HAMPTON, Ga. -- The No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota GR Supra had a familiar name above the doors on Saturday evening, yet it was not the name of the driver. It read "JD Gibbs."
This was a deliberate choice by Aric Almirola, who will use his nine Xfinity Series starts this season to honor someone who had a major impact on him, a man who passed away in 2019 at the age of 49.
"For me, having the opportunity to put JD Gibbs' name on the car just means so much to Coach (Joe Gibbs) and Melissa (Gibbs) and the Gibbs family," Almirola told AltDriver on pit road after a third-place finish.
"And he was instrumental in my life, and I know how much Young Life, the ministry meant to him. So it just felt right to put JD's name on the car."
According to the JD Gibbs Legacy Fund, he was introduced to Young Life in his teenage years. He attended Young Life camps as he aged and became a leader before joining the Young Life committee in Lake Norman. Gibbs ultimately served as a national board member until he was no longer able.
Gibbs was also a familiar face to Almirola, who joined Joe Gibbs Racing as a development driver at the start of his racing career. Gibbs was the president of the team as Almirola was competing in the Craftsman Truck Series and the Busch Series.
Aric Almirola said after his third-place finish at Atlanta that he saw he can still compete. He's not washed up.
He did tell me he had to knock off some rust early in the race. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/C5oXGdPGzq— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) February 23, 2025
And while Almirola parted ways with JGR during the 2007 season, he continued to respect the Gibbs family. Now that he is back in the team's lineup for another part-time season, he can show that respect by replacing the name on his car.
That's simply a bigger priority at this point in his life than putting himself in the spotlight.
"I don't want this to be about me," Almirola said. "I spent my entire career trying to build a brand, right? You try to sell yourself to sponsors and personal service agreements and all those things.
"I'm at a place in life where I don't care about that anymore. I just want to go race and have fun. I want to point people to Jesus and I want to enjoy the experience, enjoy the moment."