No. 43 Smithfield Team Look to Top their Best Short Track Finish of Fourth
Aric Almirola is holding strong in the 17th spot in the Championship Point Standings. While competing for the top points position outside of the Chase, Almirola and the No. 43 Smithfield Ford team are still working to spoil the Chase with a win to close out the season. Martinsville Speedway is the perfect place. In the six races at tracks under one mile, the team has a 12.8 average finish and a best finish of fourth.
Almirola has 13 Sprint Cup Series starts at Martinsville where he scored one Top-Five, three Top-10 and four Top-15 finishes. He scored his best finish at the paper clip-shaped oval in 2014 when he drove the No. 43 Ford to a fourth-place finish. He also has five Truck Series starts with one Top-Five and two Top-10 finishes.
Fans will have two chances to see Almirola at Martinsville Speedway. Sunday, he will first stop at the Ford display in the fan area at 10 a.m. Then, he will join “The King” Richard Petty to judge and host the Smithfield Whole Hog Challenge at the Smithfield display at 10:20 a.m. Fans can sign up to compete throughout the weekend at the Smithfield display in the fan zone. Contestants will compete in the eating contest for a trip to Miami where they have the chance to be crowned Champion and attend the season opener in 2016.
“Like we have been all year, our car was better on the long run earlier this year at Martinsville Speedway. There were a lot of cautions, so that didn’t help us. We still had a solid Top-15 finish. We’ve been really good at short tracks this year and showed strength in our last short track race at Richmond. We’ve done some work trying to get the car better on the short run as well as the long run, so hopefully, that will translate this weekend. Martinsville is a really tough track, not only on drivers but equipment, too. We’ll work hard to qualify well but be easy on our equipment to make it to the end.”
No. 43 Smithfield 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.
