By Joe Menzer, NASCAR.COM
July 13, 2010

Once considered one of the most promising up-and-coming drivers on the Sprint Cup circuit, Aric Almirola is quietly rebuilding his career after a series of setbacks not of his own doing.

He's currently driving the No. 51 Toyota for Billy Ballew Motorsports in the Truck Series. With two wins, three top-five and seven top-10 finishes in the first nine races of the season, he sits second in the series point standings heading into this Friday's Camping World 200 at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill.

Almirola talked with NASCAR.COM about his resurgence as a driver, and also about recently serving as a stand-by relief driver for four-time defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson as Johnson awaited the birth of his first child.

Q: Can you talk about how much fun you're having this year, having won two races in the Truck Series?

Almirola: First of all, I don't care what I'm racing as long as I'm winning races and competitive. That's what I'm enjoying so much about this year. We're running good -- and anytime you're running good, you're having fun. Nobody likes to lose. It's been a great year so far. We've run really well just about every week.

Q: You won your first race this year at Dover when Kyle Busch ran out of gas and you inherited the lead. How important was your second win at Michigan, when you went three-wide and battled Busch and Todd Bodine, the series point leader, for the lead down the stretch?

Almirola: At Dover, a lot of people could have said whatever they wanted to say -- because of Kyle running out of gas and a lot of other people running into problems. Other guys had tire issues or fuel issues or whatever.

To go to Michigan and race those guys head-to-head, straight up, and to beat 'em, man, there was no better feeling. It made me confident to where nobody could doubt what we did that day. That was big for me, to go there and win at Michigan and race with those guys at the end for it.

Q: After nine races, you're second in points -- only 55 behind Bodine. Do you feel like you've got what it takes to contend for this series championship?

Almirola: Yeah, I feel like we do. I feel like we're definitely a championship-contending team. I feel like we've got the right people and the right tools and everything in the right place. It's just a matter of capitalizing on every possible thing we can, and trying not to have any major catastrophes.

We had a little bit of one last weekend at Iowa, when we blew a right front [tire] and killed the truck -- which was pretty heartbreaking. But it's a long season and there are a lot more races to go, and a lot can happen. So we've just got to keep our head up and keep doing the things that we know how to do, and do them well. At the end of the year, when it comes down to Homestead, we'll know if we're racing for the championship or not. We've just got to go in with the mindset every week that we want to go out and win the race.

Q: Could you talk about the experience of serving as Johnson's standby substitute as driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet in the Cup Series? [Almirola was on red alert as Johnson's wife, Chandra, entered the final weeks of her recent pregnancy.]

Almirola: It was an unbelievable experience. It was so much more than anything I expected going into it. I tried obviously not to let me believe too much going into it that I was going to get in the car [for an actual race] -- because I felt like the chances of that happening were actually quite slim. Nonetheless, I got the chance to go and be with the team, hang out with the guys and go to their shop and just be around. That experience alone was an unbelievable experience where I learned a lot.

I felt like [crew chief] Chad [Knaus] and all of the guys on the crew were really good to me. They were super nice. It was a great experience for me, and a huge honor. ... For them to pick me out of all the people they could have picked meant a lot to me, and I was very grateful for that.

Q: How did it all come about?

Almirola: I was in Charlotte on All-Star weekend with our truck program, our truck team. I was walking to the truck garage and I walked right past Chad, and Chad was like, 'Hey come by the 48 hauler later. I need to talk to you.'

I went to the 48 hauler later that day to talk to 'em. They told me, obviously, that Chani was pregnant and that they needed somebody to stand by -- and they wanted to know if I was interested. I didn't just say, 'Yeah.' I was like, 'Man, that's a silly question; of course, I'm interested.' Chad was like, 'OK, now that I know you're interested, let me run it by some people I need to run it by and I'll get back with you.' A couple days later he called me up and said, 'Come by the shop and we'll get you all fitted up in the seat.' Everybody he needed to talk to at Hendrick Motorsports, Jimmie included, sat down and talked about it and figured out I was the best man for the job. That in itself, just to be associated with Hendrick Motorsports and have them consider me, to feel like I was the right guy to get into the car in case Jimmie had to get out, was an honor.

Q: After all you had been through -- seemingly in great position for a future with such teams as Joe Gibbs Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc., and having that all go away before you really got a fair chance -- did that and the success you're now having in the Truck Series sort of make you feel like your career has been revitalized?

Almirola: I never really gave up on what I believed in. I feel like every day and every time I get in a race car, and every race that I race, I become a little bit better of a race-car driver. And so, for me, it was very heartbreaking to go through the things that I went through earlier in my career. To bounce back -- for Billy Ballew to give me an opportunity to race this truck when I didn't have anything else lined up -- it was important for me to show that I could still drive and be competitive and be successful. It means a lot to me, but I had never really given up on the idea that I wanted to race. That's all I've ever wanted to do and that's all I've ever really cared about doing. To be very frank about it, I don't really know how to do anything else.

So I never gave up on my hopes and my dreams. But certainly, going out and being competitive and doing the things that we're doing this year, it proves that if I get that opportunity [to run Cup] again ... I feel like I've worked for it and I've really earned it. I won't feel like anybody handed it to me. I've worked really, really hard for it.

Q: You did get in the 48 car for some practice laps, right?

Almirola: I got into it at Loudon and I got into it at Daytona ... for maybe 15 or 20 laps [total].

Q: What was that like, because you were kind of treading on hallowed ground sitting in the driver's seat of that car?

Almirola: Chad and Jimmie -- well, a lot of people -- told me that nobody else has ever driven the 48 car, on a race weekend or ever. So it was an invaluable experience. I can't even begin to describe what it was like. It was everything I had dreamed about and more. Their cars are really fast and they have great equipment and [their success stems] all the way from Jimmie driving it to Chad being the crew chief to every single person that works on that 48 team being really, really good at what they do.

Just sitting in that car, you're really, really confident. I mean, they've won the last four championships. ... They have everything right, so all I had to do was go out there and drive it. That was a lot of fun for me.

Q: Were you nervous?

Almirola: Of course I was nervous. I told everybody that my main concern was not to go out and do anything stupid and end up on SportsCenter. I didn't want to end up on SportsCenter as the guy who wrecked Jimmie Johnson's car. ...

Q: Did Jimmie and Chandra ask you for any advice on baby names?

Almirola: No, no, they didn't ask for my opinion. Which is good. I don't even think about babies. I'm scared to death even just thinking about having my own, so baby names is far, far from my mind.

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