Aric Almirola plans on being Josh Berry's teammate next year but will 'wait and see'
With Josh Berry joining Stewart-Haas Racing next year, folks are wondering if Aric Almirola will be around in 2024. Well, the NASCAR veteran appears to be heading in that direction. However, nothing is final right now. Still, Almirola is open to coming back for another year.
The last time Aric Almirola found himself in Victory Lane was back in 2021 at Loudon. Since then, Almirola has been on quite the drought. There were those that thought he would step away from the Cup Series after last season. He stuck it out.
So, the same question has come up once again. What is Almirola going to do at the end of the season? Will he be Josh Berry’s teammate?
“The plan would say yes, so we’ll still wait and see,” Almirola said to the media, via Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports. “Honestly I don’t know. Seriously. At this time last year, I felt like I had a pretty good idea of where things are headed and honestly right now I’m just taking it day by day. I know I had an awesome off-week. The season is such a grind. Just plugging away and doing business as usual. Really enjoyed our week off and looking to turn our season around.
“A couple of years ago this was the place that we did it. We came to Nashville qualified on the pole, ran in the top-5, went to Loudon a couple of weeks later, won got our way into the playoffs. So this year feels similar the first half of the year to that season and hopefully, we can change it here starting in the second half of the season.”
This is a decision that many have their eyes on. Aric Almirola could really change the free agency situation this offseason if he does decide to join his teammate Kevin Harvick in retirement.
Can Aric Almirola turn things around?
There have been small flashes for Aric Almirola this season. He could be a race winner if he just puts together the right run on the right track. Last season by this time in the year, Almirola had two top-5s and three top-10s as well as a few top-15 finishes as well. This season, jus a single top-10 and just two top-15s.
That is not going to get the veteran Ford driver in the playoffs if he keeps the same pace. He sits 26th in the standings, just 13 points ahead of Chase Elliott who missed multiple weeks of the season.
However, seeing drivers like Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Blaney break their winless streaks might give Almirola some confidence that he can turn things around. While you could argue Almirola isn’t the same level of driver as those other two, it is something worth considering.
Aric Almirola is starting P21 and will have to work his way through the field if he wants a top-5 finish in Nashville. Ross Chastain will lead the field from the pole.