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Stewart-Haas Racing driver Aric Almirola had a wonderful day at work over the weekend, driving his #10 Smithfield Ford Mustang to a top-ten finish for the first time since Atlanta early last month. His stunning performance on Sunday night was a clean comeback after a disheartening finish at Michigan the previous weekend, where he finished P34.
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Despite the impressive results at Richmond, the Florida native is still at risk of calling it a season after the Daytona 500. With zero wins this season, Almirola is still sitting below the playoff charts with 15 winners and a one-point driver. Kevin Harvick, his teammate, has already secured his spot after victories in Michigan and Richmond.
After a rough month, Aric Almirola finally bounced back, and he now feels he needs a win to turn his season around at the last minute.
In a media interaction, Aric Almirola said:
“It was a good day. We have had a rough month, so to come here and rebound and have a good run — we need a win, but to have a good run is a confidence booster”
For him to book a spot in the playoffs this season, Aric Almirola only has two more shots, since only two events remain in the regular season. If that fails, Aric Almirola will have to support his teammate Kevin Harvick as he competes for the championship.
Aric Almirola's performance in the NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond Raceway
The #10 Smithfield Ford Mustang was one of the fastest cars all day, starting on P32 and climbing to fifth place. Despite the speed, Aric feels like the cooling of the track did mess up his day.
According to him, the first runs were pretty fast and they managed to get to the front positions, but when the clouds came and the track cooled, they kind of lost it. With the track cooling off, Almirola wasn’t able to rotate the car as he wanted, leading to him reducing the pace.
After the Richmond race, Almirola now ranks 18th in the drivers' standings with 552 points, 330 points behind Chase Elliott, who is leading. His most recent top-ten finish was his seventh of the season.
At the start of the season, Aric seemed to have a solid season after a good start, clinching three consecutive top-ten finishes, including a fifth finish. His season turned around in New Hampshire after he recorded his first DNF, and he struggled since then until Richmond.
He started the season in a pretty tough position last year, but managed to get two wins. Heading into Watkins this weekend, his only hope is to add that win to his record.
