Will Sport “Petty Blue” and Day-Glo Red during The Tradition Returns Weekend
Aric Almirola and the No. 43 team are still in the hunt for a Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup transfer spot with just two races remaining before the start of the Chase. Currently, the team is 35 points outside of the cutoff. Not only will the team be fighting for a good finish to earn a Chase spot, but they will also throwback to 1972 with the No. 43 STP Ford for The Tradition Returns weekend. Marking the first year of STP’s partnership with “The King” Richard Petty, the No. 43 will sport the original paint scheme of “Petty Blue” and Day-Glo Red. Not only will the team exhibit the throwback look, they will also host members from the 1972 Petty Enterprises team on Sunday.
Almirola has just three Sprint Cup Series and two XFINITY Series starts at Darlington Raceway. He posted his best start of third last year and his best finish of 19th in 2012. Crew Chief Trent Owens has nine starts as crew chief in the Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series and scored five Top-10 finishes with a best finish of sixth.
Fans will have the opportunity to meet Petty and Hall of Famer Dale Inman Saturday at 2:15 p.m. and Almirola Saturday at 3 p.m. both at the Fanatics tent.
“We haven’t counted ourselves out of the Chase hunt yet. Thirty-five points is a lot to make up in two races, but anything can happen. We’re still focused on getting the best finishes we can get every weekend but know that a win in the next two races will lock us in. Like we said for the last few weeks, we’re all in. We want to compete in the Chase like we did last year and feel we’re in a better position this year to advance throughout the Chase.
“This weekend is going to be so cool. I’m really excited to see all the throwback paint schemes and even more excited to be driving the original STP paint scheme. STP and the No. 43 have such a storied history in the sport, and I’m happy to be a small part of that.”
No. 43 STP Ford
A performance and marketing driven company, Richard Petty Motorsports, co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty and successful business entrepreneur Andrew Murstein, is one of the most recognized brands in all of motorsports. With a history of over 200 wins and business partnerships with national and global leaders, today the race operation fields two teams in competition in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Aric Almirola pilots the famous No. 43 Ford Fusion with primary partners Smithfield Foods, U.S. Air Force, STP and Fresh From Florida, and Sam Hornish Jr. drives the No. 9 machine with primary partners Medallion Bank and Twisted Tea. In addition, Dakoda Armstrong wheels the No. 43 WinField Ford Mustang full-time in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. The team is headquartered in Mooresville, N.C.
