Joe Gibbs recalls Aric Almirola's bond with late son as NASCAR veteran continues to excel in Xfinity Series

The team owner of Joe Gibbs Racing has reminisced on his late son's relationship with Xfinity Series driver Aric Almirola as the latter shares a bond beyond the high-octane world of motorsports.

Almirola entered NASCAR as a development driver for JGR and debuted at the Xfinity Series in 2006, followed by the Cup Series debut the next year. However, in 2012, the 40-year-old driver joined forces with Richard Petty Motorsports, and then in 2018, he went with Stewart-Haas Racing. Last year, the then-SHR driver parted ways with the team after serving them for six years since his debut at the 2018 Daytona 500.

After a decade-long break from JGR, the Florida native got a call from Joe Gibbs to not end his career before kicking off his final race with the North Carolina-based outfit. Almirola's current Xfinity Series season has seen him finish P12 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway race, a DNF at Phoenix, and a season-best P2 at the recently completed ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway.

Almirola is observing the role of a driver and a mentor at JGR. During the Toyota Owners 400 post-race conference, Joe Gibbs went down memory lane to the days when his late son, Jason Dean "J. D." Gibbs (d. January 2019) was severely ill and Aric Almirola ensured his presence right beside the ailing J.D. (via Frontstretch on X, from 01:00):

"J.D. had a lot to do in getting him [Almirola] to our race team and J.D. got sick...he gradually lost all physical...he couldn't converse with anybody or anything. Aric Almirola would come and sit with him even when he couldn't communicate for two or three hours. That's the kind of person he is."

Joe Gibbs chimes in on the late race overtime fiasco at the Richmond Raceway

The Toyota Owners 400 saw Denny Hamlin sweep his second victory of the season after profiting from a late race caution issued because of Bubba Wallace's wreck over Kyle Larson. Until the pack pitted for a fresh set of rubber, Martin Truex Jr. led the field with a dominance of 228 laps out of 407 in his bag.

However, the turnaround of events took place in the pitlane as Hamlin exited as the leader whereas MTJ exited the pits in P2 and finished the race in P4 despite having the lead in his grasp until the yellow flag was issued. As a result, Truex Jr was frustrated as misfortune robbed him of a potential maiden win of the season.

Shortly after the seventh Cup Series weekend got wrapped up, Joe Gibbs opined on the "devastating" feat endured by his driver, saying (via Trey Lyle on X):

“Well, I think here's what, happens. These guys put so much into this. They're all, I mean, great competitors. And these things are so hard to win. And so when you have an experience the way Martin did tonight, you know, to race that hard."

He added:

"I mean, he drove his heart out. We go that far and then to have a caution with three laps to go, it was devastating."