Two NASCAR veterans’ ties go from the finish line to the school car line

DOVER, Del. — While Aric Almirola and Justin Allgaier came up in a generation that saw many prospects fail in their quest for a long-lasting NASCAR career, they have succeeded in reaping the rare fruits of their labor.

To appreciate those fruits, it’s important to understand the soil its seeds were delicately sown in.

Since the dawn of the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 1982, NASCAR Cup Series drivers have always raced in the series. In fact, the practice of Cup drivers racing in the NASCAR Busch Series became known as “Buschwhacking.”

Companies took advantage of Buschwhacking to partner with Cup Series stars without having to pay the premium of a Cup sponsorship deal at the height of NASCAR’s popularity. That included big consumer brands like Arby’s, Holiday Inn and Dish Network — and lesser-known brands with deep pockets like Rockwell Automation.

At the height of Buschwhacking, from 2006 to 2010, Cup drivers won every Xfinity championship and 157 of the 175 races run in that time.

The absolute peak of Buschwhacking wasn’t one of those 157 wins. It was one of those 18 non-Cup wins that has a massive asterisk next to it.

In June 2007, Aric Almirola won the pole at The Milwaukee Mile while Denny Hamlin was practicing and qualifying his Cup car at Sonoma Raceway in California. When Hamlin was late, Almirola started the race, giving him credit for the points and finishing position he would earned that night — not Hamlin.

Early on, Almirola led laps and looked strong. Yet, when Hamlin arrived, Joe Gibbs Racing had to relent to Rockwell Automation’s request to put Hamlin in the car.

Hamlin ultimately drove the car to Almirola’s first credited Xfinity win.

Heading into 2008, Almirola left JGR — and so did Rockwell Automation.

Eight became a magic number for Almirola and Allgaier. Both drivers started behind eight NASCAR Cup Series drivers in their NASCAR Xfinity Series debut, while Almirola started ahead of eight of them in his debut.

Eight also became Almirola’s number in 2008 — a year where he and Allgaier both made waves in the sport.

Almirola jumped up to the NASCAR Cup Series to split Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s old No. 8 Chevrolet with Mark Martin. In his first of 12 starts, at Bristol Motor Speedway, Almirola finished eighth.

Then, in October, Allgaier made his Xfinity debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He backed that up a few weeks later with a solid 11th-place finish in a stacked Buschwhacking-heavy field at Phoenix Raceway.

Like Almirola in the Cup Series, Allgaier did well enough with limited starts in his series to upgrade his ride to full-time in 2009.

Unfortunately for Almirola, funding issues dropped him back to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2010.

Yet, 2010 became the most successful year for both drivers.

In March 2010 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Allgaier scored a rare win for an Xfinity regular. Meanwhile, in Trucks, Almirola earned two wins, 11 Top-5 finishes, 21 Top-10s and a runner-up points finish.

Almirola was also on standby for Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson and ran the final five NASCAR Cup Series races for Richard Petty Motorsports after Kasey Kahne left the team. Almirola netted a fourth-place finish in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

All of that allowed Almirola to join Allgaier in the Xfinity Series in 2011. The next two years proved to be even better for them.

In 2011, Allgaier picked up sponsor Brandt when he moved to Turner-Scott Motorsports in the Xfinity Series. In 2012, Almirola landed sponsor Smithfield upon bagging a Cup ride with Richard Petty Motorsports.

Brandt has stuck with Allgaier through two Xfinity stints, from 2011 to 2013 and 2016 to now. To date, Allgaier sits ninth on the all-time Xfinity wins list with 28 wins. With four more wins, Allgaier will pass Jack Ingram, who is currently highest on the wins list of all drivers who shaped their legacy in the series.

Meanwhile, Smithfield sponsored Almirola until he hung up his Cup helmet in 2023 with three wins and five playoff appearances.

With his Cup days appearing to be over again, Almirola stepped back to the Xfinity Series. There, he found success – and Allgaier.

“When he decided what he was going to do for kind of the next chapter of his career, we talked a lot,” Allgaier said. “I told him, I said, ‘listen, man, you’re gonna have more fun than you’ve ever had your entire life.'”

Almirola won three times in 2024 while Allgaier finally won the championship.

Once young guns struggling to find their place in NASCAR, Almirola and Allgaier became veterans battling young guns to find their place in the sport.

Often, the veterans battle each other.

At Phoenix Raceway in March 2025, Allgaier and Almirola combined to led 151 of the 200 laps run. Allgaier led most of those laps – 130 – but had to pass Almirola and fend him off throughout the race. Ultimately, Almirola won in overtime.

“It’s hard to be happy for somebody else but on the other side of it and when you have somebody that’s a friend, it’s really easy to root for them. You know, if you can’t win it, you hope that it’s somebody that you respect,” Allgaier said about Almirola after Phoenix.

A week later at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the two drivers combined to lead 153 of 200 laps. Again, Allgaier led most of those laps – 102 – but he redeemed himself in a fierce battle for the win and 1-2 finish with Almirola in second.

When they get back home, it’s all about family for Almirola and Allgaier. They each have a wife and two children. Their families have hung out before and even participated in Bible study groups together.

“Over the years, I feel like we’ve actually grown to have a great friendship,” Almirola said. “I think the world of their family. They have similar values to Janice and I, and the way we raise our kids. And Justin’s a great husband and a great dad.

“We’re competitive on the racetrack, absolutely. But you know we smile and wave at carpool line too.”

With the freedom to essentially race whenever, wherever, with nothing stopping them from the finish line or the carpool line, they have become the old guys who rule the roost.

“It’s okay, I know I’m old,” they both said when asked about each other (Editor’s note: TRE prefaced that we didn’t want to call them old… instead they did it for us.)

While the likes of Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick have stepped away from full-time racing after coming up in a young gun-friendly era of NASCAR, Almirola and Allgaier have emerged as survivors of a lost generation — now carrying a torch that burns bright with wisdom and speed straight from the driver’s seat.

Someday, Allgaier and Almirola will step away — but they’ll have stories to share beyond the final checkered flags in the air.