Almirola to lose ride
04/04/09 Chip Ganassi said the No. 8 Chevrolet Sprint Cup program of Aric Almirola is currently “week-to-week" after five races with no sponsorship secured for the 25-year-old Tampa native. Almirola qualified 41st on Friday at Texas Motor Speedway with Guitar Hero Metallica on the car. Almirola said he is unsure if he’s made his last attempt for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.
“I’ve put so much in my heart and soul and focus that I have going on right here, I don’t have a Plan B," Almirola told NASCAR scene. “I haven’t walked around and worked on a Plan B yet because I’m so focused on Plan A. That’s what I’m really worried about and concerning myself with." Ganassi said on Friday at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg he didn’t know what would be done to Almirola’s program.
“He’s a good guy. We’re doing the best we can for him," said Ganassi, who shuttered Dario Franchitti’s Sprint Cup program because of sponsor problems last year. “You can only do what you can." Tamabay.com
03/26/09 Series watchers expect that Earnhardt Ganassi Racing will park its No. 8 Chevrolet for Aric Almirola. Team owner Chip Ganassi said he won’t run the car without a sponsor–the same stance he took last year when he closed down former IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti’s team.
Almirola is scheduled to compete in this weekend’s race at Martinsville Speedway and in the April 5 race at Texas Motor Speedway, but EGR has no plans for the team after Texas.