Aric Almirola pushed back his retirement in 2022 by inking an extension with Stewart-Haas Racing and Smithfield. Nearly one year later, he has addressed his fluid NASCAR future.
Almirola provided some comments about his situation during his pre-Sonoma media availability. He explained that he doesn’t have a timeline to decide whether he will return in 2024. For now, he can only focus on some specific things that are important to him.
“The plan is fluid. For me, it’s still about making sure that I’m having fun and enjoying driving the race car and making sure that I can be a husband and a father and all those things, and not sacrifice that,” Almirola said. “I love what I do. I love my job.
“I love my career, but at the end of the day chasing a little bit more money and more trophies and those things is not what it’s about for me. So as much as I love my job and all those things, I want to make sure that I’m doing the right thing by my family as well. So those are conversations that I’ll continue to have internally here, and I’ll let you guys know when you guys need to know.”
Almirola’s 2022 Season Featured 2 Major Press Conferences
GettyAric Almirola waves to fans at Dover Motor Speedway.
The reason for the questions about the future is that Almirola had a unique 2022 season. He kicked off the year by announcing his retirement with a YouTube video, and then he provided more details about his decision during a press conference at Daytona International Speedway.
There were rumors throughout the regular season that Almirola may not actually retire after the 2022 season finale. Though the veteran driver did not provide any further details until the regular-season finale.
Almirola, Smithfield, and Stewart-Haas Racing held a press conference at Daytona International Speedway on August 26, 2022. They announced that Almirola had stepped back from his plan to retire and signed an extension.
The interesting part about the press conference is that Almirola and SHR noted that this was a multi-year extension covering 2024 as well as 2023. Granted, Almirola also indicated that he could still walk away after one more year in the No. 10 Ford Mustang.
Almirola Has Work Ahead of Him Before This Announcement
GettyAric Almirola practices at Sonoma Raceway.
The driver of the No. 10 Ford has not made a public decision about his future, and there is plenty of time remaining considering that he has only completed 15 of the 36 Cup Series races.
Almirola will continue to focus on the future, but he will also try to make major strides ahead of the playoffs. He is currently 25th in points with 11 races remaining in the regular season, and he is moving closer to “must-win” territory.
Next up on the schedule is Sonoma Raceway, a track where Almirola has made 10 Cup Series starts with two top-10 finishes. He acknowledges that he isn’t the strongest road course racer in the field, but he has an appreciation for the California track and how drivers approach it.
“I can grade myself first and say that I am average at best as a road racer at most road courses,” Almirola said. “At Sonoma, I’m a B-plus. I would say Sonoma is hands down my best road course and I feel like that’s because it’s not really one of those racetracks that you can attack because the surface and the way that the tires wear out.
“It’s more of a rhythm racetrack and it’s kind of flowy and you can’t really attack the racetrack or you’ll abuse your tires and really pay a huge penalty after five, six laps on tires.”
If Almirola can deliver another top-10 finish at Sonoma Raceway, he can lock up some crucial points. He can also head into the off-week with some optimism about his playoff prospects.
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Aric Almirola Addresses ‘Fluid’ NASCAR Future