Aric Almirola readies for his final full-time Cup season. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
When all is said and done for Aric Almirola‘s NASCAR Cup Series career, the 37-year-old Tampa, Florida will be remembered beyond his on track accomplishments.
In this case, he’s more than just the first driver to succeed from NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program. He’s a man who fulfilled the American dream with the help and love of his family.
During a press conference last Tuesday, Almriola reflected on his roots with a sense of gratitude and humility.
“I never really viewed it that way even from the beginning,” Almriola said. “When I first got the opportunity to go to Joe Gibbs Racing with Reggie White and that diversity program, I viewed that as an opportunity that I was very grateful for, but I never viewed myself that way. I just viewed myself as a race car driver that just so happens to have a dad that’s from Cuba that allowed me to get that opportunity that I’m a first generation born Cuban-American.
“So, I’ve never really thought of myself as a ‘diversity’ or ‘Cuban’ race car driver that needed to waive that flag or anything. I’ve just viewed myself as a race car driver and I happen to have olive complexion and dark hair and dark eyes and have a blood line from Cuba.”
Almriola explored his family’s origins when he visited Cuba in 2017 for an Fs1 documentary. “El Corredor’ explored Almriola’s trip and meeting with his family in Cuba, an experience that still touches the earthy racer’s heart to this day.
The sun may be setting on Aric Almirola’s full-time Cup career, but he’s thankful for his opportunities. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
“I’m super happy and grateful for the opportunities that it has brought to me and I am extremely proud when I think about that of what my family has done,” he reflected. “I don’t feel like it’s as much about what I’ve done. It’s way more about what my family has done.
“We’ve documented that a lot through one of the short story films that we did about me going back to Cuba and kind of tracing my roots when I was driving for Richard Petty Motorsports in that I am incredibly humbled to see where my family has come from.”
As Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s Jadzia Dax, played by Terry Farrell, once said, “In order to know who you are, it’s important to know who you’ve been.” Despite the wealth and triumphs from a respectable racing career, Almirola appreciates the humble beginnings and determinations of his family when they migrated to the U.S.
“I am incredibly humbled to see where my family has come from.” – Aric Almirola (Photo: Michael Guariglia | The Podium Finish)
“I mean, literally hundreds of miles, not hundreds but 100 miles of dirt road out in Pinar del Rio, Cuba with nothing,” he shared. “I mean, nothing nothing and to come to this country and completely start over. They gave all of their personal possessions back to the Cuban government in the sixties and started over.
“My grandparents came here with my dad and my uncle and when they arrived in Miami they got 100 bucks from the American government and a pat on the back to say good luck, and they have created a great life for themselves and for their family and that I get to reap those benefits because of what they’ve done. So, yeah, I never view it as something I’ve done. I view it way more as what they’ve done and just a lucky bystander.”
Surely, Almirola may be the luckiest man alive in the words of a Finn Brothers song. However, he’s a grounded individual, immediate to thank his family, team and supporters throughout his racing career. Although he doesn’t have numerous wins in the Cup ranks, he’s been a competitive racer in NASCAR’s top three series.
Consider his breakthrough Truck season in 2010 with two wins and a runner up points finish. There’s his home state win in the 2014 Coke Zero 400 with the famed No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports entry.
Similarly, Almriola worked diligently with his comeback after a harrowing accident at Kansas Speedway on May 13, 2017. Undeterred, relentless and courageous, he persevered through difficult times and earned the seat of the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing entry in 2018.
Undoubtedly, Almirola had his seminal season in his career with his dominant Talladega win, three additional top fives and 17 total top 10 finishes. Netting a fifth place points finish, the Floridian has secured a Playoff seed in each of his subsequent seasons with SHR.
Ahead of this season, Almirola pairs up with defending Daytona 500 winning crew chief Drew Blickensderfer. A stellar superspeedway racer, perhaps “Double A” may have the makings for a sentimental “Great American Race” win in a month.
For the time being, Almirola hopes to remembered for his character above all else. Much like anything else with this well-liked driver, it’s more than being the man driving one of the most competitive cars in NASCAR.
When all is said and done on Nov. 6, 2022, Almirola’s legacy may include being an all-around, class act on and off the track.
“I’ve just always tried to be humble and tried to be genuine.” – Almirola on his legacy (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
“Just that I’m a genuine person,” he said. “That character, and I’ve learned this from my family really, mostly, but character is really what it’s all about. Achieving success and making your way to the top by stepping on other people or trampling other people is not nearly as rewarding, I don’t think, versus making it the right way – making it on values and character and building relationships and being genuine relationships and being who you are. That is one thing that I’ve tried to do from day one.
“I’ve never tried to get ahead of myself and I’ve never tried to think that I’m better than I really am or to think that just because I make good money and I drive a race car for a living that I am above the guy cleaning the bathroom at Darlington or the journalist writing stories or any of those things. I’ve just always tried to be humble and tried to be genuine. And I think I would much rather leave that legacy than to leave any other legacy about me as a race car driver if it meant that my character wasn’t what it was.”
