No. 43 Smithfield Ford Team Looks to Use Tough Track to Solidify Chase Contention
CONCORD, N.C. (June 4, 2013) – The No. 43 Smithfield Ford teams heads to Pocono (Penn.) Raceway 17 points outside of the coveted top-10 in championship points. Aric Almirola hopes to out-trick the ‘Tricky Triangle’ and bring home a top-10 finish to help propel the team in points.
Almirola posted a 28th and 18th-place finish in the June and August races respectively last year. Almirola also has one start in the truck series where he started fifth and finished fourth at the track.
Veteran Crew Chief Todd Parrott brings 30 races of experience to Pocono. He has tallied two wins (2002, 1997), 12 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes. In those 30 races at the ‘Tricky Triangle,’ he has an average finish of 14.4.
Comments from Smithfield Ford Fusion Driver Aric Almirola:
“Pocono is certainly one of the tougher racetracks to set up to get your car to be perfect. You have Turn One that is a very high-speed and high banked turn. The ‘Tunnel’ Turn is really high speed too, but just somewhat of a turn. It is just enough to make you slow down a bit. Then, you have Turn Three that is a long, slow, sweeping corner. Turn Three is very important – you have to get off that corner so you can make that long run down the front straightaway. Pocono is always a very challenging place to get a good handling car.
“I feel that we can have a really good race here. Todd really knows how to set up the car for this track, and that’s going to help with the new car. He’s really good at finding the handling of the car that really works for me. I think that’s why we had so much success. We haven’t had a great few weeks, but we’re still right here in contention. We just need a good finish this Sunday.”
Comments from Smithfield Ford Fusion Crew Chief Todd Parrott:
“I’m excited to go to Pocono. Pocono is a very challenging track because it is so unique. We will really focus on getting off of turn three with a lot of speed, so we can get good momentum on the front straightaway. You never know what Mother Nature is going to do at Pocono, so you have to be ready for hot and cool track temperatures because they can change in an instant.”
Chassis History:
The No. 43 team has prepared chassis No. 837 at Pocono. The team last raced the chassis at Richmond International Raceway, where Almirola finished eighth in this third of four consecutive top-10 finishes earlier this season.
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:
Party in the Poconos 400
Pocono Raceway
Sunday, June 9, 2 p.m. ET
TV: TNT
Radio: MRN/SiriusXM 90
Qualifying:
Friday, June 7, 3:40 p.m. ET
TV: SPEED
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