Once considered one of the most promising up-and-coming drivers on the Sprint Cup circuit, Aric Almirola is quietly rebuilding his career after a series of setbacks not of his own doing.

He's currently driving the No. 51 Toyota for Billy Ballew Motorsports in the Truck Series. With two wins, three top-five and seven top-10 finishes in the first nine races of the season, he sits second in the series point standings heading into this Friday's Camping World 200 at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill.

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For them to pick me out of all the people they could have picked meant a lot to me, and I was very grateful for that.

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-- ARIC ALMIROLA

Almirola talked with NASCAR.COM about his resurgence as a driver, and also about recently serving as a stand-by relief driver for four-time defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson as Johnson awaited the birth of his first child.

Question: Can you talk about how much fun you're having this year, having won two races in the Truck Series?

Almirola: First of all, I don't care what I'm racing as long as I'm winning races and competitive. That's what I'm enjoying so much about this year. We're running good -- and anytime you're running good, you're having fun. Nobody likes to lose. It's been a great year so far. We've run really well just about every week.

Q: You won your first race this year at Dover when Kyle Busch ran out of gas and you inherited the lead. How important was your second win at Michigan, when you went three-wide and battled Busch and Todd Bodine, the series point leader, for the lead down the stretch?

Almirola: At Dover, a lot of people could have said whatever they wanted to say -- because of Kyle running out of gas and a lot of other people running into problems. Other guys had tire issues or fuel issues or whatever.

To go to Michigan and race those guys head-to-head, straight up, and to beat 'em, man, there was no better feeling. It made me confident to where nobody could doubt what we did that day. That was big for me, to go there and win at Michigan and race with those guys at the end for it.

Q: After nine races, you're second in points -- only 55 behind Bodine. Do you feel like you've got what it takes to contend for this series championship?

Almirola: Yeah, I feel like we do. I feel like we're definitely a championship-contending team. I feel like we've got the right people and the right tools and everything in the right place. It's just a matter of capitalizing on every possible thing we can, and trying not to have any major catastrophes.

We had a little bit of one last weekend at Iowa, when we blew a right front [tire] and killed the truck -- which was pretty heartbreaking. But it's a long season and there are a lot more races to go, and a lot can happen. So we've just got to keep our head up and keep doing the things that we know how to do, and do them well. At the end of the year, when it comes down to Homestead, we'll know if we're racing for the championship or not. We've just got to go in with the mindset every week that we want to go out and win the race. (Continued)