NASCAR Cup Series

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.

"Growing up as a kid and watching my Dad race in Rolla, MO, I never dreamed that I'd have the chance to do what I've done in my life. I've had a long and successful career and I've been able to support my family doing what I love. To me, it doesn't get any better than that.

“We always look forward to racing at New Hampshire because it is the home track for Fenway Sports Group. New Hampshire is a fast one-mile track with multiple grooves. We had a solid finish in Kentucky last weekend so we will look to carry that momentum into this weekend and hopefully earn another top-10 finish like we had last year.”

Stewart has three wins and 14 top fives at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. In addition, Stewart is celebrating 10 years of ownership of Eldora Speedway which hosts the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on July 22nd, and later that week the Columbus, Indiana, native will return home for the Crown Royal Presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a track at which he has two victories.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series summer swing continues this weekend with the first of two trips to New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where Ford is coming off a sweep of both events last season. The Team Penske duo of Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano each won in 2014 to give Ford its second season sweep since the track started hosting two NSCS races in 1997.

After dealing with inclement weather, qualifying cancellation due to rain, weepers on the track and a new aero package, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the Quaker State 400 Presented by Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway.

Seven races, two wins. Instead of sitting fifth in the standings, tucked in behind fellow two-race winners Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his brother, the Kentucky winner is left sitting 35th in the standings. Interestingly enough, he also sits just 87 points out of 30th and a place in the Chase, with eight events to go.

“I’ve really enjoyed New Hampshire Motor Speedway over the years,” Allmendinger said. “It is definitely a track position kind of track. It’s a tough place because you really have to get the thing to roll the center, but forward drive off is really critical there.

he NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway has received an entitlement boost from the makers of 5-hour ENERGY shots before it drops the green flag next weekend. Speedway officials announced on Monday that the energy shot will be the title sponsor for the 5-hour ENERGY 301 on July 19.

Count David Ragan as a fan of NASCAR’s new aerodynamic package that debuted Saturday night in the Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Speedway. The driver of the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine drove from his 25th starting spot to third before late race handling issues dropped him to 18th.