The Pennzoil 250 Xfinity Series race was the first one for Aric Almirola, after being involved in a physical altercation with Bubba Wallace in a Toyota race team meeting. While the details of the fight weren’t confirmed by Joe Gibbs Racing or the 23XI Racing driver, a suspension for the veteran driver allowed the fans and community to speculate.

“They don’t want me to get into details to keep some people’s images good,” is what Wallace had to say in his final reply to the incident. Ultimately, the buck stopped with JGR, and they suspended Almirola for multiple races. While he was back to his usual self, competing for the win at the Brickyard, this was the first time the media could get his reaction to the fiasco. But, unfortunately, the driver decided to remain tight-lipped and refused to reply respectfully.

Is Aric Almirola ready to bury the hatchet on his tussle with Bubba Wallace?

The former SHR driver had no plans to return to racing after calling it quits from Cup racing in 2023. However, a phone call from Joe Gibbs convinced him to run a partial schedule in the No. 20 car. A win at Martinsville was special for him as he settled his score after being ejected from the seat at Milwaukee back in 2007. He qualified and ran half the race for Hamlin, who took over the ride midway through the race.

But upon his entry to JGR in 2024, he found himself in controversy, and this was unlike Aric Almirola, who usually went about his business. After the race at Brickyard, curious reporters queued in front of him, and one of them tried to inquire about his fight with Wallace. In response, Almirola said, “No, I totally appreciate that you guys are doing your job as journalists and I respect that, a hundred percent, but I have no comment.”

However, he did open up about how fortunate he was to return to racing with JGR and the #20 team. “I always appreciate going to the racetracks. This is a get-to thing; this is not a have-to thing, right? … I am fortunate to be with a great team and a great organization, great partners, and a great manufacturer. So yeah, it’s a privilege and an honor to come to the race track with this group and have such fast race cars.”

Talk about competing for wins; he nearly had his second win of the season. However, the young gun, Riley Herbst was too hot to handle even for an experienced campaigner like Aric Almirola.

The final lap at Indianapolis that cost Almirola the win

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Having been spun late in the race by Austin Hill on the restart, Almirola decided to pit under green and get a fresh set of Goodyear tires. With multiple cautions and restarts, he made good use of fresh tires and gained the lost position on the track. With the final 12 laps to go, it all boiled down to strategy, and race leaders Cole Custer and Riley Herbst decided to stay upfront.

Herbst tracked down Custer with 2 laps to go in the race, and this is where the JGR driver threaded the needle and took the lead of the race on the front stretch. They were three-wide coming off Turn 1, and Almirola had the lead, but the SHR driver in the No. 98 wasn’t done. He put his front bumper to the rear of the #20 Toyota car and made an impressive move for the win.

Coming off turns 3 and 4, Herbst cleared off the JGR driver and secured his playoffs spot with a memorable win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Despite fighting for the lead, Almirola had to settle for P3, whereas Custer finished as the runner-up.

However, given that the #20 car has delivered multiple wins, the veteran driver will be hoping for more wins in the upcoming races.