NASCAR driver Aric Almirola lives dream with batting practice at Tropicana Field

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- High speed, meet heavy lumber.

NASCAR driver Aric Almirola has long carried a passion for baseball. He started playing T-ball at age 4, four years before he began racing go-karts. The Tampa native embraced baseball in his boyhood years until he chose to concentrate on his interest in the track when he entered Hillsborough High School.

So it's no surprise that taking cuts during a 16-minute batting practice session Tuesday at Tropicana Field was a thrill, even a step into his past. Almirola was back in the Tampa Bay region to promote the Coke Zero 400, which will be held July 5 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

How did gripping a bat feel?

"I hadn't hit a baseball in literally 15 years," said Almirola, 30. "So yeah, to get in there and get in the cage and hit some balls was really cool. I got a few out of the infield, so that was good."

Almirola, a member of Richard Petty Motorsports who sits 22nd in the Sprint Cup Series standings, produced a few quality swings. He wore a white No. 43 Rays jersey to match his car number. At one point, he cracked a long fly ball to deep left field about halfway through the session.

"Whew," Almirola said from the cage about six minutes into his session, "I'm getting tired."

This stage was familiar for him. On June 25, 2013, he threw out the first pitch at Tropicana Field before a game between the Rays and Toronto Blue Jays. On Tuesday, less than two hours after his BP session, Almirola and Rays manager Joe Maddon made a trade: Almirola received a signed Tampa Bay batting helmet from Maddon, and Maddon received an autographed pit crew shirt from Almirola. Maddon also was granted another prize: A Daytona International Speedway helmet autographed by Sprint Cup Series drivers.

"As a kid, I always dreamed of what it would be like to play major-league baseball," Almirola said.

"It really is a dream come true. I've literally laid in bed at night as a little kid thinking about what it could be like."

You can follow Andrew Astleford on Twitter @aastleford or email him at aastleford@gmail.com.