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Almirola's Indy Debut Includes Passenger

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By TONY FABRIZIO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 26, 2008

INDIANAPOLIS - Tampa's Aric Almirola isn't competing in this weekend's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

Even so, he was the first driver on the track Friday morning, and I rode with him in an $85,000 Corvette Z06 pace car.

"Yeah, it's killing me not being able to race," Almirola said while shifting the six-speed transmission. "But at least I get to do stuff like this."

Almirola, 24, was turning his first laps on America's most famous racetrack. In fact, he pulled into the wrong lane when leaving pit road.

After that, there was an expression on Almirola's face that looked like a cross between awe and joy.

Eventually, we got up to about 165 mph on the straightaway and 130 in the corners. Plenty enough speed to feel the blood rush.

Supposedly, the Z06 can top out at 195 mph.

Next year will be different for Almirola. Instead of running only 12 races in Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s No. 8 Chevrolet - the races Mark Martin doesn't want to run - he will have the car and team to himself.

He'll race in the Daytona 500. And he'll race at the Brickyard.

As for this rest of this season, Almirola has seven races left in the No. 8 and a lot of testing scheduled.

"Everybody is working hard on trying to get stuff done for next year," Almirola said. "That's taking so much focus that we're kind of just taking what this year gives us and making the best of it."

QUIT OR FIRED? A jagged war of words broke out Friday about whether Ryan Newman decided not to sign a new contract with Penske Racing or was fired.

Former teammate and current ESPN studio analyst Rusty Wallace said Newman was fired.

"I'll clear up that 'leaving' thing first," Wallace said during an ESPN news conference. "That didn't happen. Newman didn't leave. ... Roger Penske called Ryan Newman up to his office and said, 'I don't need your services next year.'"

Wallace added later that Penske didn't like Newman going public with his concerns about the team's competitiveness.

Newman, the 2008 Daytona 500 champion, questioned whether Wallace was conscious when he made his comments and accused him of having "plural" personalities.

"I don't know what Rusty's grounds are or what he's trying to prove saying that," he said.

"Roger and I decided mutually not to continue, and it was more of my decision than it was his."

Newman and Wallace had a frosty relationship as teammates, with Wallace often accusing Newman of not sharing setup information or being a team player on the track.

IDOL'S NUMBER: Tony Stewart has idolized and emulated racing legend A.J. Foyt. He has replicated his versatility and assumed his blustery demeanor. He has even taken on some of Foyt's heft, although he's still many cheeseburgers shy of wearing Foyt's pants.

It should come as no surprise that when he moves to his own team next year, Stewart will take Foyt's famed No. 14.

Stewart also confirmed Friday that Office Depot and Old Spice will split the primary sponsorship of his No. 14 car 60-40 and that the second Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet will carry No. 4 - Stewart's first go-kart number.

Foyt was in Edmonton on Friday for the Indy Racing League and relayed that he was proud to have Stewart take his number.

Said Stewart, "I'm starting to get more and more like him as this goes on. It's not planned that way; that's just what happens. We just enjoy the same things. It's like we were twin brothers that were born 30 or 20 years apart."

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