Competes at Last Great Colosseum in No. 43 Smithfield and No. 98 Fresh From Florida Fords
Aric Almirola heads to Bristol Motor Speedway under the lights for double duty. Last weekend, Almirola and the No. 43 Smithfield team posted a Top-15 finish and look to carry that momentum to the high-banked short track this weekend.
Almirola has 16 Monster Energy Series starts at Bristol where he scored one Top-Five, two Top-10 and six Top-15 finishes. He scored his best finish of fifth in 2014. Earlier this season, the team battled rain and came home with a 22nd-place finish in the postponed race.
Almirola will return to the cockpit of the No. 98 Fresh From Florida Ford Mustang for the first time since his win at Talladega Superspeedway. Looking to make another appearance in Victory Lane, Almirola has six XFINITY Series starts where he scored one Top-Five and four Top-10 finishes. He finished 10th in his last XFINITY race at Bristol last season with Biagi DenBeste Racing.
Fans headed to Food City Race Night in Bristol, Tenn. will have the opportunity to get an autograph from Almirola or see Richard Petty in the opening ceremonies. Food City Race Night features entertainment, food, and fun. Fans of all ages get the opportunity to meet their favorite drivers and their teams. Advance tickets are $5 and can be purchased at selected Food City locations. Tickets will be $6 the day of the event with children 12 and under being admitted free of charge. All proceeds from Food City Race Night will benefit local organizations. Over a half million dollars has been raised through Food City Race Night and donated to various area organizations.
Petty will join the PVA for a check presentation in the Welcome Ceremonies.
When: Thursday, August 17, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Food City Race Night Main Stage, Downtown Bristol
Almirola will be on hand to sign autographs at the Fresh From Florida display.
When: Thursday, August 17, 6:00 p.m.
Where: Food City Race Night, Downtown Bristol
“Racing under the lights at Bristol is always exciting. I’m looking forward to running both races this weekend. The last time I ran with Biagi DenBeste Racing we went to Victory Lane, so I’m excited to get back in the Mustang and compete for another win. We had a good finish last weekend in the Monster Energy Series, so we’ll use that momentum heading into the race on Saturday. We had a lot of rain earlier this year that hindered working on our car in practice, so we’ll use our race notes from the race to bring a good car this weekend.”
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 one team in competition in the NASCAR premier series with driver Aric Almirola. Almirola will return to the iconic No. 43 Ford with partners Smithfield Foods, STP, United States Air Force and Fresh From Florida. The team is headquartered in Mooresville, N.C.
