In sports in the United States, there are few things more American than the No. 43 car in NASCAR.
At the Daytona 500 in February, the car roaring to a fourth place finish was marked by the iconic No. 43, the same number once raced to so many wins by legend Richard Petty. This current edition, though, is a Ford Fusion which is recognizable from afar by its distinctive shade of "Petty Blue" paint. And since 2012, the driver of this well-known car number has been "The Cuban Missile." That's Aric Almirola, born in Florida's Eglin Air Force Base, son of an immigrant who fled Cuba with his family in 1966.
"The hard part of driving the 43 car, because of all the success that has happened in the years past with Richard and that car number, is that there's really high expectations from everybody, all the time, for that car," Almirola acknowledged about the car he drives for Richard Petty Motorsports.
"But the reality is, times have changed, the sport has changed."
In one sense, the 43 car remains what it was in the Petty days –- a symbol of Americana. It's just a different kind than the one in the past.
"NASCAR recognizes the face of America has constantly evolved and been changing over the last 60 years," Almirola noted. "For us to continue to be the All-American sport, the fans, the drivers and all of those who work on the cars need to reflect that."
Although Almirola, 33, had been driving cars for so long that he couldn't remember learning, it was an early version of NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program that gave him a major career boost into NASCAR in 2004. The program aims to get more minorities involved in NASCAR at different levels.
"Even though I was successful, it didn't matter until I got that chance from the diversity program," said Almirola of his early race days. "Once I got that opportunity, I was fortunate enough that I was prepared and I was ready to make the most of that.
Petty, "The King," was famous in his day for his quick, almost miraculous injury recovery. Almirola has proven to be resilient in another way, riding out setbacks in his career and making the most of whatever driving situation he was offered, including roles as a backup.
"I had to accept the fact that if I wanted to be a race car driver in this sport, at the time, those were the cards that I was dealt," Almirola stated of his years spent sharing cars and honing his driving skills. "I was in a really good race car, driving for a quality team; I got to do it part time and I got to learn from somebody else. I tried to use that to my advantage."
Current crew chief Drew Blickensderfer of the 43, sponsored by Smithfield Foods, considers Almirola's adaptability crucial.
"He never is too big or too proud to look at other drivers' data or what he's doing or take suggestions from myself or other members of the team on how he can get better," said Blickensderfer. "That's something that's pretty special."
Blickensderfer and Almirola are still adapting to each other, since the partnership only started this past September. It's been going well. So far, Almirola finished in the top twenty in five out of the six Monster Energy Cup races so far this year. This past Sunday at Martinsville, Almirola still finished 18th even after a bit of bad luck in an accident involving multiple cars.
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— NASCAR (@NASCAR) 2 de abril de 2017
"We have been getting better every single week," Blickensderfer observed. "Our [finishes] are five to seven spots better than they were last year."
That may not satisfy the most ardent Petty fans who want to see the 43 car taking checkered flags on a regular basis, but Almirola is realistic about his team’s ability to take on some of the big money squads of NASCAR.
"In the 80s and 90s the sport changed from just a bunch of racers racing against each other, to business and the sport evolved when these guys with billions of dollars started pumping money into their teams," Almirola said. "I would love to win every single race I enter in that 43 car, because that's what fans want and that's what they expect. But the reality is that we are doing everything we can possibly do to run tenth to fifteenth most weekends. That's just being brutally honest."
"There's no salary cap in NASCAR," Blickensderfer dryly noted, after explaining how teams flush with cash can manufacture special parts, run extensive wind tunnel tests and do various other expensive tactics to gain every advantage.
Almirola isn't inclined to be defeatist about advantages enjoyed by rival teams. His family set that example about moving on as best as possible in present circumstances, never bemoaning what they'd had to leave behind in Cuba or how difficult it was to adjust to a new country.
"It was really not talked about that much," Almirola said.
His father's difficulties assimilating to the United States had an impact in one aspect.
"My dad was adamant that no one speak Spanish in front of me, so that way, I wouldn't be confused," Almirola explained.
"He thought it would be smarter for me to only learn English from the time I was born."
Even without being able to speak Spanish well, Almirola remains an example of success for the community in NASCAR, as the only American-born Hispanic driver.
“Aric has, in the last few years, established himself as a Cup veteran,” said Blickenderfer.
The Petty team is relying on his veteran savvy now, because Almirola is their sole driver, which he considers a certain advantage.
"Everybody is focused on that one car and getting that car to run good," said Almirola.
Blickensderfer, meanwhile, pointed out the smaller amount of racing data available to the team. "As a crew chief, it's not much of a positive to only have one car."
Almirola has made the most of situations that were less than ideal all his life, winning his first races on a go-kart his grandfather bought and helped him fix up when young Aric was only eight. Almirola stuck to his racing dream while growing up in baseball-crazy Tampa and is now gratified to see a growing number of Hispanic NASCAR fans.
"Thirty to 40 percent of the fans that I interacted with were Hispanic," Almirola said of a recent race in Fontana, California. He wasn't really surprised at NASCAR's appeal to the community. "What we do as a sport is so exciting and so filled with passion."
Almirola's own team has added to the Hispanic numbers in NASCAR by recently hiring a Puerto Rican engineer, Pedro Mojica, out of the organization's diversity program for crew members.
In the NASCAR of the past, Blickensderfer mused, "[Mojica] wouldn't have probably gotten his foot in the door."
It's this modern era of NASCAR that Almirola is proud to be a part of, just as he is honored to drive No. 43.
"It all boils down to talent, opportunity and money. If you have those three things, it doesn't matter if you're a woman, if you're white, Hispanic, African-American -- you can be successful in this sport. Look at [Japanese-American] Kyle Larsen, look at [Mexican] Daniel Suarez, look at myself, look at Danica Patrick," Almirola said.
"Look at the men and women who work on the cars in the garage area. You would have never seen the sport look like it does today, in many aspects, but especially in the diversity aspect."