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New Sponsor Deals Boost Almirola, Reutimann

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By TONY FABRIZIO

afabrizio@tampatrib.com

Published: February 6, 2009

DAYTONA BEACH - Tampa's Aric Almirola could puff out his chest at NASCAR's Media Day on Thursday. He finally has a sponsor logo across it to show off.

Uncertain a few weeks ago if he would get to compete in the Daytona 500 or any other race this season, Almirola now has backing from Activision Publishing franchise Guitar Hero for the 500 and an unspecified number of additional races.

The Bay area's other big-time NASCAR driver, Zephyrhills' David Reutimann, also announced a major sponsorship development. Aaron's Rents has increased its support from half of the season to the full season.

Sponsorship is the lifeblood of a NASCAR team, and without it a driver doesn't last long. The poor economy has caused several teams to eliminate cars and threatens several more.

Almirola needs more sponsorship to run the full Sprint Cup season in Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing's No. 8 Chevrolet.

"The last conversation I had at the shop before leaving to come to Daytona was that we have every intention of running the No. 8 car the whole 2009 season," he said. "Anything short of that would be a huge disappointment."

Corporations can sponsor a race team for a full season or for a specified number of races, paying prorated cost. Activision signed on for individual races with Almirola and teammate Martin Truex Jr.

Almirola's Guitar Hero World Tour car, the first of its kind in NASCAR, is orange and black and will debut in Sunday's Daytona 500 pole qualifying.

Reutimann lost his UPS sponsorship to up-and-comer David Ragan after last season, but that allowed him to switch from No. 44 back to the No. 00 his family has used for two generations. Getting Aaron's Rents, his Nationwide Series sponsor the last two years, to commit to the full season allows him to focus on racing and try to build on his first career pole, in November at Homestead.

"I think we'll have an opportunity to win some races this year," he said. "I think we had an opportunity last year to get a couple, and we couldn't close the deal."

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