Aric Almirola earns Top-5 in NASCAR Xfinity Series return
In his first start of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, Aric Almirola drove the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Supra to a third-place finish in the Bennett Transportation and Logistics 250 Saturday.
Almirola, who started 16th at Atlanta Motor Speedway, raced side-by-side with eventual race winner Austin Hill for the lead coming to the white flag with Hill prevailing on the outside lane and passing the JGR for the last lead change of the race.
“You can’t do anything but tip your cap to RCR (Richard Childress Racing) and their superspeedway program,” Almirola said. “They are the cars to beat when you come to these places. Austin (Hill) does a great job. Their cars are incredibly fast. I thought we were going to win the chess game.”
Almirola, 40, said he thought his last race was Phoenix in November 2024, racing a 14-race schedule that produced three victories with JGR.
His sponsorship from Young Life, “a global, Christ-centered ministry” focused on helping youth grow in faith, “was made possible through a generous donation.”
Almirola raced full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2012 to 2023, earning three wins and five playoff appearances before returning to JGR in the Xfinity Series last year.
Almirola picked up 2024 wins at both Martinsville races and Kansas.
In total, Almirola is a seven-time winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. His next race has not been announced at the time of publication.
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Dominic Aragon View All
Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.
From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book "All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story" with racer Geoff Bodine.
Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.
You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.