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[/media-credit]Aric Almirola – No. 43 Smithfield/Helping Hungry Homes Ford Fusion
Aric Almirola started the 400-lap NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Richmond International Raceway from the 11th position. Almirola finished the Capital City 400 as follows:
26th—Aric Almirola, No. 43 Smithfield/Helping Hungry Homes Ford Fusion
- Almirola had his second best qualifying effort of the season, starting 11th in his 44th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start.
- The Smithfield/Helping Hungry Homes Ford was quickly up to ninth by Lap 40, but Almirola was fighting a lack of grip in the car.
- Crew Chief Greg Erwin made multiple track bar adjustments to the car as most Ford teams struggled with forward grip.
- Although the car was not handling well, Almirola raced hard and was able to stay in the top- 20 throughout the evening.
- A late race caution on Lap 388, with Almirola running 20th, led to a decision to call Almirola to pit road. With just a few laps left in the event, Almirola ran time and was unable to gain back lost ground after the stop.
- Almirola finished 26th and is now 24th in points.
Almirola’s Thoughts After the Race: “We had a good qualifying run and ran in the top-10 for the first 50 laps, but then we couldn’t get the car to handle the way we wanted. We fought really hard to stay in the top-20 and maybe try and gain some more spots at the end, but it didn’t turn out that way. We had a mistake at the end of the race and we’ll go back and discuss that. Our expectations are much greater than tonight’s result and we’ll make sure we keep working to meet them.”
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series now heads to the Talladega Superspeedway for the Aaron’s 499, May 6, at 12:00 p.m. ET. The race will be broadcast on FOX and MRN Radio.
