he found a kindred spirit. When White died of cardiac arrhythmia at age 43 on Dec.26, Almirola lost a mentor.

"He sincerely wanted this diversity program to work and to be successful," Almirola said. "I remember a long time ago when I first met him, he said, "I didn't play football because I love football. I played football because I loved winning and I'm good at it.' He said, "That's why I want you to drive race cars. I'm sure you do love racing, but I want your passion to be winning, not racing.' "

If Almirola qualifies, it would mark the second time two bay area drivers have competed in one of NASCAR's top three series. In 1999, Pinellas Park's Mike Cope and Clearwater's Michael Dokken competed in the Truck series. Zephyrhills' David Reutimann is a regular in the series. Almirola also is scheduled to compete in the Aug.5 Truck race at Indianapolis. For now, Almirola is reflecting the confidence White and Gibbs have exhibited in him.

"I'm sure I'll get real excited come driver introduction time, come time to start the race," he said. "But as of right now, I'm going to go run a truck race. Those guys aren't any different from me. They get in the truck and push it to its limit and see how fast it will go." But Almirola knows he bears more than just personal destiny. NASCAR and its teams have made a very public, well-financed effort to improve involvement by women and minorities during the past few years, and Almirola is among the first to earn a chance. Evernham Motorsports' Erin Crocker and Sarah Fisher are expected to run in Busch races in September.

"This diversity issue is great," Joe Gibbs Racing president J.D. Gibbs said. "But ultimately, either you're good or you're not good. And Aric has proved he is good, and it's time to go after it in a bigger series."

Almirola has won four times this season, his second in Gibbs' developmental program. Winning earned him respect. It's a process with which Almirola has become accustomed.

He earned his place with Chris Bristol, an African-American in the Reggie White Motorsports diversity program, by setting the track record for a lap in a tryout in 2003 in Hickory, N.C. In March, he impressed General Motors officials in an open truck tryout then did the same with Morgan-Dollar Motorsports officials at a Memphis test.

Morgan-Dollar has previously fielded trucks for Gibbs' Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte and agreed to give Almirola a chance.

"After the test was over, I talked with J.D. and (Morgan-Dollar officials). And I just said, "Man, that was so much fun. What can we do? Can we do anything to run some truck races?' " Almirola said.

"I just kept bothering them and bugging them, and finally, they either got tired of bugging from me or they had been working on it all along and not telling me."

Almirola is an apprentice in the Truck series but is surrounded by expertise. Crew chief Randy Goss won Truck and Busch championships with current Nextel Cup standout Greg Biffle. Teammate Dennis Setzer is a two-time series runnerup who has won three of the past four truck races.

Setzer said the trucks will be prepared identically and he believes Almirola has the composure to make the most of the chance. "He'll have to get into the mode where you have 200 laps with three pit stops during a race," Setzer said. "You have to be ready to come down pit road, tell your crew what to adjust because you get to adjust three times. You can't do all that in a Late Model car."

Gibbs made it clear to Almirola from the start that results would be rewarded. Now he can see what Gibbs meant. Almirola is following the same progression as Gibbs' Denny Hamlin, a 24-year-old (coincidently born in Tampa) considered one of NASCAR's rising stars.

Hamlin, a former Late Model driver, made his NASCAR debut in five Truck events in midseason of last year, earned a late Busch start and is sixth in points while racing full time in Busch this year. "(Almirola has) grown just like Denny did, and we hope he can do the same things," Gibbs said. And if he does, Almirola knows White would have been proud. "I wish he was here to see it," Almirola said. "But I know he will be smiling down on me."

[Last modified July 23, 2005, 00:53:16]