UPDATE 8-15-2022: On January 12, Almirola announced he would step away from full-time Cup competition at the end of the year. But over the last six weeks, his resolve toward retirement has softened. What would it take to get Almirola to return in 2023?
“I don’t know, we’re still talking about it,” Almirola said. “There’s a lot of factors. There’s a lot of moving parts. There’s a lot of people involved in the decision-making process. I’m one small part of it, so I’ve been listening, and I’ve been a part of the discussions–and we’ll see.”
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On January 12, Almirola announced he would step away from full-time Cup competition at the end of the year. But over the last six weeks, his resolve toward retirement has softened. What would it take to get Almirola to return in 2023?
“I don’t know, we’re still talking about it,” Almirola said. “There’s a lot of factors. There’s a lot of moving parts. There’s a lot of people involved in the decision-making process. I’m one small part of it, so I’ve been listening, and I’ve been a part of the discussions–and we’ll see.”
— Racin Boys —
UPDATE 7-16-2022: Saturday at New Hampshire, Aric Almirola was asked about rumors that he could return next season:
THERE IS STILL A LOT OF CHATTER ABOUT YOU POTENTIALLY RECONSIDERING YOUR RETIREMENT. HAVE YOU THOUGHT ANY MORE ABOUT THAT? “It is humbling to have people keep questioning me about it. I have given it thought but I don’t have anything new to say really as of right now. I think for us and for our race team, my focus is to get through these next few weeks and try to win a race to get our way into the playoffs. I would like to do that here this weekend like we did last year. As far as anything that goes past this year, I don’t have anything new to say than what I have said previously.”
— Ford Performance —
ORIGINAL POST 7-15-2022: [Aric Almirola] has said this will be his last full-time season, but he wouldn’t rule out running select races in future years. With SHR not yet having replaced him and no driver seeming to have emerged as a leading candidate to do so, there has been chatter about whether Almirola would consider returning for one more full-time season, especially if his longtime sponsor, Smithfield, decides to return to the organization.
“I haven’t really put a whole lot of thought into it,” Almirola said July 2 at Road America when asked about reconsidering his retirement decision. “I really am focused on this year, and I really embrace this year.
“It has been an enjoyable year. It has been fun. … We’ve run good. We haven’t run exceptional, but we’ve run good, and we’re in the hunt, like we always are, to make the playoffs. From my standpoint, I’m focused on this year.”
— Fox Sports —
Aric Almirola announced prior to the season that 2022 would be his last full-time year. With SHR not having named a replacement yet, has he considered reversing his decision and returning? Almirola on whether he’d reconsider: “I haven’t really put a whole lot of thought into it.” pic.twitter.com/URMa0hTkT1
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 2, 2022