Aric Almirola opened this season driving Earnhardt Ganassi Racing's No. 8 in the first seven Sprint Cup races before a lack of sponsorship forced the team to park the car.

Almirola was idle for two months before getting back on track in the Camping World Truck and Nationwide series, where he'll make his second start of 2009 in Saturday's Kroger 200 (7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN) at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis.

“

You really learn how fortunate you are when you've had something and it's taken away.

”

ARIC ALMIROLA

"Everybody knew after the Texas Cup race I was looking for something to race," Almirola said. "I really wanted to be in a car, and I was fortunate enough to get a call from Curtis Key. He had an opportunity for me to run some races. I went over there and looked at his cars and agreed to do it."

Almirola finished 11th at Milwaukee in his previous Nationwide start in Key's No. 40 Chevrolet. Scott Wimmer is the team's regular driver, and he's in the No. 5 JR Motorsports Chevrolet at ORP.

"We're bringing the same car we had at Milwaukee to ORP, and I think we'll have a good car," Almirola said.

Almirola says ORP's .686-mile track is his favorite, and it's also a place where he has experience with four starts, two in the Truck Series and two in Nationwide. Almirola finished sixth in the Nationwide race in 2007.

"I don't know what it is or why, but when I show up at the race track there, I feel like I know what I want and need in the car or truck," Almirola said. "I have a really good feel for the race track. It's a lot of fun to race on. You can pass, you can run two-, even three-wide. I don't feel like you can get bottled up behind anyone.

"It's a racer's race track, a little bullring, flat-out, side-by-side racing. It's unlike any other race track that we go to on the NASCAR circuit."

Almirola will drive for Billy Ballew Motorsports in Friday's Truck race at ORP. He has had four starts for Ballew this year and has finished fourth and fifth in the past two races.

"Between the truck and the Nationwide car, we've got a great shot to run well and if things go our way, we might end up in Victory Lane," Almirola said.

Almirola, 25, joined Joe Gibbs Racing's diversity program in 2004 and made his debut in the Truck Series in 2005. He later moved to Ginn Racing and to Dale Earnhardt Inc. following their merger. Almirola was retained when DEI merged with Ganassi last winter, and he remains under contract to the organization.

Almirola has raced steadily in NASCAR's national series since 2005, a total of 90 starts -- 25 in Cup, 28 in Nationwide and 37 in Trucks -- going into this weekend. It was a shock to his system to find himself rideless in April.

"I've definitely appreciated every opportunity, but you really learn how fortunate you are when you've had something and it's taken away," Almirola said. "When you're not racing anymore, it's not a good feeling. This year has taught me a lot of lessons, and I'm a better person for it. I never did before, but I definitely will never take any opportunity for granted."

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THREE TO WATCH

Kyle Busch, No. 18: Busch won his sixth race of the season last Saturday and extended his points lead to 212 over Carl Edwards. Busch has three wins and four second places in the past seven races and has won two of his past three Nationwide races at ORP.

Brad Coleman, No. 20: Coleman is making his fourth start in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota in place of three-time winner Joey Logano. Coleman, 21, was fifth last week at Gateway for his second top-10 of the year.

David Reutimann, No, 32: In the midst of a heated battle to make the Chase, Reutimann will shuffle to and from the Brickyard to make his sixth start of the season and first for Braun Racing. Reutimann will be very busy Saturday.

TRACK CHATTER

Dan Stillman, crew chief for Carl Edwards: "We have to run well this weekend to close the gap in the points. Consistency on pit road is one of the keys to our success and will be a major factor at the end of the race."

Scott Wimmer: "You really need to have your car right and play the pit-strategy game properly at ORP. It's really important to be out front there [where you don't] have to worry about getting back in traffic and tearing up a fender or things like that."