Aric Almirola will commandeer the No. 8 Chevrolet Impala for Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI) full time next season.

"This is an incredibly exciting opportunity," said Almirola. "When you get into racing, you always dream of competing at the highest level and I've had the chance to do that on a limited basis for the past two seasons. Now I will have the opportunity to race the car full time and I could not be more excited about driving the No. 8 car each week for Dale Earnhardt Inc.

At the second half in the 2007 season Almirola began to divide race time with NASCAR veteran Mark Martin. Up until now Almirola has accumulated 11 Cup Series starts. Within those starts, Almirola has collected one Top-10 finish and qualified third place at a separate event.

"This is a really great race team to work with. (Crew Chief) Tony Gibson and these guys have put me in really good race cars this season and they've never treated me like a rookie.  They are committed to being competitive every week and I'm really looking forward to working with them on a weekly basis next season."

Separate from the Cup Series Almirola has had success in NASCAR’s second level series. In 27 starts, Almirola amassed one win at The Milwaukee Mile in 2007. In addition to his win; he has collected two Top-5’s, six Top-10’s and has captured three poles.

Martin has a tremendous amount of faith in Almirola’s potential, and feels that he is completely qualified to handle the opportunity given to him.

"There is no doubt Aric is ready to go full time," said Martin. "Aric is an incredible talent and a true student of the sport. Having him run a full-time program in the No. 8 was always part of the plan, but his development has allowed us to accelerate things. There is a lot of sponsorship excitement surrounding Aric and he is a sought-after guy. Driving that 8 car has been a tremendous honor for me given the respect I have for Dale Earnhardt and DEI, but it is also a great honor to be able to turn over the driving duties of that car to a young man that is destined for great things. Tony Gibson's team is one of the best teams in the sport, and Aric should have immediate success once he is in the car each week."

Martin will compete in twelve more races before he will venture elsewhere next season. Martin, who has seven Top-10’s sixteen Top-10’s in the past two seasons at DEI, is expected to transfer behind the wheel of the No. 5 Chevrolet Impala full time next season at Hendrick Motorsports. The official announcement is scheduled for Friday at Daytona.

The vice president of motorsports operations for DEI, John Story, is excited about the future at DEI. He is also grateful of Martin’s endeavors to move the organization forward.

"With Aric running a full-time schedule in 2009 we will have a group of immensely talented drivers with long careers in front of them and we like our position for the future and know that Aric will get the job done," said Story. "We appreciate everything Mark continues to do for the company. Since we first discussed with Mark our plans for Aric he was 100 percent supportive and has done everything within his power to make it work and allow us to build a program around Aric. Mark has said many times he will help DEI in any manner necessary, and his commitment to the team and to Aric in this regard is beyond compare."