“I think there’s still a lot of question marks and not a lot of answers yet.” Aric Almirola is unsure about who might replace him as SHR No:10
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Aric Almirola
As every season progresses in NASCAR, many teams extend or make new contracts with existing drivers in their teams or add/remove drivers based on what’s best for both. One such case right now is Aric Almirola who drives the No.10 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing as a full-time competitor and he has announced his full-time Cup Series driver retirement with this marking his last season.
He had announced his retirement well before the start of the 2022 season and his team Stewart-Haas racing has been looking for racers who can take on his spot but has not found any luck with that so far. Days before Almirola’s retirement revelations, team SHR struck a deal with Ryan Preece and since has him driving part-time in all three NASCAR National Series, the Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Camping World Truck Series. He currently takes part in all his races under the organization Kevin Harvick Incorporated.
So, obviously, Kevin Harvick is optimistic about striking a deal with Ryan Preece under SHR but the team’s President, Brett Frood, and co-owner, Tony Stewart seemingly have other plans with Aric Almirola to decide who his successor might be, though this doesn’t mean any beef between the organization and Harvick, everyone is just considering all available options. Ryan Preece, the 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Champion, ran in all three Cup, Xfinity, and Truck Series races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
“I am involved in all those conversations,” says Aric Almirola he and the team organization figure out their options
Aric Almirola said that he is in frequent discussions with SHR President, Brett Frood, co-owner, Tony Stewart, and race director Greg Zipadelli on discussing their next moves and the possible outcomes of those and said that he is actively participating in all the discussions and working with the team but they still have a lot of questions unanswered, unfortunately.
“I am involved and I think talking with Brett and Tony and Zippy and all the guys at SHR about what that looks like, and what it looks like for them and whether or not they’re going to continue or what their decision-making is going to look like going forward, So, I am involved in all those conversations, and I think there’s still a lot of question marks and not a lot of answers yet,” said Aric Almirola.
Kevin Harvick also shared his thoughts about involving Ryan Preece and he said that Ryan is definitely a beyond-capable driver of figuring out certain stuff on his own and is a fan of his independency he also said that teams are on a lookout for such kinds of drivers and that’s exactly what they want, he also likes to work along with the racer and believes that with a right opportunity he can do wonders and that’s worth it.
“I think for me, I’ve kind of seen Ryan and seen how he operates, and he’s just a hard-nosed racer and can put everything together himself and do everything himself, you want somebody who knows it all, and he’s just a fun kid to be around and works hard and can race. He just needs the right opportunity. I think any opportunity would be, you know, an opportunity worth talking about for sure,” said Kevin Harvick.
With Stewart Haas Racing still unsure about the future of No.10, will Aric Almirola consider extending his contract, or will help find a new driver for the team?
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