The Winner of the #43 ride....

Surprisingly it's not David Ragan once again.

Aric Almirola!

Aric Almirola, who finished fourth in points in the Nationwide Series this season, has emerged as the leading candidate to take over the legendary No. 43 car for Richard Petty Motorsports in the Sprint Cup Series in 2012, the Observer and ThatsRacin.com have learned. The deal, which has come together very quickly, will be officially announced after the Christmas and New Year's holidays and will include a sponsor announcement, multiple sources confirmed Friday night. Almirola, was set to begin his second full season with JR Motorsports' No. 88 team in 2012, but his move to the Cup series now leaves his future with that organization unclear. A spokesperson for RPM said Friday night the organization did plan to make a driver announcement for the No. 43 after the holidays but would have no other comment at this time. In 34 starts this season with the No. 88, which is co-owned by Cup driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., Almirola had seven top-five and 18 top-10 finishes and won one pole. He has one Nationwide win to his credit, in a race at Milwaukee in 2007 which he started but Denny Hamlin ended up finishing. Almirola has made 35 starts in the Cup series with a best finish of fourth at Homestead, Fla., in 2010, ironically also driving for RPM in its No. 9 Ford. The 27-year-old Tampa native and Cuban-American became one of the first drivers to participate in NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program in 2004. He also has 75 starts and two wins in the Truck series. RPM recently announced it had lost sponsor Best Buy to Roush Racing and then driver AJ Allmendinger was hired away by Penske Racing. RPM officials have insisted they would continue to field two Cup cars in 2012 - the No. 9 driven by Marcos Ambrose and the No. 43.

allofmywhy.jpg

In-ter-es-ting...

Yes. I like what I'm seeing so far, the chances of David Ragan getting a sprint cup ride is getting smaller and smaller.

Ragan to TRG? Or the #52 team.

Wow...

...

Didn't see that one coming.

Kimi, David Ragan's biggest fan, is not amused.

LOLWUT????

Well, that certainly came out of left field...

Why is thatsracin the only one reporting this?

Not Reutimann?!?!?
Not Ragan?!?!?
Not Vickers?!?!?
Not Busch?!?!?
I would of gone for someone else, but...
Okay I guess.

I think this goes back to last year where Aric drove the 9 car for the last few races when Kasy left for RedBull... I like Aric, I think hes a good driver who got kicked out the series from the tough economy that made the D.E.I Ganassi merger in 2008 if im not mistaking

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RyanB06 wrote:
In-ter-es-ting...

But Stupid!

This confirms .......

that ragan will go to trg
reutimann, vickers will probably have nationwide rides waiting for them next year.

Well then...this is a surprise

This is a pleasant surprise. Good for Aric.

I'd pick Aric over Ragan though. At least Aric has some talent. If Ragan in the 6 could hardly do anything, whats to say he would be a success in the 43?!?

I almost didnt believe this, just because it was such a dramatic turn around from what everybody had been saying friday morning.

I'm quite pleased.

Disapointed not to see Ragan in the #43 but I still think this was a good call. Almirola has impressed me in the Busch series and I've been expecting him due now for another chance in the Sprint cup. Class act and has had time to develop in Busch. Smart move for RPM. The only thing I'm worried about is Almirola's habit of occasionally tearing up equipment. He has been better about it however as of late but is still a bit aggressive at times. You can't laud him for not trying however because he has shown flashes.

Interested to see how this works. I like Aric and he has shown he can run with the pack. Im glad that he was finally able to find a Sprint cup ride because he's proven past due for redemption. As for Ragan, it's no suprise after the lackluster showing at Roush. I like the guy a lot but he didn't get it done when he needed to and couldn't repeat his sophmore consistency which almost got him into the chase. A good guy indeed but as much as I like the guy he just hasn't performed near where he should have. Hopefully he can scrape up a ride at TRG but quite frankly that's all he is going to get

conrail1990 wrote:Why is thatsracin the only one reporting this?

It was on jayski as well. That's where I heard it, anyway.

Rykia_RKXK wrote:

conrail1990 wrote:Why is thatsracin the only one reporting this?

It was on jayski as well. That's where I heard it, anyway.

Jayski hadnt posted that until about 3 hours after this thread was made.

UPDATE 5: Richard Petty Motorsports announced today that Aric Almirola will drive the legendary #43 Ford Fusion in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition beginning in 2012. Almirola has made 35 starts in the Sprint Cup Series, his most recent stint coming in 2010 when he finished the last five races of the season in the #9 Ford. During the final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Almirola posted a career-high, fourth-place effort. Almirola drove a JR Motorsports entry [#88 Chevy] in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2011 and capped off a successful season with a fourth-place finish in the championship point standings. "One of the things I am most excited about is to have the chance to drive a car as iconic as the #43," stated Almirola. "There is so much history surrounding that number and to have my name above the door will be really special for me. This is the first real opportunity I've had to drive in the Cup Series full time. Last year the #43 team had a lot of speed and was competitive on a weekly basis. Greg Erwin is a great crew chief and I'm excited to work with him. Everyone at Richard Petty Motorsports has a lot of enthusiasm and drive and I'm really looking forward to getting to work."
Almirola will join a team that is poised to compete for a spot in the 2012 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Paired with veteran Crew Chief Greg Erwin, Almirola will get behind the wheel for a team that earned one top-five and 10 top-10 finishes in 2011 en route to a 15th-place finish in the owner point standings.
"We are thrilled to welcome Aric Almirola into the RPM family," said team Co-owner Richard Petty. "We feel extremely fortunate to have had a number of very talented drivers interested in joining our organization, but ultimately we felt Aric would be the best fit for the team and for our current and potential partners. We have had the chance to watch his progress for the past several years and we had success with him in the past. We are really confident in his potential as a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver. We think Aric has all the makings to be the next bright star in our sport."(Richard Petty Motorsports)(1-4-2012)