Aramendia began his racing career in 1988 at the age of 24, where he first competed in a thirty-lap feature race at the San Antonio Speedway in San Antonio, Texas that year, driving a 1977 Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
[1][2] For the next few years, he competed in various late model series, where he won several feature wins and finished in the top-ten in every season he contested.
He then ran the next race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, this time starting 43rd after taking a provisional, and finished in 23rd.
In 2004, Aramendia ran three of the first four races of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No.
Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time.