Motorsports 2006

More horsepower than heritage

By BRANT JAMES
Published February 17, 2006

DAYTONA BEACH - Aric Almirola knows NASCAR in general and his Joe Gibbs Racing team in particular are interested in seeing a minority driver advance to stock car racing's highest level, Nextel Cup.

The 21-year-old Tampa native has no problem accepting the scrutiny and responsibility that would come with being the one. But he wants everyone to know that when and if he gets that chance, he will have earned it with his ability on the racetrack, not because he is of Cuban ancestry.

Almirola got his chance at a NASCAR career through a Gibbs diversity initiative. But he has come this far this fast - beginning his rookie season in the NASCAR truck series this season - by doing everything right behind the wheel.

"As long as nobody tries to discredit what I've done because of being diverse, I'm okay," said the new full-time driver of Spear Motorsports' No. 75 Chevrolet, replacing veteran David Starr. "I think it's part of me and I'm excited about the opportunities it's given me.

"Yeah, you get (skeptics) every once in a while. Frustrating? Yes and no. I guess some people are ignorant. I don't know how to put it. I'm no different than anybody else. (NASCAR) is just trying to look more like world today and I'm proud to be part of it."

Because Joe Gibbs Racing does not field a truck series team, Almirola got his first four truck races last season with Morgan-Dollar Motorsports, posting two top-10s. His services will be farmed out again this year, but Gibbs plans to run a seven-race Busch program for him. Seven races would allow him to retain his rookie status for a possible full-time campaign in 2007, should he do well in trucks.

Almirola thought he had not only let down those who believed in him at Joe Gibbs but hurt his career when he crashed late in his truck series debut at Memphis while running in the top 20. Not guaranteed another chance, he lobbied team president J.D. Gibbs for another shot - Gibbs was going to give him one anyway - and Almirola responded by finishing 10th at Indianapolis Raceway Park. He later finished eighth at Loudon, N.H., before crashing halfway through his final race of the season at Texas.

"Aric's a determined and talented young man," Gibbs said.

Almirola knows what is available to him should he continue rolling. He is following the basic path laid out by Gibbs for Denny Hamlin, who went from an obscure grassroots driver to a Nextel Cup sensation at age 25. Though his NASCAR experience was comprised of five truck starts and one Busch race before last year, Hamlin became the first rookie to ever win the Bud Shootout on Sunday at Daytona International Speedway.

Almirola has been the new guy, the outsider, since he joined the Gibbs program. His Late Models team in the NASCAR Weekly Series criss-crossed the South, taking on local hotshots at small tracks for the sake of gaining experience. He knows he'll need to work just as hard to gain respect for his abilities and his possible place in the sport's diversity efforts at NASCAR's highest levels, too. But like before, he'll just drive and let everything sort itself out.

"I don't think it has anything to do with the fact I am Hispanic. I think it has to do with the fact I am a rookie," he said of fitting into the truck series. "I have to go out there and prove myself and that's going to happen in any series I move up into. I'll have to prove that although I am a rookie, I will earn the respect of the people who are there."

[Last modified February 16, 2006, 09:46:05]