Team Looks to Work Their Way Back into The Chase
After a few off weeks, Aric Almirola and the No. 43 Smithfield Ford team rebounded last weekend in Kentucky, scoring a 12th-place finish. The team has shown consistency all season but had a few racing incidents as of late that hurt them in the point standings. The team went into last weekend looking to regain that consistency to work their way back into The Chase cutoff spot. The Smithfield team looks to score another solid finish this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Almirola has 15 NASCAR starts at the one-mile track with nine Sprint Cup Series starts. He scored his best finish of fifth in 2013 in the Cup Series and 2011 in the XFINITY Series. He has two Top-Five and five Top-10 finishes in his 15 starts. Last year, Almirola and the No. 43 team finished sixth in the fall race while competing in The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
“Right now, our focus is consistency. If we have a Top-10 car, we need to make sure we run in the Top-10. If we have a winning car, we are going to race hard for the win. We still have eight races left until The Chase. We made up some ground in the points last week, and we have to keep chipping away at it. We’re not at a point yet to gamble everything for a win. We need to race smart right now.
“Loudon has always been a bit of a difficult track for me. I feel like I had a good handle on it a few years ago, but as of late, we haven’t been where we need to be. I know Trent (Owens) and the guys have worked really hard to get a good setup in our No. 43 Smithfield Ford, so I look forward to shaking it down in practice and getting it ready to race on Sunday. Hopefully, we can score a Top-10 or even Top-Five and continue moving forward in the points.”
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 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, STP and Fresh From Florida, and Sam Hornish Jr. drives the No. 9 machine with primary partners Medallion Bank and Twisted Tea. In addition, Dakoda Armstrong wheels the No. 43 WinField Ford Mustang full-time in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. The team is headquartered in Mooresville, N.C.
