Aric Almirola won the VFW 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Michigan International Speedway this weekend. A decision earlier in 2010 to concentrate on the truck series has been productive.
A three-wide dash for the lead after a restart resulted in an exciting finish between Almirola, Todd Bodine and Kyle Busch.
“I didn’t think it was the greatest place to be, but I knew we were going to run wide open to the corner and we were either going to crash or make it out the other side on that last restart,” Almirola said. “I knew how important clean air was and I knew it was my only shot to get out in the lead, and if I didn’t get out in the lead there was no chance of us winning the race. I went down in turn one and I knew I was going to run a shorter distance than Todd so I just tried to hang tight on Kyle’s door and get him loose, which I did.
“By the time we got off Turn 2, I was almost clear of Todd and then we went through three and four I cleared him. That was the move of the race as far as I was concerned. Our car in dirty air wasn’t as good as it needed to be and that was the key.”
His second win of the NCWTS season keeps him in second place in the point standings just 55 points behind leader Todd Bodine.
Sustaining a ride in NASCAR’s top series has been a bumpy ride for Almirola. Selected by Joe Gibbs Racing for NASCAR’s diversity program in 2004, Almirola raced his way to the Nationwide Series. He left Gibbs for Ginn Racing which became a part of Dale Earnhardt Inc. only to lose sponsorship. In 2010 he departed from Phoenix Racing at the Cup level to concentrate on the truck series for Billy Ballew Motorsports.
Almirola is the stand-by driver for four-time champion Jimmie Johnson should be needed to take over the wheel of the No. 48 Chevrolet if Johnson’s wife gives birth to their first child on race day. Johnson intends to be at her side.
It’s a long road to the top series in NASCAR. Starting young and getting there is a daunting achievement from any city or town in the U.S. Surprisingly the Tampa Bay area has produced four current NASCAR drivers--Eric Almirola from Tampa, David Reutimann from Zephyrhills, Denny Hamlin who was born in Brandon and Joe Nemechek from nearby Lakeland.
Daytona International Speedway is only 140 miles from Tampa over flat Florida terrain. Yet for an aspiring race car driver many peaks separate a ride on dirt tracks or go-kart courses from the high-bank 2.5- mile tri-oval famed track in Daytona Beach. It’s only about a three hour drive on I-4, but racing at DIS is like leaping over mountains and it’s a lot more than just going from dirt to asphalt. Graduating to NASCAR is more like exchanging mud for gold.
Almirola’s focus on a single series this year may help him in future climbs.
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