Almirola cleared to return at New Hampshire

Aric Almirola has been medically cleared to return to NASCAR competition and will do so this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Richard Petty Motorsports announced the news Wednesday, a day after Almirola tested at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was the final step in his rehabilitation process, which also included physical therapy, swimming and simulation work.

A compression fracture of his T5 vertebra suffered in a May 13 accident at Kansas Speedway sidelined Almirola for the last eight weeks. However, his expected recovery time was eight to 12 weeks and Almirola is returning sooner than first expected.

"It felt great to be back in the racecar yesterday," said Almirola in a team release. "After racing in the Monster Energy Series for five and a half years, it got to be routine, and I took it for granted. When something gets taken away from you at a moment's notice like that, it has certainly made me appreciate my passion for racing and my desire to compete at this level. The thrill of running 200 miles per hour in a stock car was something that I had honestly lost a little bit. After being out of the car for eight weeks, the passion is back, now more than ever.

"Physically, I felt great in the car and had no pain associated with the injury during yesterday's test" Almirola continued. "I'd like to sincerely thank all of the medical personnel that have helped me through this process, my family, my friends, my team and all the fans that supported me. I'm very grateful to Bubba (Wallace), Regan (Smith) and Billy (Johnson) for all of their efforts subbing for me both on and off the track. I'm excited to get back to racing against all my friends and peers in the Monster Energy Series."

Regan Smith and Darrell Wallace Jr. drove for Almirola during his recovery. Smith drove the No. 43 Ford for two races at Charlotte and Dover, finishing 22nd and 34th, respectively.

Wallace made his Monster Energy Series debut at Pocono Raceway, finishing 26th. He then improved over the course of his next three starts, finishing a career-best 11th Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway.

Almirola will make his official return to the car with practice for the Overton's 301 on Friday morning.