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Who says that NASCAR drivers aren’t athletes?
Don’t tell that to Stewart-Haas Racing driver Aric Almirola, who darn near bowled a perfect game at his first real attempt at trying recently.
Almirola, 39, is likely in his final season in the NASCAR Cup Series after announcing and then delaying his retirement a year ago.
But if Almirola is looking for something to fill the void, he needs to look no further than one of his primary sponsors.
For years, Go Bowling has been a sponsor of Almirola and previously sponsored former teammate Clint Bowyer.
As part of their brand activation, Almirola and Go Bowling have done all types of cool things. Take, for example, bowling the world’s longest strike Watkins Glen International.
Most recently, Almirola attended an event with professional bowler Kyle Troup. What happened next was very nearly history.
Almost bowled a 300! pic.twitter.com/rIKkTMwYTt
— Aric Almirola (@Aric_Almirola) October 5, 2023
“I went to a Go Bowling event tonight and bowled with Kyle Troup and some winners of a Go Bowling sweepstakes,” he began. “After we finished bowling with the guests, Kyle told me to try one of his balls and ‘spin it.’ I was using a house ball and just firing straight down the lane as hard as I could. I typically bowl in the 120-150’s like this.
“I practiced a few times spinning it. It felt ‘cool’ and certainly more like professionals. So I decided to try it and bowl a game like this. 1st roll STRIKE! Then another STRIKE! Then another. A TURKEY! Then another strike, and another, and another one.”
Almirola explains that he keeps going, firing strike after strike as a crowd begins to gather around and film him.
“Holy crap, I am one strike away from bowling a 300,” he said. “It’s so quiet by now you could hear a mouse fart. Everyone has their phones out and is videoing my last bowl. It spins down the lane, gets super close to the edge of the gutter and hooks right into the pocket. BOOM! 9 pins explode and the pesky 10 pin sits their standing proud. I bowled a 299 on my first time bowling ‘properly.’ What a crazy experience. Thanks to Kyle Troup for teaching me. When does the PBA Tour start?”
Stand back, Pete Weber. We may have a new sheriff in town.
And NASCAR driver Aric Almirola may have found his calling.