gave me a great opportunity to go there and drive the ‘88’ car, and that’s led to this opportunity at RPM.” Almirola finished second in the Truck standings in 2010, winning twice. He was credited with a Nationwide victory in 2007, though it was Denny Hamlin who took the checkered flag after Almirola started the race. Making the move to Cup will be challenging. “Obviously, it’s going to be my first year running full-time in Cup, so there will be some growing pains,” Almirola said. “I realize that I’ve got a lot of learning to do. “I don’t expect to just go out there and win six races and run for the championship, but I do expect to be competitive. I do expect to run really well on a regular basis.” The team recently picked up sponsorship from Smithfield Foods. Last year A.J. Allmendinger piloted the No. 43, finishing 15th in the Cup standings. Allmendinger had 10 finishes in the top 10, one of them in the top five. Almirola’s Cup teammate is Marcos Ambrose, who won at Watkins Glen, N.Y.