NASCAR Cup Series Driver Aric Almirola Announces Retirement

By Gary Gastelu |

Oct 28, 2023

Aric Almirola is retiring from the NASCAR Cup Series … for a second time.

The Stewart-Haas Racing driver announced last season that it would be his last, but changed his mind and decided to come back for 2023.

He now says he will step away from full-time driving after the NASCAR championship race in Phoenix.

“After much prayer, consideration and conversations with my family., I’m ready for the next adventure,” he said in a statement posted to social media.

pic.twitter.com/0dthL7jI2h
— Aric Almirola (@Aric_Almirola) October 28, 2023

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Unless he wins at Martinsville this weekend or pulls an upset at the final, Almirola will finish with three victories across a 455-race Cup Series career spanning 16 seasons, including the past 12 as a full-time driver.

His most recent win came at New Hampshire in 2021, but the other two were big ones.

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He took the checkered flag at the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona in 2014 and the fall race at Talladega in 2018.

One of his highlights this season was a win at Sonoma Raceway in his solo Xfinity Series outing.

Aric Almirola reflects on his six years at Stewart-Haas Racing. As far as his next move, he didnâ€™t rule out racing part-time. pic.twitter.com/7lOVOT0Fzd
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) October 28, 2023

Almirola told reporters at Martinsville that he’s looking forward to having weekends off, but might do some late model racing and a few events in the NASCAR national series if the opportunities present themselves.

Almirola’s Stewart-Haas teammate Kevin Harvick is also retiring at the end of this season. Harvick’s No. 4 car will be driven by current Xfinity Series driver Josh Berry.

Stewart-Haas hasn’t named Almirola’s successor, but rumor has it that Noah Gragson is up for the seat.

Gragson drove for Legacy Motor Club this year, but left the team after he was suspended by NASCAR in August for liking a racially insensitive social media post.

NASCAR Cup Series Driver Aric Almirola Announces Retirement

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