Rookie Brings No. 75 Spears Manufacturing Silverado to Checkered Flag in 21ST Position

Running laps and gaining experience on every track was the goal for rookie of the year contender Aric Almirola set for himself at the beginning of the 2006 season as the driver of the No. 75 Spears Manufacturing Silverado. After the checkered flag flew over the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series field at California Speedway, Almirola climbed from the cockpit with a smile because the team accomplished exactly what they set out to do, run every lap, finish on the lead lap and finish with the fenders in tact.

Almirola qualified 10th for the 36-truck starting field of the Racetickets.com 200, race two of the 36-event NCTS 2006 season. When the green flag dropped, Almirola quickly discovered he was battling a loose truck as the scheduled 100-lap race kicked into high gear.

Crew chief Dave McCarty called Almirola down pit road for adjustments when the first caution of the race flew on lap eight. Although the handling of Almirola's Silverado improved, McCarty brought the 21-year old rookie in for more adjustments during the race's second yellow flag on the 19th lap.

Almirola battled his way to the top-20 in the running order at 75-lap mark, but as the tires began to wear down, Almirola was again struggling with a loose truck. One more adjustment and a full tank of fuel set the stage for the Tampa, FL native to gain as many positions as possible in the remaining laps of the race.

But a slight miscue on a restart lost Almirola several positions with just a few laps remaining. The young driver stayed focused on the task at hand and as the field came around to take the white flag, he had battled his way to 23rd in the field.

An accident in turn three forced the race's last caution to fly just before the leaders got to the line, setting up what is now the norm in the NCTS - a green-white-checkered finish.

Almirola took the green for the final time on lap 104 in 24th position with his best restart of the race. When the checkered flew on lap 106, he had moved his No. 75 Spears Silverado to the 21st position in the finishing order.

"It was a good night from a learning standpoint," said Almirola. "Our Spears Silverado was really loose at the start of the race but Dave McCarty (crew chief) and the crew worked really hard on fixing it as the race went along. I just worked hard on logging laps and learning as much as I can from each lap and my crew.

"This is a full season we are working to put together and it is a learning experience every time I crawl in the truck. We got some points tonight so we made progress."