The story behind Almirola’s return to Joe Gibbs Racing

Joe Gibbs Racing has announced its full NASCAR Xfinity Series lineup for 2024. One of the key pieces to the roster is veteran Aric Almirola, who moves to a part-time role and will split time in the No. 20 Toyota with John Hunter Nemechek.

Almirola most recently ran six fulltime seasons in the Cup Series in the No. 10 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing.

He racked up two wins and 19 topfive finishes while making the playoffs four times and scoring a fifth-place result in the final standings in 2018.

After competing in the Cup Series 36 races a year for more than a decade, the 39-year-old admitted to wanting a change of pace.

“I feel like I still have a lot left to give to this sport,” Almirola said. “I just needed to slow down. When you’re Cup racing, I felt like I was on the treadmill at like 15 miles per hour like as fast as it would go, and you are not allowed to stop it. Like you just had to keep running as fast as you could go, and I just got to the point where I felt my legs were going to give out and I was going to get spit off the back of the treadmill.”

The 2024 campaign marks the reunion of Almirola and JGR. Almirola made his Xfinity debut with the organization in 2006 and scored a win in 2007 at the Milwaukee Mile, a victory that came after a driver change placed Denny Hamlin behind the wheel of the No. 20.

But as Almirola was prepping to step aside from racing after 2023, team owner Joe Gibbs picked up his phone.

“It was out of nowhere,” Almirola said. “I got a call from Coach [Joe Gibbs] in early September, and he said, ‘Hey, I heard you’re going to retire,’ and I said, ‘Yes, sir, I am.’ He said, ‘Well, if you are, I’d like for you to come back to Joe Gibbs Racing and retire from here.’ I was humbled, shocked, and I was excited. I wanted to stay involved in the sport and contribute somehow, someway. I just didn’t want to do it seven days a week for however long the Cup schedule is.”

While a pairing with JGR isn’t a new venture for Almirola, taking a step back from the competitive side and leaning into mentor and collaborator roles for the organization serves as progression in Almirola’s career. He will work alongside a young lineup of Sheldon Creed and Chandler Smith – both announced Wednesday as fulltime drivers for JGR in 2024 – and a host of up-and-comers in part-time driving duty.

Despite scoring a win in the Xfinity Series last season at Sonoma Raceway, Almirola said there’s still a significant learning curve to acclimating to the Xfinity car from the Cup Series’ Next Gen platform, and that he’ll lean on his teammates “hopefully” as much as they lean on him.

While the goal is to always win, Almirola is set on living in the moment and enjoying whatever comes with being around his team and at the track.

“Of course, I’m still going to be very competitive. Every time I strap in the race car, my focus is going to be on doing whatever I need to do to go win in the race, but I am racing purely for the joy of it.”