Disappointment, frustration and anger have given way to acceptance, understanding and even a little bit of humor for Aric Almirola in the days since his hollow first victory in the Busch Series. The 22-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing development driver started the AT&T 250 Saturday night at the Milwaukee Mile, only to be yanked after 59 laps once Nextel Cup regular Denny Hamlin arrived. “When he first asked me to get out, my first response was, ‘Are you kidding?’ ” Almirola said. “That’s when he got pretty emotional, and he was like, ‘No, man, I wish I was kidding you, but I’m not.’ ” Almirola spoke briefly with Rogers, and the team and said he was not upset with them but with the “crappy situation.” He then left the track to avoid doing or saying something he would regret. “I feel like I was a part of it [the win], but by no way, shape or form do I feel like that was my first victory,” Almirola said. “I feel like my first victory is still to come, and I’ll get that, and I’ll actually be in the car when it crosses the start-finish line.”(Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)(6-28-2007)
