Three years ago, Aric Almirola was getting ready for a full season of late model stock car racing at Ace Speedway in Altamahaw, N.C. After scoring two wins, six top-fives and 15 top-10s in 2004, Almirola began climbing the NASCAR ladder. The Tampa, Fla., native of Cuban descent traversed the Southeast in 2005 competing in regional late model races, and by the end of the year, was running a limited schedule in the Craftsman Truck Series. Two top-10 finishes in four Truck Series starts led to a full-time Truck Series ride and a nine-race Busch Series schedule in 2006. The promise Almirola showed in 2004 continued in 2006, which led JGR officials to give him a slate of 18 Busch Series races and four Nextel Cup races in 2007. That first Nextel Cup race comes at Las Vegas, where Almirola will attempt to qualify the #80 Joe Gibbs Driven Chevy.(Joe Gibbs Racing PR)(3-1-2007)
