UPDATE: Aric Almirola told reporters Saturday, Aug. 20 that he has not made a final decision about returning in 2023.
“Certainly have prayed a lot about it and continue to think about it and still don’t have a final decision,” Almirola said.
This comes after a report from Motorsport indicated he would return.
Aric Almirola will be back with Stewart-Haas Racing in 2023, as first reported by Motorsport.com on Aug. 19.
At the beginning of the season, it was announced that 2022 would be Almirola’s final year in the NASCAR Cup Series. But in recent months, reports had begun circulating that Almirola was contemplating a return in 2023.
“I haven’t put much thought into (returning) at all just going throughout the course of the year, and then it just keeps getting brought up, and then the chatter turns into real chatter,” Almirola said last month in an interview.
Now, Almirola will be delaying his retirement for at least one year as he returns to a SHR team in 2023 that is expected to look familiar to this year’s lineup.
Kevin Harvick is signed for 2023, while Chase Briscoe is expected to return. With Almirola’s return, the one remaining question mark for SHR is Cole Custer. And according to chief competition director Greg Zipadelli, Custer is expected to return next season as well.
“Right now, I believe that’s what our plan is,” Zipadelli said.
Almirola and SHR will release a statement about their plans for next year within the next two weeks, per Motorsport.
Stephen Stumpf is the NASCAR Content Director for Frontstretch and is a three-year veteran of the site. His weekly column is “Stat Sheet,” and he formerly wrote "4 Burning Questions" for three years. He also writes commentaries, contributes to podcasts, edits articles and is frequently at the track for on-site coverage.
Find Stephen on Twitter @stephen_stumpf