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[/media-credit]Aric Almirola • No. 43 VeriFone Ford
- This weekend will be Almirola’s fifth Sprint Cup Series start at Talladega Superspeedway. Almirola also has starts at the track in the NASCAR Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series. His best finish at the track is second (twice) in the Truck Series.
- VeriFone will be the primary sponsor of the No. 43 Ford this weekend. This is VeriFone’s first sponsorship with a NASCAR race team. The company will also have an at-track display in the fan midway where Almirola will visit with fans both Saturday and Sunday.
- VeriFone is a provider of secure electronic payment systems. Race fans likely use VeriFone products all the time when swiping their cards at thegrocery store or at the gas pump.
Aric Almirola Comments on the Aaron’s 499: “Well, this is a big weekend for a couple of reasons. First, and most obvious, is our new crew chief. This will be the first race that Mike (Ford) and I will be working together. It’s a little bit of a different track to start working together since it’s a plate race, but I’m still anxious to work with Mike. He’s a proven winner in our sport and I think he can elevate our program to win races.
“Second, we have VeriFone Sail on the car this weekend. It’s pretty cool to have VeriFone come on board as a team sponsor for us. This has been a pretty exciting week already for us. I think everyone at VeriFone is seeing all the excitement around the race team and we want to continue that this weekend.
“Talladega is a pure crapshoot for everyone. We have just as much chance to win this race as anyone. We had a pretty fast speedway car at Daytona and the Roush-Yates Engines have won a lot of plate races, too. I think we have a good shot at starting near the front. It’s then just staying out of trouble and being there at the end.”
Mike Ford Comments on Talladega: “I guess vacation is over, but it will be nice to get back to work. This is a great opportunity to work with Richard Petty Motorsports and on the famous No. 43 Ford. There is no other car that anyone wants to see back in Victory Lane than this one. I want to help get it there.
“There are a few things we can do to the car to get it ready, but Talladega is just more about being at the right place at the right time. I’m just going to try and give Aric some advice that I’ve learned and let him take control. We’ll make sure we give him the best car to win and then see what happens in the draft. Talladega is always a wide-open race.”
Chassis History: The No. 43 team will race chassis No. 716 this weekend. The chassis has never been raced by the team, but has served as the backup for other restrictor plate races.
Notes: This will be the first race with new crew chief Mike Ford. Ford was hired on Monday of this week. Almirola and Ford will be available to the media on Friday at 10:15 a.m. in the Talladega Media Center.
Almirola will make two appearances at the VeriFone Sail display: Saturday from 10:20 to 10:40 a.m. and Sunday from 8:30 to 8:50 a.m.
Race Information
Date: May 6, 2012
Track: Talladega Superspeedway
Laps: 188 Laps/500.08 Miles
TV Information: 1 p.m. ET on FOX
Radio Information: 1 p.m. ET on MRN
Qualifying: May 5 at 12:10 p.m. ET on SPEED
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