[media-credit name=”Kirk Schroll” align=”alignright” width=”296″]
[/media-credit]July 4th marks an important day as it is Independence Day, and in typical NASCAR tradition, NASCAR is headed to Daytona International Speedway. In celebration, NASCAR has embarked on an initiative called NASCAR Unites an American Initiative. One of the drivers taking part is Tampa, Florida native Aric Almirola, who will be running a U.S. Air Force paint scheme on his No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford.
“It always means a lot to me whether it’s 4th of July weekend or any other weekend, to represent the U.S. Air Force,” he says. “It’s a big deal to represent our military and to basically represent the people that fight for our freedom on a daily basis. So, you know, it means a lot to me to represent them.”
Almirola grew up on an Air Force base as he was born in Elgin Air Force base.
“I realize and know the sacrifices that the families make for us to be free and to live in a free country. So it means a lot to me to be able to represent them and drive the U.S. Air Force car,” he adds. “Last time I drove the Air Force car, we qualified on the pole for the Memorial Day weekend at Charlotte for the Coke 600. So hopefully we can carry that momentum into this weekend, and we’ll go down to Daytona and have a good weekend.”
The sponsorship with the Air Force has allowed Almirola to see the similarities between the Air Force and NASCAR. He says in speaking with the pilots, he sees all of the trust that they put into the mechanics that build the airplanes and make them safe.
“They’re putting their lives in other people’s hands to make sure the plane or the jet is put together properly and maintenance properly and all that stuff,” he says. “It’s a team effort. It’s more than just a pilot. And that’s kind of the same thing that we have in NASCAR.
“I get in the race car, and it’s my name above the door, but there is a lot that goes on that has to happen correctly for us to go out and perform and perform at a high level. So without good people, good results don’t come. You have to have people you trust and are willing to work hard and to sacrifice time with their families and stuff like that to put a good product on the racetrack.”
So far this year, Almirola sits 22nd in points with one pole and two top 10 finishes this season. The last restrictor plate race at Talladega Superspeedway marked Almirola’s first race of the season with Mike Ford as his crew chief.
“The last couple of weeks we haven’t gotten the result we’re looking for, but everything leading up to that has been great,” he says. “Working with Mike has been really great. Mike’s a great crew chief and a great leader, and he’s really smart.”
In the last four weeks, Almirola only has one finish in the top 20 with a 17th place finish at Michigan. The reason has been is that they’ve been trying some new things to try and get better, without having much success.
“Sometimes it’s not fun to run bad, but sometimes you learn kind of what not to do,” he comments. “So the last couple of weeks we’ve learned that and I feel like since he’s come on board at Richard Petty Motorsports our organization as a whole has gotten better — not just the 43, but I feel like the 9’s performance has gotten better too. I really enjoy working with him. His experience has helped me a lot. He helps me a lot more than just being a crew chief.”
Almirola adds that he is leaning on Ford’s experience with showing up to some of the tracks for the first time in a Sprint Cup Series car and not knowing what to expect.
“I think as we build our notebook together and go back to racetracks together, and I’ll get to go back to a racetrack for a second time, I think we’ll be a lot better,” he continues. “Right now we just kind of feel like we’re filling our notebook with notes. Some are good notes, some are bad notes, but you need notes. Right now every time we show up to a racetrack, we have a blank sheet of paper.”
When they return to the race tracks, not only will they have notes to look back on, but Almirola says he’ll have a better understanding of the track.
“When I go out to practice, rather than learning the racetrack, I will already know the racetrack, but I’ll be working on my race car to figure out what I need to go fast,” he says. “That will be the biggest difference is just going back to these racetracks for a second time. When I get on the racetrack, I know what I’m looking for.”
This weekend marks the 17th race of the season and Almirola says he is more comfortable now than at the beginning of the year.
“I feel like I show up to the racetrack every weekend, and I know when I walk over to that 43 car, that’s my car, and my group of guys,” he says. “It’s a lot different than what it was at the beginning of the year. In the beginning of the year I was just trying to learn the guys’ names and figure out each week when we show up to the racetrack what to expect. I feel like I have a lot better understanding of that now.”
Now moving forward, the next thing Almirola wants to do is win a race and put up a good performance. Almirola says he has good moments, such as the pole at Charlotte, and he hopes to have more of those, though he knows it’s not easy to keep doing it
“I didn’t expect to come Cup racing and beat Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards and those guys every weekend,” he says. “I knew it was going to be tough, and I had a lot to learn, and I still do. I feel like I was right. It is tough. It’s extremely hard, extremely competitive.”
