"It’s unlike anything we do anywhere else" - Aric Almirola on why he's looking forward to the NASCAR race at Watkins Glen

Aric Almirola and his team will carry a unique Go Bowling paint scheme on their #10 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing at Watkins Glen this Sunday. The race is set to go off on August 21st at 3 pm ET. As far as the partnership between Go Bowling and Stewart-Haas Racing goes, Almirola will be promoting the bowling sport on and off the track.

The upcoming NASCAR race at Watkins Glen International is one of the two remaining road-course events and Aric Almirola feels this might be the race he has been waiting for. According to him, the Glen is one of his favorite road course tracks since one can drive the racecar to its limit and go through the chicane at 120 to 130 mph.

In a recent media interview, Almirola discussed what he enjoys about Watkins Glen, saying:

“Watkins Glen is one of my favorite road courses. It’s so flowy and fast and you get in such a rhythm going through the bus stop. It’s unlike anything we do anywhere else. It’s incredible to drive a racecar to its limits and go through that chicane at 120 to 130 miles per hour.”

Tony Stewart is one of the drivers who has established their names on this track, and Almirola will be looking forward to following in his footsteps this weekend. Unlike his teammate Kevin Harvick, who got a late entry into the playoffs, Almirola is still struggling to place his #10 Ford Mustang in a winning position to get to the playoffs. At the moment, his chances are limited as the regular season only has two races before winless drivers call it a season.

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Aric Almirola's performance in NASCAR road course races

Aric Almirola has been behind the wheel with only three Cup Series wins in the past 11 years and none of them have been derived from a road course race. This shows that his record in road course events is a bit challenging to win this race.

Of the past four road course events that NASCAR has held this season, the best he has scored is the 14th place finish at Sonoma, which was the second road course event this season. In the first event, he scored a 19th place finish at COTA. The third was Road America, where he settled into P28 before wrapping up the fourth with DNF after finishing 38th.

Looking at his Watkins Glen record for the past 10 starts he has made as a Cup driver, Almirola only has five top-20 finishes with a career-best of 12th finish, which came in 2019. Though he scored a top 10 in the Xfinity Series in 2011, he'll have to work extra hard to win a race at this track.

With 552 points, Almirola now sits 16th in the drivers' standings and 18th in playoff points.