Originally Posted by Jayski.com

UPDATE: After spending two seasons sharing a car with veteran Mark Martin, 24-year-old Aric Almirola will take over the #8 Sprint Cup Series Chevy full time in 2009. "This is an incredibly exciting opportunity," said Almirola. "When you get into racing, you always dream of competing at the highest level and I've had the chance to do that on a limited basis for the past two seasons. Now I will have the opportunity to race the car full time and I could not be more excited about driving the #8 car each week for Dale Earnhardt Inc. This is a really great race team to work with. (Crew Chief) Tony Gibson and these guys have put me in really good race cars this season and they've never treated me like a rookie. They are committed to being competitive every week and I'm really looking forward to working with them on a weekly basis next season." Martin, who has driven the #8 in 12 events this season, will compete in 12 more races this year before moving to another team for the 2009 campaign. Almirola will compete in the balance of the season's seven races. In addition to his time in the Sprint Cup Series, Almirola has made 27 starts in the Nationwide Series, earning four poles and one win at Milwaukee in 2007.(DEI PR), there is no mention of a sponsor or the US Army in the press release.(7-1-2008)