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It was just over a year ago at The Milwaukee Mile when Aric Almirola earned his first NASCAR victory but there was something oddly missing in Victory Lane - the driver. Almirola started from the pole but ended out of the car, pulled midway through the race so then - Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin could finish it. Hamlin had arrived late from Sprint Cup Series practice at Sonoma, Calif.

Almirola got credit for the win because he started the race. But he was looking for much more - a full-time ride in NASCAR and the seat time necessary to secure it.

With that controversy in the past and an offseason move to Dale Earnhardt Inc., the 24-year-old Tampa native has now secured the future he has dreamed of on his own merit. DEI last week named Almirola the fulltime driver of its No. 8 Chevrolet in the Cup series beginning with the 2009 season.

"It's something I've been wanting for a long, long time. When I ran a (Nationwide) car at Gibbs, I had to share it. I've always run partial deals. So for the first time, I'm going to get to run a full schedule," said Almirola, who is sharing the No. 8 at DEI this season with veteran Mark Martin.

"I'm going to get to run every week. I'm really looking forward to that. I'm really looking forward to working with all these guys on this team every single week because it'll help when we have good weekends to build on the momentum, and when we have bad weekends to try and make it better."

Since his arrival in NASCAR, Almirola has been the ultimate team player. Coming first into the sport with Gibbs as part of the organization's driver diversity programme, he ran anything he could and logged countless hours testing.

Prior to last season he was offered the chance to share a Cup ride with Martin at Ginn Racing and was given a release by JGR. Midway through the 2007 season, Ginn merged with DEI, and Martin and Almirola moved there. They entered this season sharing the No. 8.

Last weekend, Martin announced he was moving to Hendrick Motorsports in 2009 to return to full-time Cup racing. He said Almirola is ready to join him.

"I had so much fun this year driving the No. 8 car that I would really have loved to have driven a 26-race schedule again next year, but that would not have been fair to Aric Almirola," Martin said.

"Aric is ready to be a full-time Cup driver, and I felt like it was my responsibility and the right thing to do to get out of his way."

Almirola earned his first top-10 finish in Cup this season with his eighth-place finish at Bristol, Tenn., in March. He made his career-best start at Martinsville, Va., when he started third.

"I would have never imagined that I would have an opportunity like I'm going to have next year. I'm thrilled to death. I can't explain how excited I am. It's something you dream about when you're a little kid is to race at the highest level of your sport every weekend," Almirola said.

"I've enjoyed the times that I've gotten to race this year and in the previous years. But to actually walk in the race car shop and have all the cars that have No. 8 on them have my name on the roof and to work with my guys every single weekend ... will be a big help for our race team and for everybody involved."[[In-content Ad]]

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