Kim Coon chats with Aric Almirola as he announces his 2024 plans to run in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing.
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00:00 A surprise to some. I'm here with Eric Amarola. Many probably thought we'd be doing an interview
00:05 on a beach in Florida as part of your retirement, but not the case. We're actually here in the
00:10 Xfinity Series shop at Joe Gibbs Racing, and you're back with the organization that gave
00:15 you your first shot as a developmental driver. So why? And does this kind of feel like a
00:19 full circle moment? Well, first of all, why? I can't sit on a beach for more than three
00:23 days without being really antsy and bored. I feel like I still have a lot left to give
00:28 to the sport. I just needed to slow down. This is the analogy I give to so many people.
00:33 I felt like I was on the treadmill at like 15 miles an hour, like as fast as it would
00:37 go, and you were not allowed to stop it. Like you just had to keep running as fast as you
00:42 could go. And I just got to the point to where I felt like my legs were going to give out
00:47 and I was going to get spit off the back of the treadmill. So I needed to slow down. My
00:51 life needed to slow down, especially with my kids being 11 and 10 years old. Out of
00:56 nowhere, I got a phone call from coach in like September, early September, and he said,
01:01 "Hey, I heard you're going to retire." I said, "Yes, sir, I am." He said, "Well, if you are,
01:04 I'd like for you to come back to Joe Gibbs Racing and retire from here." And I was humbled.
01:10 I was shocked and I was excited. I wanted to stay involved in the sport. I have 20 years
01:16 invested in this sport. I have a lot of relationships that I've built over those 20 years, and I
01:22 wanted to stay and contribute somehow, some way. So here I am talking to you.
01:26 Yeah. Yeah. You mentioned being humbled. When you left JGR over 15 years ago, would you
01:31 ever have imagined an opportunity here again would present itself?
01:36 Yes, I really did. And I don't know why, but I always thought that there may be an opportunity
01:42 to come back. The day that I walked out of JD's office, JD told me, he said, "You'll be
01:49 back." When I left, I left and I really felt weird about leaving because for me, I had
01:58 only ever raced for my family and Joe Gibbs Racing. And so I was launching out as now
02:04 an adult because I was still a kid. You were leaving the nest.
02:06 Right. I was leaving the nest. I was still a kid when I got here, and JD treated me that
02:11 way. JD treated me like a kid. He treated me like one of his own and coach as well.
02:16 And so when I left to go share that car with Mark Martin, I was like, "Oh man, this feels
02:22 risky and it feels uncomfortable." And fortunately for me, I've been incredibly blessed to have
02:28 the career that I had after leaving here. It could have easily went the wrong way and
02:33 I could have been spit out of the sport, but I didn't. I was able to make it and I feel
02:38 incredibly fortunate and blessed to do that. But now to have the opportunity to come full
02:43 circle and come back home to where it all started for me and to be able to give back
02:48 to the Gibbs family and everybody here at Joe Gibbs Racing, that's what I'm most excited
02:52 about because I feel like when I was a kid, I did a lot of taking. I was like, "Feed me
02:57 with opportunity. Feed me with growing my career." And now I've done that. I've made
03:03 my career and I'm really thankful for that. And so now I have the opportunity to come
03:09 back and give back to the place that gave me my start.
03:12 You said you have a lot left to contribute to the sport of NASCAR, but do you have anything
03:16 left to prove?
03:17 No. No. I mean, for me, I think, would I have loved to have accomplished more? Absolutely.
03:25 Every competitive person would. There's always something to go and chase. And at this point
03:31 in my life, I've spent the last 40 years, I'm 39, almost 40, so I spent the last 39
03:38 years worrying about Eric. And I am really excited about transitioning into serving others.
03:45 I'm excited about this opportunity, not only to race, but to help everybody here on the
03:50 Xfinity side, to be a part of something bigger than just me.
03:54 Okay. So bigger than just you, this is not just a driving role. It is very much a mentor
04:00 role. What makes you well-suited to help guide this brigade of very young stars in the Xfinity
04:06 series at JGR?
04:07 Because I've made all those mistakes. Not everybody learns from being told. I certainly
04:13 didn't. Sometimes you have to experience things yourself and learn the hard way.
04:17 When you were 19, 20, 22, 25, some of the ages of the younger guys in the Xfinity series
04:23 at Joe Gibbs Racing, who was your mentor? And are there lessons that you can kind of
04:27 cherry pick and carry over as you become the mentor?
04:32 Yeah. So mine was not an advisable mentor. Mine was Tony Stewart. When I showed up here
04:38 at 19, 20, 21 years old, I looked up to Tony, right? Like he was the man. And when I met
04:46 him, it was instant that we built a relationship and he kind of took me under his wing. And
04:53 I learned from him. I did. I learned a lot of what not to do from observing.
04:57 I was going to say, you probably have some very good stories from that time.
04:59 I do. I have a lot of stories. Some I can't share, but I do. I have a lot of great stories
05:03 and a lot of great memories.
05:04 So you're going to be imparting a lot of this wisdom on these younger drivers, but you're
05:07 also going to be behind the wheel. You're sharing what we'll call the all-star car with
05:11 John Hunter Niemicek. What can the two of you learn from each other? And are you in
05:15 a position in your career where you still are learning?
05:18 I think as a competitor, you never quit learning. I really don't. I mean, everything evolves.
05:24 And that's the one thing in life I've learned over time is that the one constant in life
05:30 is change. I've never been with Joe Gibbs Racing when they were with Toyota. And so
05:35 I've got a lot to learn on that. There's a lot to get up to speed. These Xfinity cars
05:39 are so different from what I've ran the last few years in Cup with the next-gen car. So
05:44 getting back acclimated to that and figuring that out is going to be a learning curve.
05:49 Winning is fun and winning championships is even more fun. And you have the opportunity
05:53 with John Hunter to get an owner's championship. Is that a goal or is that something you're
05:57 even thinking about for this season?
05:58 Yes. That was one of the very first topics of conversation when I sat down and met with
06:03 Coach and Steve D'Souza and everybody here at Joe Gibbs Racing was, if we're going to
06:07 do this, we're going to do it to win. And to put a car together with me and John Hunter,
06:12 the goal would certainly be to go win an owner's championship. And so that is certainly a priority.
06:18 Well, Eric, have fun this season and good luck. You're going to have your hands full
06:21 both driving and mentoring these young guys.
06:23 Yeah, I'm looking forward to it.