By Joe Jennings,
OWR Staff

Daytona Beach, FL – 24-year old Aric Amirola walked away unscathed from a jarring double-flip at the Daytona International Speedway during Busch Series testing on Sunday.

The Florida native was driving the Banquet Chevrolet fielded by Joe Gibbs Racing. The accident took place on the backstretch at DIS.
Officials and the team staff look over the battered Banquet Chevrolet of Aric Amirola.

"We cut a tire and the car started flipping," Amirola said. "It happened very fast and the second hit was the hardest (hit) of my two flips. I was talking to my crew the whole time and letting them know I was okay. Thankfully, Joe Gibbs Racing builds strong cars and we have another good car ready for me."

Teammate Denny Hamlin stopped his car to come to the aide of Amirola. "It is a great to have a teammate come to your aide, and he helped by talking to me while I was hanging upside down," Amirola added.

Amirola said the force of the impact wasn’t that great and he has had several more forceful crashes.

The young driver was one of the first drivers in NASCAR’s Driver for Diversity Program and he joined the Joe Gibbs Racing development program in 2004. In 2005, he made his Craftsman Truck Series debut and drove in four races. A year ago, he competed full time in CTS action and is moving up to Busch Series competition for the upcoming season.



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