The start of the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is quickly approaching and Aric Almirola is a name that many have their eyes focused on this season. Almirola is part of the Joe Gibbs Racing Diversity Driver Development Program who rocketed to victories last year in NASCAR’s late model division in the Southeast.

His impressive runs in the late model division prompted Chevrolet to give Aric a shot in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driving the No. 47 Chevrolet Silverado for Morgan-Dollar Motorsports last year. Competing in three events Aric stormed to two top ten finishes including a career best eighth at New Hampshire International Raceway. Before NHIS, Aric scored his first top-ten at the tricky short track at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

“2005 was a good season for me,” said Aric. “We ran well in the late models and had some good finishes in the trucks. I’m really excited about the 2006 season.”

The Tampa, Florida native began racing go-karts when he was only eight years old. After winning many races and local titles around Florida, Aric took his talent to the national karting scene in 1998. He quickly made his presence known, qualifying on the pole for the World Karting Association Grand Nationals at Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium before finishing fourth in the season-ending point standings.

In March 2002, Aric advanced from open-wheel modifieds to the Sunbelt Super Late Model Division, where he finished runner-up in the Rookie of the Year standings. Aric continued in that division in 2003, winning three poles at USA Speedway in Lakeland, Fla., two poles at New Smyrna Speedway and one pole at Bronson Speedway.

In 2004, Aric got the opportunity to be one of two drivers to pioneer the Joe Gibbs Racing/Reggie White Drive for Diversity Program by driving the No. 20 Home Depot Late Model Chevrolet in the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series at Ace Speedway in Altamahaw, NC. Aric ran a full season at the Ace Speedway finishing 11th in points for the season with two wins, one 2nd-place finish and six top-five finishes.

Now, Almirola will head away from the late model venue fulltime and has been given an opportunity to go for Rookie-of-the-Year honors in addition to the championship driving the No. 75 Spears Manufacturing Chevrolet Silverado for Wayne and Connie Spears in what is expected to be one of the most competitive seasons in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series yet.

“I am thrilled about this year’s opportunity,” continued Almirola. “I am with a good team. I have a great sponsor in Spears Manufacturing and great support from Chevrolet. To say I’m excited is a huge understatement.”

Almirola taking over the seat vacated by David Starr had the opportunity to test with his new team a few weeks ago in preseason testing at Daytona International Speedway. “I’m really pleased with the way the test went,” explained Almirola who is Cuban-American. “I’ve never had the opportunity to run at Daytona in NASCAR, but I acquired a lot of seat time over the few days of testing and the truck was pretty good. I am excited about going back for the race.

“Of course, Aric already has experience in the trucks, but the pressure is on the 22-year old to perform well under the full time banner. “It’s really unreal how aggressive the drivers are. They are on the ball all the time and ever y lap is a qualifying lap, but I’m ready for this “challenge.”

Goals are simple for this NASCAR Nextel Cup Series hopeful “Rookie-of-the-Year is a majority priority for me this year,” he explained. “But, I’ve never raced in any series and not won, so I would like to keep that streak going with a couple wins this season. A top-ten finish in the points standings would be a huge accomplishment. There are a lot of good teams this season and I consider us one of them, and there’s really no reason why these goals can’t become a reality.”

As for a role model this year, there’s no question about that. “Dennis Setzer is someone I will go to with any questions this year. He was my teammate last year and he helped me in any way he could. That guy is awesome and I look forward to racing with him all year.”

Daytona won’t be the first restrictor plate track for Almirola. Last October, Aric was one of the favorites for the ARCA RE/MAX Series finale but a devastating accident while thundering his way into the top ten ruined any chances of showing his true strength in the draft.

“I really enjoyed Talladega last year. We practiced well, qualified really well, but there was no place to go. By the time I was at full speed, I was out of the race; it’s just one of those racing deals. Almirola didn’t rule out the chances of competing in an ARCA race or two this season. “We’ve talked about the possibility, but nothing has been finalized, yet.”

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series won’t be the only series in NASCAR that Aric will be competing in his year. Joe Gibbs Racing will enter Aric in selected NASCAR Busch Series driving the No. 19 Chevrolet Monte Carlo hopefully starting at Richmond in May. “I won’t be running in any NASCAR Busch races until about mid-season as we all wanted to focus on my run in the trucks. We tested really well in Daytona with the Busch car, but I have a job to do in the trucks, and I want to do that job well.”

“The Busch car is a lot easier to drive than the truck. The truck is really fun, but really aero dependent. The wheelbase makes a different and just the different sizes. You cannot drive the truck like a car and vice-versa.”

As for the Diversity program, where Aric received his break, he’s still a big fan of it. “The Diversity program is awesome. It gives someone like me an opportunity of a lifetime. When I applied for it, I didn’t think I had a chance and look at me now, I’m a NASCAR driver. It will continue to be a wonderful program for many years to come.”

Returning to Daytona, Aric has confidence in his program. “We have a lot left in our truck. Ron Hutter will be giving us a great engine and Dave McCarty has a great setup underneath the No. 75 we should be really good.”

Wayne and Connie Spears have been owners in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series since its inception and they would not put a driver behind the wheel of their trucks who they didn’t believe in. If Aric is able to take his maturity and impressive results to the trucks, Aric Almirola is a name we’ll be hearing for years to come.

His goals within the next five years is to be competing in the Nextel Cup Series. At this rate, he’ll be there before he knows it.