NASCAR driver Aric Almirola has spent his whole life chasing something. On the track, he was always chasing the driver in front of him. In life, he was always chasing a need for contentment he could never quite secure.
That is, until Christ finally gave him rest.
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On Wednesday, Almirola posted a video on his Instagram and Twitter accounts in which he shares his story of faith, culminating in his baptism on Oct. 24, 2019, a day he says he will never forget.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4imGjjFiPG/
“Baptism is symbolic of a transformation — dying to your old self and old ways, being buried or submerged, and resurrecting a new person with a new life to be lived for Christ,” Almirola said. “Now, this doesn’t mean from this day forward I am going to be perfect. I will continue to fall short in so many ways. But by the grace of God, I know that I now will live in eternity with Him.”
Almirola, 35, said he tried tirelessly to find meaning and purpose in the things of this world, but the void in his life always remained. It wasn’t until he stopped striving on his own and let the Word of God fill his soul that he finally experienced what he was searching for all along.
In his profession, Almirola flies around race tracks at incredible speeds every week. Yet his spirit is finally at peace.
The Tampa, Fla., native — nicknamed the Cuban Missile — has raced in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series since 2007. He has two wins in the series, one in the Coke Zero 400 in 2014 and one in the 1000Bulbs.com 500 in 2018 — the same year he finished a career-best fifth place overall. He has racked up 18 top-five finishes, with 10 of them coming since 2017. Almirola currently drives the No. 10 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing.
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