Aric Almirola, the most veteran driver in the Richard Motorsports stable doesn’t want to look at the past but has optimism for the future. After making the Chase in 2014 on his victory at the Firecracker 400 at Daytona, disappointment was obvious as he discussed 2015.
“We were only 11 points away from the Chase and you can put that down to inconsistency,” Almirola said. “We still accomplished a lot and we can circle a couple of races where if we could have it back, we could have made the Chase.”
Despite the regrets over 2015, there are many changes at RPM and that starts with the driver. Brian Scott has moved from the XFINITY Series with Richard Childress Racing to the Sprint Cup Series with RPM. Not only that but the No. 9 Ford Fusion will be the No. 44 with changes in sponsorship and new ones coming on board.
One of the problems in 2015 was a lack of sponsorship for that car, but in addition to Twisted Tea, RPM will bring Albertson’s, Goody’s and GoBowling.com on board for full sponsorship. It was also announced that Smithfield had agreed to sponsor more races on Almirola’s No. 43 Ford.
Petty, the organization, is so family oriented, “Scott said. “It’s about legacy and hard work. To hear about the aero numbers we’re getting and be part of the Ford family and doing things with other Ford drivers, this is the best that there is.”
Poor ol Aric will never be an elite driver. He lost those eleven points in just a couple of his many single car spins. If he would learn to not try driving over his head and just take what the good car is giving him he would finish higher in races. I think Scott is going to surprise people and become the number on driver for Petty.