In all fairness, Almirola’s return to JGR has had its fair share of twists and turns. After the Martinsville win, the veteran driver was involved in a controversy surrounding his scuffle with Bubba Wallace leading to a suspension in May. It almost looked like his run with JGR could be coming to a screeching halt, but thanks to Coach, he was allowed to continue his run with the team.

His suspension meant he missed nine races before finally returning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 20. Now nearly, two months after making that return, Almirola redeemed himself with a win at the track that holds painful memories for the driver of the #20 Toyota.

After his retirement from full-time NASCAR Cup Series, Almirola joined JGR this season in the Xfinity Series hoping to remove the asterisk from his first win in the Series. In 2007, he started the race at the Milwaukee Mile after winning the pole but turned the car over to Denny Hamlin, who was late in his commute from a Cup date at Sonoma Raceway.

Hamlin emerged victorious, but Almirola’s name was registered in the records as the victor. But the driver wanted a real win to his name and he achieved that at Martinsville in April. Originally, the former SHR driver was scheduled to compete in 15 races on a part-time run for JGR. However, his reported alteration behind closed doors with Bubba Wallace derailed his run with the team. While there was no confirmation of a fight between the two drivers, JGR’s decision to indefinitely suspend Almirola painted a good picture of the events that unfolded.

He wasn’t featured driving the #20 car for the race at Charlotte, and his future with the team remained up in the air. Fortunately, he made his return to the team for the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Which ultimately helped him script a redemption story with his first victory at Kansas Speedway on September 28. The 40-year-old driver sounded emotional while sharing his take on the emphatic win.

“Just happy for Seth, almost the entire team here with this group. It’s our first time to victory lane. It honestly gets me a little choked up thinking about that, just being able to deliver that to this group of guys, being able to get them their first win. They deserve it; they’ve been bringing fast cars, so happy for them, happy for Coach, and just really grateful for this opportunity,” Almirola told  SiriusXM NASCAR.

This win in particular was special for the veteran driver, as in 2017 he was involved in a freak accident at this racetrack as a driver for Richard Petty Motorsports. He was involved in a three-car wreck involving Joey Logano’s No. 22 Ford and Danica Patrick’s No. 10 Ford on Lap 199 and suffered a compression fracture to his T5 vertebra and was air-lifted to the hospital.

Recalling the moment and his thrilling win at Kansas seven years after his incident, Almirola added, “2017, I helicoptered out of here with a broken back and to come back here seven years later and sit here in victory lane—that’s only stuff God can do. I’m so grateful for all the opportunities guys have given me throughout my career and to be able to come back here at Joe Gibbs Racing and do what I’m doing, it’s so gratifying,” he added.

Not only the win was gratifying as he mentioned, but it was also a thrilling conclusion to a three-way battle to the finish lane. The finish was set up by a caution with around 55 laps remaining and Cole Custer restarted in the lead. However, he was closely pursued by Chandler Smith.

With 10 laps to go in the race, Custer was trading blows with Chandler Smith for the win. After slipping and sliding, the #00 managed to clear Smith. But this allowed Aric Almirola to gain on the two drivers and make his move for a late-race surprise. Almirola took the lead with just three laps remaining with an inside pass on the frontstretch. This marked Almirola’s sixth Xfinity Series win. It was also impressive since he had to pit with a cut tire after getting into the wall earlier in the race.

After his win, Almirola further thanked Coach, Joe Gibbs, for believing in him. “It’s exactly what I set out to do when Coach (Gibbs) called me. I really didn’t have a plan. I was retiring and didn’t know what was next. Coach called, I met with him, and we talked a lot about what this could look like, and it has been so gratifying. I truly believe it was an answered prayer for me, (wife) Janice and our family,” he added.

While the win at Kansas was great for Almirola, it was a dent in the hopes of other drivers, especially Cole Custer.

Cole Custer left frustrated after missing out on a potential win

The first Xfinity playoff race didn’t fare well for the top title contenders. The reigning series champion, Cole Custer, had the chance to go for back-to-back wins after his exploits in Bristol. However, his tussle with Chandler Smith late in the race opened the door for Almirola to mount a playoff spoiler and seized the opportunity with both hands.

A win for Custer would have sealed his spot in the next round, but he will have to be content with the points for now. “I think us and the 20 were pretty even. I think we just burned our tires up racing each other for the lead. The 81, he just couldn’t run the wall on the long run. I don’t know why, but he just couldn’t. The wall was the place to be on the long run. I understand it’s hard racing, but I don’t race like that, so I don’t expect to get raced like that. But now he races me like that; I race him like that.” Custer said this after the race.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff race resumes at Talladega next weekend, and it might just prove to be a cracker like the Kansas.