"Man, this was just a frustrating weekend" - Aric Almirola rues having 'killed our day' at Verizon 200 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

NASCAR's outing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend spelled frustration for Aric Almirola and his #10 crew at Stewart-Haas Racing. The Verizon 200 at The Brickyard saw the 38-year-old unable to finish the 200-mile-long race after encountering issues with his car.

The #10 GEARWRENCH Ford Mustang driver was seen locking up his rear wheels as he headed into turn 1 of the road course circuit, causing him to lose control and hit the #5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 of Kyle Larson. The Eglin AFB, Florida-born driver elaborated on what happened from his point of view in the car after his retirement and said:

“We broke the left-front suspension I got into turn one and locked up the rear tires and it just kind of took off on me and I got into the (#)5. I hate it for those guys. I hate it for our guys. Man, this was just a frustrating weekend.”

Almirola appreciated his team's efforts to bring a car worthy of fighting in the front of the pack as he added:

“I felt like the guys did a great job of bringing me a car that was pretty good and thought we were gonna have a good day. Just not the day we were hoping for. I made a mistake or I’m not sure what happened, but I locked up the tires getting into one and killed our day and tore up the (#)5 car at the same time.”

Turn 1 was one of the major talking points of the past weekend as the Cup Series race saw various drivers take to the sharp right-hander without consideration for other cars on track. Restarts during the 200-mile-long race saw cars go 4 and 5-wide into the turn, which is closely followed up by a sweeping left-hander, causing major incidents during the race.

---

Aric Almirola speaks on potential retirement from NASCAR

After making his debut in the highest echelon of stock car racing in 2007, Aric Almirola is finally at a stage in his career where imminent retirement looms over the 38-year-old's head. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver has been on the receiving end of questions regarding his future in the sport and is yet to give a concrete answer about the same.

Notable NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass recently interviewed Aric Almirola, where he asked for a timeline if retirement was on the cards for 2023. The #10 Ford Mustang driver replied:

“As long as plans continue to go forward, I’ve said what I’ve said, I still anticipate having dialogue with the race team and with the sponsors as far as what the replacement will be.”

Watch the complete interview below:

Catch Aric Almirola next weekend as he tries to make amends at the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway.