USBC Communications

Aric Almirola knows a little something about NASCAR, and on Friday he learned a little more about bowling.

Almirola, 30, was behind the wheel of the No. 43 GoBowling.com car for Richard Petty Motorsports last year at Pocono Raceway, and he will be driving the car once again when the GoBowling.com 400 takes place Aug. 3 at Pocono.

But this week, Almirola is in Fort Worth to race at Texas Motor Speedway. On Friday, he took the opportunity to visit the International Bowling Campus in Arlington to talk to staff members and to take a tour of campus.

Almirola had the chance to see E.A.R.L., the ball-throwing robot, during his tour through the International Training and Research Center.

“There is a lot of engineering that goes into it,” Almirola said about bowling. “I was able to see how they weight the balls … you would never think about that as a recreational bowler. But there is way more to it. I think the same goes with racing. There’s way more behind the scenes than people realize.”

Strike Ten Entertainment, the sponsorship activation arm of the bowling industry, partnered with Pocono Raceway on the multi-faceted partnership deal to bring together two of the nation’s favorite sports brands: NASCAR and GoBowling.com, the official brand of bowling.

The deal also included a partnership with Richard Petty Motorsports, one of the most famous names in motorsports.