When Aric Almirola was Pulled Out Mid Race to Make Room for Denny Hamlin

Back in 2007 at the AT&T 250 Busch Series race at Milwaukee, a massive controversy erupted. Sometime during the race, Aric Almirola was called into the pits, and the team plonked Denny Hamlin for the rest of the race. This was supposed to be a time when the Busch Series drivers raced without much interference with the Cup drivers.

As it turned out, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver was pulled out midway. Instead, the team let Cup driver, Hamlin, race until the end. Apparently, the unexpected driver swap was the result of a sponsor demand. When Denny Hamlin resumed the race, he was a full lap down.

Hamlin later confessed, “I didn’t want to do it. I knew he’d be really upset, as well as he was running at the time. We got to do what we got to do. It definitely wasn’t my choice.”

Why was the Denny Hamlin-Aric Almirola swap so controversial?

In essence, the common complaint is that a Cup driver’s presence diminishes the Xfinity/Busch driver’s chance for fame. Other scenarios suggest that the Cup driver is essentially taking away a seat from a series regular. Suffice to say, ‘Buschwacking’ went unchecked in the early 2000s.

Up until that time, Hamlin had not raced in a standalone Busch race. However, Wisconsin sponsor Rockwell Automation wanted the Cup driver in the race. At the time, Aric Almirola grabbed pole position, while Hamlin was still on his way to the track. Meanwhile, Edwards somehow manages to make it and qualify in time.

When the race began, Denny Hamlin was still not at the track. As a result, Almirola started the race and looked quite comfortable, so Hamlin figured that he would just be a spectator. Later on, Hamlin had a plan B, because another driver was reportedly unwell. Speaking about Almirola, Hamlin acknowledged that it would be disrespectful to take him out midway. Evidently, JGR did not listen and used a Lap 57 caution to perform the swap.