Coming into the Chase for the Sprint Cup, there were a pair of Cinderella stories. A pair of drivers who had made the Chase by getting a win when least expected to surprise the fans and critics alike. Those two drivers – A.J. Allmendinger and Aric Almirola.
With the Chase starting at Chicagoland Speedway, a lot of people believed that these two wouldn’t make any splashes and fail to make the cut off for the next round . Though partway through the race, some thoughts began to shift. Each bracket and playoffs – whether baseball, hockey or baseketball – features an upset, surprise and perhaps Almirola was set to become that driver.
Almirola has ran solidly in the teens all season with a couple top 10s, highlighted by the win at Daytona International Speedway in July to get him in the Chase. Based on those results, it was looking as though he’d run in the teens once again.
However, the improvement of Richard Petty Motorsports as an organization continues to be shown as Almirola broke into the top 10 at about the lap 170 mark and began to work his way up through the field, looking to possibly challenge for a top-five in the second half of the race. Whether it’s the research and development that RPM has done, the alliance with Roush-Fenway Racing or a bit of both, Almirola has steadily improved with each week this season and it showed on Sunday afternoon.
For one point this afternoon, there was belief that perhaps Almirola could keep the Cinderella story going and upset the bracket by making it to the second round, starting with a top 10 at Chicagoland. However, all those hopes were dashed with 36 laps to go when the No. 43 Ford went up in smoke.
“I have never been so heartbroken, ever,” Almirola said. “To be running that good in the first round of the Chase. The only thing we can’t do is have a big mistake – and we have. Doug Yates builds awesome motors and this is probably the first motor failure that we’ve had in the three years that I’ve been with this team.”
Rather than posting a top-10 finish, Almirola posted a finish of 41st and now sits as the 16th driver of the 16 heading into the second race of round one at New Hampshire. There is still a chance – mathematically – that Almirola could make it if he has a pair of good runs at New Hampshire and Dover and some others run into similar struggles. There’s also the “win and you’re in” theory that could play if Almirola could win either of those events. However, the odds don’t look in the Florida driver’s favor based on how he has ran to date this season.
Almirola admitted that his team will have a tough road ahead if they want to make it to the second round of the Chase. However, he says that they’re going to “buckle down and go after it.” If Almirola could pull it off, it’d certainly be the true Cinderella story and upset.
