Aric Almirola is back at Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, running nine races in 2025, JGR announced Feb. 17.
Almirola will run the No. 19 starting this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Young Life will sponsor the effort.
“I’m excited to have this opportunity to get behind the wheel again and have Young Life represented on the car with me,” Almirola said in a team release. “I know Young Life was a central focus in the life of my friend JD Gibbs and it means so much to me to have this opportunity to bring awareness to the great work they do introducing Christ to young people all over the world.”
“The ministry of Young Life has played a key role in my life and my entire family’s lives and was also a huge part of my friendship with JD Gibbs,” Dave Alpern, president of JGR, added. “To see that ministry highlighted on one of our race cars is an incredible blessing to me and everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing.”
The rest of Almirola’s schedule beyond Atlanta was not revealed.
He’s the fourth driver announced for the No. 19 this year, following Justin Bonsignore, Chase Briscoe and Christopher Bell.
In 2024, Almirola ran 14 Xfinity races for JGR, earning three wins, eight top fives and nine top 10s between the Nos. 19 and 20.
Rutherford is the managing editor of Frontstretch, a position he gained in 2015 after serving on the editing staff for two years. At his day job, he's a journalist covering music and rock charts at Billboard. He lives in New York City, but his heart is in Ohio -- you know, like that Hawthorne Heights song.