This isn’t retirement for Aric Almirola.
In a perfect world, the 39-year-old just wants to scale back and race part-time and across a variety of different divisions, ranging from Super Late Models to the NASCAR Cup Series. Almirola has known for several months that he wouldn’t be full-time but it was just a matter of trying to get everything put together.
For one, it sounds like Stewart-Haas Racing is close to finalizing its plans for next season so Almirola needed to make his announcement before the team made theirs.
“There were a lot of factors and a lot of key players, so it’s not just about me,” Almirola said in the media center on Saturday at Martinsville Speedway. “It’s about making sure that we did it the right way and tried to do the best thing for all of our partners, make sure we do the best thing for the organization. So it wasn’t just about me.
“If it was just about me I think I would have made the announcement a lot earlier just to make it to where you guys didn’t have to ask me every week. There are a lot of factors and a lot of things that happened behind closed doors that you just have to work through.”
Almirola has been linked to several Xfinity Series teams but he’s also made it clear that he just doesn’t want to race 38 weeks a year anymore.
“I’d like to not quit cold turkey,” Almirola said. “I think there are some opportunities but it’s hard. It’s challenging to figure out things that make sense for race teams to do a part time deal. Most teams want someone to run full-time and race for a championship, so we’ll see if we can get it worked out.
“I’d love to still scratch the itch, but just don’t want to do it like I’ve been doing it for the last 12 years, where it’s 38 weeks and it’s a grind. I’m not complaining because I’ve loved it and I signed up for it. For me, as I look toward the future and what my life looks like, I would like to find a better work-life balance than what I have currently.”
He intended to retire at the end of the 2022 season but came back for 2023 for numerous reasons — his relationship with Smithfield Foods, Stewart-Haas Racing and that his family genuinely enjoys their life on the road.
Almirola says his 12-year-old son, Alex, especially still wants to be at the track. That plays into his part-time racing ambitions too.
“He likes going on the trips and he just likes the lifestyle, and plus he has a lot of friends,” Almirola said. “We have a close group of friends that we travel with and on the circuit and he’s got a bunch of the other driver’s kids that he hangs out with at (Motor Racing Outreach) so he thinks that when we don’t race anymore that he’s not going to get to see those kids, but that’s not true.
“We’ll still see them. We’ll still be around. We’ll still be involved in the industry, so I think he’s just sad about the potential of losing a friend group and not being able to travel and go a day early to go see baseball stadiums and games and other places. He thinks that once we decide to not race anymore full-time that it’s just going to end completely and he’s going be stuck at home with mom and sister.”
But truthfully, Almirola still wants to be on the road and part of the racing community and hopes to be in a variety of cars and trucks where he can be competitive too.
“I’m excited just about having some weekends off, so go back to doing some Late Model racing like I used to do when I was a kid,” Almirola said. “If there’s an opportunity to run a handful of Truck (Series) races here and there or something like that, or run some Xfinity races, I think the door is open.
“I’ve had a lot of just amazing conversations over the last four to six months about different opportunities, so I want to stay involved in the industry. I love this industry. I love the people in the industry. This industry has afforded me and my family a wonderful life and I don’t want to just walk away from it.”
He had planned to do just that after the end of last season. But his son, his family and his religious convictions all led him back to NASCAR, so he still intends to be involved.
Thus, Almirola has no regrets about coming back this season, even amidst a campaign that hasn’t gone well at all. There has been just four top-10s and he is a career worst 22nd in the standings.
But he also won an Xfinity Series race at Sonoma, one that came with his family in attendance and Almirola knew could be his last at the highest levels, and that alone would have made it worthwhile.
“I have zero regrets because I know that it was the right decision,” Almirola said.
It was the right decision for his team, partners and family.
“We’ve gotten to experience some things,” Almirola added. “Obviously, do I want more success? Do I wish we could have run better this year? Absolutely, like 100 percent, but, man, we have gotten to do some awesome things as a family. We’ve gotten to do some cool trips and going to experience different things.
“Honestly, the race win at Sonoma, that wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t come back for this year. That win, I want to say silly but that’s not a great term for it, but as insignificant as it would seem to many people, winning that Xfinity race at Sonoma, the fact that it happened and my family was there with me and the next week was our off week and we got to really just enjoy it and celebrate it, and my wife and kids were in victory lane, we really cherished it and soaked it all in.
“That moment, and several other moments throughout the year, we would have never had them and I do not regret one minute of this season.”
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.