Aric Almirola Looking to Continue Top-20 Streak in Charlotte
No. 43 Smithfield Ford Has Momentum with Strong Runs
One-mile tracks have been good to Aric Almirola and the No. 43 Smithfield Ford team over the past two weeks. With a 17th-place finish in Loudon and a 16th-place finish in Dover, Almirola is carrying momentum heading to Charlotte this weekend. Mile-and-a-half tracks have presented challenges for the No. 43 team throughout season, but the newly-restructured team is settling in and showing progress.
Charlotte Motor Speedway will be a true test for the team, but it is one that Almirola and Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer are ready to take on.Almirola has nine Sprint Cup Series starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway, winning the pole for his first start at the track. He has one Top-10 finish that came in the fall of the 2015 season when he finished in 10th place. In his eight XFINITY Series starts at that track, Almirola has three Top-10 finishes with a best result of fourth place in 2007.Almirola will be at the Ford Performance display on Saturday afternoon answering fans’ questions. Be sure you’re there with your questions ready!
When: Saturday, October 8, 3:40 – 3:55 PM
Where: Ford Performance Display, Charlotte Motor Speedway Fan Midway
Fans will have the opportunity to see both Almirola and “The King” Richard Petty when they judge the Whole Hog Challenge at the Smithfield display in Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Fan Midway. Pre-selected contestants will compete against one another to eat two pounds of Smithfield bacon the fastest. The winner, crowned by Almirola and Petty, will move on to participate in the final Whole Hog Challenge Championship in Miami at the end of the season.
When: Saturday, October 8, 4:00 – 4:30 PM
Where: Smithfield Display, Charlotte Motor Speedway Fan Midway
“Charlotte is definitely a very hectic race for everyone in the garage. We always talk about how great it is to be racing at home, but, to be honest, Charlotte is typically a very busy weekend for us. A lot of our partners and sponsors come to town. We usually do a lot of fan appreciation activities around Charlotte and at our race shop. We get to be really busy around Charlotte weekend, and it actually ends up being one of the busiest weekends of the year. Then when you finally get to go racing, you have to try and get a handle on one of the most temperamental tracks on the circuit. When the sun is out, the track is hot and slick and really hard to get a hold of. When the sun goes down or if it gets just a little bit cloudy, it grips up and gets really fast. It’s extremely weather sensitive, and it’s looking like we’re going to have some crazy weather this weekend.”
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 with drivers Aric Almirola and Brian Scott. Almirola will return to the iconic No. 43 Ford with partners Smithfield Foods, STP, United States Air Force and the “Fresh From Florida” campaign. Scott will make his debut with the team and drive the Petty Family No. 44 Ford. Albertsons Companies, Shore Lodge, Twisted Tea and GoBowling.com will join Scott as he competes for Rookie of the Year in his first full-time season in the Sprint Cup Series. The team is headquartered in Mooresville, N.C.
