Things are happening fast for 22-year-old Aric Almirola.
Two weeks ago, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver won the pole for the season-opening NASCAR Busch Series race at Daytona International Speedway.
Now, he’s getting ready to try to make the field for his first Nextel Cup race this week in Las Vegas.
And Almirola doesn’t even have a full-time ride yet.
The driver from Tampa, Fla., is a product of the driver development program put together several years ago by Joe Gibbs Racing and the late pro football star Reggie White.
In 2007, the team plan is for Almirola to run 18 Busch races and four Cup races.
Almirola is somewhat amazed with the way things are going for him now.
“Definitely, I’m surprised,” said Almirola, whose family came to the United States from Cuba. “Three years ago, I was racing late models. To all of a sudden be making my first Cup start with only 10 Busch Series races under my belt, it’s pretty fast.
“Everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing obviously believes in me or else they wouldn’t be putting me in this situation. That definitely gives me a lot of confidence, and it’s a good feeling to know that everybody supports me 100 percent.”
Almirola was introduced to racing by his grandfather, Sam Rodriguez. Almirola knew right away that he wanted to be more than just a spectator and began racing go-karts when he was 8.
Now he’s ready for a shot at the top – Nextel Cup.
“It’ll definitely be exciting trying to qualify for my first-ever Cup race, but it’ll definitely be disappointing if we don’t make it,” said Almirola, who will be among a group of 15 or 16 drivers vying for eight open spots in the 43-car field.
“Everybody’s going there with the intention of making the race, and I don’t think we should expect any less.”
Almirola has gotten a taste of the reconfigured 1.5-mile Las Vegas oval, testing both a Cup and Busch car there over the winter, so he expects to have a chance at winning a spot in Sunday’s UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400.
“Yes, I got quite a bit of track time in both,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to going back to Las Vegas for the race. There’s no telling how much track time we’ll get when we go back, just because of how long the tech inspection procedures will be.
“I think we have a really good team and we have really good equipment, so I don’t think there’s any doubt in anybody’s mind that we have as good of a chance as anybody else to make the race.
“I think practice is going to be very critical for us, and if we get all the things in that we want to get in before qualifying, I think we’ll be OK.”
The Chevrolet he will drive in Las Vegas is a good one. Teammate Denny Hamlin, last year’s top Cup rookie, has driven it to three top-10 finishes in five starts.
NASCAR
NEXTEL CUP/NEXT
Sunday
What: UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400
Where: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
When: 2 p.m. MDT
TV: FOX
Track: 1.5 miles, D-shaped oval; banking 20-degree turns, 9-degree frontstretch and backstretch; seating 142,000.
Last year: Winner, Jimmie Johnson
Race record: Mark Martin, 146.554 mph, 1998
