ARIC ALMIROLA
Texas Advance
No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing
Event Overview
● Event: AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 (Round 30 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Sept. 24
● Location: Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth
● Layout: 1.5-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 267 laps / 400.5 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 80 laps / Stage 2: 80 laps / Final Stage: 107 laps
● TV/Radio: USA / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Notes of Interest
● History at Texas: In 22 NASCAR Cup Series starts on the 1.5-mile oval at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Almirola has one top-five finish, five top-10s, and has led 101 laps. Four of the five top-10s came in his first four starts with Stewart-Haas Racing.
● Driver Standings: Almirola arrives at Texas 22nd in the driver standings.
● Almirola’s career: In 453 career NASCAR Cup Series starts, Almirola has three wins, 28 top-five finishes, 93 top-10s, five poles, and has led 1,068 laps.
● Last weekend at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Almirola ran in and around the top-15 for the majority of the race after a difficult qualifying effort of 26th. He finished 18th.
● Smithfield has been a sponsor of Almirola’s for the entirety of his fulltime NASCAR Cup Series career – making it one of the longest-lasting partnerships in NASCAR. Smithfield is an American food company with agricultural roots and a global reach. Its 63,000 team members are dedicated to producing “Good food. Responsibly.®” Smithfield is one of the world’s leading vertically integrated protein companies. The company has pioneered sustainability standards for more than two decades, including its industry-leading commitments to become carbon negative in U.S. company-owned operations and reduce GHG emissions 30 percent across its entire U.S. value chain by 2030. Smithfield believes in the power of protein to end food insecurity and has donated hundreds of millions of food servings to local communities.
● Beyond the 10 YouTube Series:In 2023, Almirola is continuing to share his life beyond the No. 10 Ford with season five of his award-winning YouTube series. Fans and media can subscribe on YouTube to see Almirola’s personality on and off the track. Episodes have already featured life as a dad, a husband and an athlete, and the show gives fans a unique perspective on what goes on in the life of a professional NASCAR driver. Fans can also follow Almirola’s social media channels: @Aric_Almirola on Twitter and Instagram, and @AricAlmirola on Facebook.
Aric Almirola, Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
Since joining Stewart-Haas Racing, you’ve won a pole and finished runner-up at Texas. Is this a track that fits your style?
“I just think our organization has found a lot of success figuring out Texas over the years and we had one of the fastest cars in 2019 and finished second to Kevin (Harvick), so we have been really successful as a team at Texas. With this NextGen car, it’s been a bit of a toss-up at the 1.5-mile tracks. Sometimes we hit on it and sometimes we don’t, so we just have to hope what we’re bringing to Texas this weekend is the right setup. I’m really confident there, so if we do unload well, I know we can race up front with the guys contending in the playoffs. Texas always has a huge celebration for the winner, so this would be a really cool track to add to the list and close out the season with a win.”
No. 10 Smithfield Ford Team Roster
Primary Team Members
Driver: Aric Almirola
Hometown: Tampa, Florida
Crew Chief: Drew Blickensderfer
Hometown: Decatur, Illinois
Car Chief: Jerry Cook
Hometown: Toledo, Ohio
Lead Engineer: Lee Deese
Hometown: Rockingham, North Carolina
Engineer: James Kimbrough
Hometown: Pensacola, Florida
Spotter: Joel Edmonds
Hometown: Dobson, North Carolina
Over-The-Wall Members
Front Tire Changer: Ryan Mulder
Hometown: Sioux Center, Iowa
Rear Tire Changer: Trevor White
Hometown: Arlington, Texas
Tire Carrier: Tyler Bullard
Hometown: King, North Carolina
Jack Man: Sean Cotton
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina
Fuel Man: James “Ace” Keener
Hometown: Fortuna, California
Road Crew Members
Mechanic: Chris Trickett
Hometown: Grafton, West Virginia
Mechanic: Jacob Cooksey
Hometown: Westbrookville, New York
Engine Tuner: Matt Moeller
Hometown: Monroe, New York
Tire Specialist: Russel Simpson
Hometown: Medford, New York
Transporter Co-Driver: Steven Casper
Hometown: Salisbury, North Carolina
Transporter Co-Driver: Matt Murphy
Hometown: Augusta, Georgia
