Did a caution help Aric Almirola upset playoff advancement hopefuls? Exploring how the JGR driver got “lucky” in Kansas

Joe Gibbs Racing team driver Aric Almirola won the Kansas Lottery 300 held at the Kansas Speedway on Sunday, 29 September 2024. He is a part-time NASCAR Xfinity driver and won the opener race of the playoffs, crossing the finish line 0.660 seconds before Cole Custer and robbing him of a spot in the next round of playoffs.

Almirola qualified for the race in sixth place with a best time of 39.98 seconds and a top speed of 174.306 mph. He was 0.22 seconds behind the leader of the pack, Brandon Jones. The Toyota Supra driver was clear about his goals from the beginning of the race and surpassed the leader of the pack on the 25th lap.

Almirola then passed Cole Custer on the 26th lap and rose to second place from sixth. A few laps later, on lap 37, he passed Chandler Smith and won stage 1, earning ten additional points. The #20 driver fell back to 8th but recovered significantly and finished stage 2 in second place.

Joe Gibbs Racing driver pitted on the 149th lap in the final stage and again fell to 8th place. But he recovered and gradually started moving up. After getting bumper-to-bumper with Cole Custer, he got the lead on the 197th lap and won the race.

During a post-race interview with NASCAR, Aric Almirola explained how a caution proved to be "lucky" for him.

"I knew I had to put my head down and go to work after that. We got lucky to get the caution when we did, and we were out of tires, so the fact that it went green there to the end (for the final 49 laps)… that’s where we were strong. We were really strong on the long runs."

Aric Almirola is all set to "celebrate" his Kansas win

Aric Almirola's strategy of being patient in the last stage of the race worked successfully and took him to the victory lane despite facing a major setback on the pit road, by tangling with a fence bursting out the rear tire. He just put his "head down" and raced without complaining.

The Toyota Supra driver further mentioned that racing for the Joe Gibbs Racing team was "so much fun" for him. Almirola also highlighted that "the GR Supras are fast, as fast as the Xfinity Internet." He added his lads Seth, Ziggy, Greg, and Joey from the shop made his car capable of taking the trophy home.

"Everybody, all the all the guys, all the pit crew guys, they have been fast with this group, and just victory lane has eluded them. So I've told them all week, I'm like, Man, I'd love nothing more than to share a beer with you guys in victory lane and go get our picture made," stated Aric Almirola.