Aric Almirola Looks to Bounce Back in California
Driver Believes in Strength of Crew Chief and Team
CONCORD, N.C. (March 19, 2013) – For Aric Almirola and the No. 43 Farmland Ford team, it’s time for them to show their mettle. After falling in the point standings following an incident in Bristol, Almirola and the No. 43 team are determined to climb back up the point standings.
Almirola will make his ninth NASCAR series start at the Auto Club Speedway this weekend in the No. 43 Farmland Ford. The Richard Petty Motorsports driver looks to surpass his best California finish of sixth, which he posted in 2010 in the Nationwide Series, in Sunday’s Auto Club 400.
As part of their Race to End Hunger, Almirola will join Farmland Foods this week to present a cash and protein donation to Second Harvest Food Bank. The donation will help feed thousands of families, children and seniors in the Inland Empire. The announcement and presentation will be held at the Auto Club Speedway on Friday, March 22 at 9:30 a.m. and will include remarks from Farmland, Aric and Second Harvest Food Bank representatives, as well as photo opportunities.
Comments from Farmland Ford Fusion Driver Aric Almirola:
“Last week was a hard hit to our team. We fell in the point standings, but I have a lot of confidence in Todd (crew chief Todd Parrott) and in this No. 43 team. I really believe that we can still come back and get into a position to make the chase. We just have a hole to dig out of, but it’s early in the season.
“Our cars have been good this season and last weekend was no different. I’m confident that we can continue to bring good cars to the track and put together solid finishes. We don’t like having bad weekends, but it probably makes us even hungrier to get back to the track. We just need a solid race this Sunday and we’ll be in good shape.
“California is all about handling. Being two miles and low banking, you have to have a good handling car to be fast. We tested this car in Vegas and felt good about it. That will help us unload well and hopefully have a good weekend.”
Comments from Crew Chief Todd Parrott on California:
“We tested this car at Vegas, and it had good speed. Aric does a good job at the intermediate tracks, so I think he’ll do a good job this weekend too. The key for us will be to keep our heads up and fight harder to get back up in the standings. We have been consistent every week so far. If we keep that up, we’ll be in a good place by the end of the season.”
Chassis History:
The No. 43 team has prepared chassis No. 839 for California. The team built the chassis in the off-season and used it at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway test.
About Richard Petty Motorsports
A performance and marketing driven company, Richard Petty Motorsports, co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty and successful business entrepreneurs Andrew Murstein and Douglas Bergeron, 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 and STP and Marcos Ambrose drives the No. 9 machine with primary partners Stanley and DEWALT. In addition, Michael Annett wheels the No. 43 Pilot Flying J Ford Mustang full-time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The team is headquartered in Concord, N.C.
NEXT RACE:
Auto Club 400
Auto Club Speedway
Sunday, March 24, 3 p.m. ET
TV: FOX
Radio: MRN/SiriusXM 90
Qualifying:
Friday, March 22, 7:10 p.m. ET
TV: SPEED
QUICK LINKS
RichardPettyMotorsports.com
AricAlmirola.com
FarmlandFoods.com
