Aric Almirola Experiencing Opportunities of a Lifetime
[media-credit name=”Gary Buchanan” align=”alignright” width=”223″]
[/media-credit]While Aric Almirola did not have quite the qualifying run that he had hoped for at Pocono Raceway, the young driver of the No. 43 Transportation Impact Ford indeed feels like he is having the opportunities of his lifetime.
He and his team, including crew chief Mike Ford, have been improving steadily, particularly in the last three Cup races. In fact, Almirola brought his famed race car to a sixth place finish at the Monster Mile last weekend.
“I think it’s a team effort,” Almirola said. “Bringing Mike Ford on has certainly helped.”
“But as a whole, as a team, and as an organization, we’ve gotten better,” Almirola continued. “We’re running stronger and our finishes show that.”
“I’m really proud of everybody at Richard Petty Motorsports and all these guys on the No. 43 team,” Almirola said. “At the beginning of the year it wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t what we really wanted either.”
“So, for all of them to keep their heads up and keep working hard and not getting discouraged and to finally see the hard work pay off in the last few weeks have been good.”
Almirola also feels that he is having the experience of a lifetime in working with his crew chief. He is especially impressed with Ford’s leadership abilities and his attention to detail.
“Our relationship has come along really good and really quick,” Almirola said of his crew chief Ford. “It’s always easier when you have fast cars.”
“So, when your cars are driving good and you’ve got speed, everybody’s happy, things are good and everything’s a lot easier.”
“The last few weeks have been great,” Almirola continued. “Me and Mike have hit it off really good. I feel like we understand each other.”
“He leads this team really well,” Almirola said. “I think the experience is huge but his work ethic is great.”
“He’s hands on and out in the shop. He’s been around the sport for a long time and he’s done all these guys’ jobs,” Almirola continued. “So, he knows each aspect of the car and understands what needs to be done.”
“He has a certain way that he wants things done and he is very meticulous,” Almirola said. “I think that with as competitive as our sport is today, the detail is really important and he really focuses on the details.”
Almirola, however, readily admits that he has not had the experience of a lifetime at Pocono so far. In fact, he has found everything and every turn challenging for his first race in a Cup car at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’
“It’s a tough track, really tough,” Almirola said. “It takes some learning and getting used to I’m finding out. So, my first time here in a Cup car, I’ve been finding the challenges.”
“The whole place has proven to be a challenge for me so far this weekend.”
Although Almirola qualified 29th, he feels that he will be able to improve as the racing begins. And he and Mike Ford may have to use some pit or tire strategy to move toward the front of the pack.
“I think in the race everything will happen a lot smoother,” Almirola said. “I’ll be in a pack and be able to judge my speed a lot better off other cars.”
“We’ll have to play some strategy because it’s going to be really tough to drive from the back where we qualified up to the top ten or so,” Almirola continued. “It’s going to take some strategy and some good pit stops, which have to be solid all day.”
Almirola is thrilled with one aspect of coming to Pocono, that of bringing on a new race sponsor. For the Pocono 400 presented by #NASCAR, Almirola has welcomed Transportation Impact to the race car.
“Brian Moffitt and all the marketing guys at RPM have done an outstanding job of bringing on new sponsors,” Almirola said. “These are new sponsors that are coming on that have never even been involved in the sport.”
“We’re bringing new money to the sport which is always good to see,” Almirola continued. “Weekends like this weekend, having Transportation Impact on board, is a huge help.”
“It’s no secret that it takes a lot of money to run these race teams,” Almirola said. “So every race we get sponsored is a big deal.”
Experiencing the opportunities of a lifetime has, however, brought its share of challenges to the up and coming racer. First and foremost are the time demands of the Cup Series, followed closely by the extreme competition on the track.
“The time demand has been most surprising,” Almirola said. “I knew it would take some time to learn and there would be weekends like this weekend.”
“But what I didn’t realize was the time and attention and focus that it would take,” Almirola continued. “I knew it would more than what I was used to running a Nationwide car or a Truck but it is unbelievable how much time I spend focused on this 43 car, whether I’m at the race track or when I’m not doing sponsor meet and greets or meeting with new potential sponsors or just going to the shop for debriefs.”
“All the things that it takes to be successful at this level take time,” Almirola said. “It’s a 24 hour a day, seven day a week job.”
“I think the other challenge is just how competitive this series is,” Almirola continued. “You can’t be off just a little bit and you’ll be 30th.”
“You look at guys like Jeff Gordon and even Jamie McMurray and they have had their struggles,” Almirola said. “That’s what I’m talking about. That’s how competitive our sport is.”
“From week to week, you have to be on your game all the time.”
In spite of the challenges, Almirola acknowledges two of the biggest opportunities of a lifetime that he is experiencing and will experience soon.
“It’s amazing to race for Richard Petty,” Almirola said. “Just the experience and the knowledge he has and to be able to drive the No. 43 car is so special.”
“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” Almirola continued. “I remember when I was a kid and watching him race.”
“So, to have the opportunity to drive that 43 car is very special,” Almirola said. “I’m very thankful for it.”
“I think the biggest opportunity that I will have and the thing that people would be surprised to know about me is that I’m getting ready to be a dad,” Almirola revealed with a grin. “That’s a big surprise.”
“He’s due in September and we’re really excited about it,” Almirola continued. “I’ll have a whole new role as a human on this planet.”
“For the past 28 years, it’s been all about me and I’m getting ready to experience something totally different,” Almirola said. “And I’m looking forward to it.”
Travis Kvapil All About Building
[media-credit name=”Gary Buchanan” align=”alignright” width=”182″]
[/media-credit]For Travis Kvapil, whose No. 93 Burger King Toyota team came together in February of this year, the focus, as a driver and a team member, is all about building. And building they are, both on the track and in the point standings.
“Everything is new, my crew chief, the team, everything,” Kvapil said. “So, it takes a little while to build that notebook and build those relationships.”
“I think overall for the season, our goal is to scratch our way into the top 25 in points,” Kvapil, who currently sits in the 32nd points position, continued. “That would be a good goal for us.”
“It will be tough to get there because if you look at who is around us in points, there are no slouches,” Kvapil said. “We’re going to have to perform better.”
“Our goals are to finish in the top-20,” Kvapil continued. “That’s where we set our standard and for the most part, we’ve been able to achieve that.”
“I just believe as the season goes, we’ll continue to building and get better and better.”
Kvapil also had to do some character building, particularly after the tough run he had in Dover. He and his team were involved in the early ‘big one’ at the Monster Mile and, to make matters worse, his teammate Landon Cassill was also involved in the wreck.
“To finish 23rd with a car all torn up and 50 laps down, I didn’t really expect that,” Kvapil said. “It’s just one of those things that Dover, you’re going so fast there.”
“So when they wreck in front of you there coming off Turn Two, you can’t see,” Kvapil continued. “When I came around the corner I saw Landon (Cassill) sideways.”
“Immediately I’m on the brakes but you’re just going too fast and there’s nowhere to go,” Kvapil said. “I saw him and I kind of made the move I thought would help, but Landon was sitting here parked.”
“And I thought ‘perfect, just perfect, of all the guys.’
“I tried my best to avoid him but I just really couldn’t,” Kvapil said. “There’s going to be days when we’re going to race each other and days where we’re going to be in the same wreck.”
“And it just happened to be one of those days last weekend at Dover.”
Kvapil definitely felt that the Dover experience was not only a gut check and character building experience him as a driver, but also for his race team. He was especially with the resilience of his team in the face of such adversity.
“I was really proud of the guys,” Kvapil said. “We’re obviously a brand new team.”
“I feel like some of the things, like crash repair and having fenders ready, I didn’t think we were quite prepared for all that,” Kvapil continued. “We have enough to worry about getting cars to the track and getting caught up..”
“So, a lot of times, those kinds of things get pushed to the side but I was very impressed with our team,” Kvapil said. “They did a great job.”
“They got the fenders cut off and got the car rolling and we didn’t have to go to the garage so that saved us a bunch of time,” Kvapil continued. “I’m really proud of them and they did a great job and gained us a bunch of points last week.”
Kvapil is also anticipating continuation of the building process as he and his team tackle the ‘Tricky Triangle.’ And he has high hopes for his race at the newly repaved Pocono Raceway, especially after the days of testing this past week.
“It was a good opportunity to get up here and test,” Kvapil said. “It’s been a long week but we don’t get many opportunities to get real information at the real track with the real tire and have data acquisition telemetry on the car.”
“So, we have really good feedback when we make a change,” Kvapil continued. “We can go look at the computer and see what it really did to the shock travels or where the splitter’s at on the race track or whatever.”
“It’s been invaluable for us to get that information,” Kvapil said. “For us it was a lot about making changes and collecting data so that when we go to tracks down the road, we can maybe pull that out of our memory bank and apply it and have more of an educated knowledge of what it does to the race car.”
Kvapil, like many of his fellow competitors, had nothing but praise for the repave at the Pocono Raceway. Unlike some of the other drivers, however, Kvapil feels that we might just see another groove come into the track, especially as the racing continues over the weekend.
“The track is great,” Kvapil said. “It’s got a lot of grip.”
“When we first got on the track on Wednesday, the groove was pretty narrow but it’s widening out,” Kvapil continued. “I’d say it’s one and three quarters of a groove right now.”
“So, the more the weekend goes, the more the groove will widen out,” Kvapil said. “It’s just a matter of getting out there in race conditions and forcing that second lane. I think the racing will be great.”
Kvapil is also looking forward to building his racing notebook about Pocono, especially as it pertains to track position and tire strategies.
“Tires are one thing we have been looking at,” Kvapil said. “It doesn’t seem like the left side tire wear was too bad so there might be opportunities to do two tires and pick up some spots or maybe even fuel only.”
“The tires that Goodyear brought are holding up real well and it doesn’t seem like there’s a lot of fall off,” Kvapil continued. “So, anytime there is something new, it will take a while to figure things out and what the best strategy will be.”
“Track position is always important, especially when you’re running 170 miles an hour,” Kvapil said. “Track position is important but I think with the long straight-aways, you should be able to make the passes if you have a good handling car. Hopefully we can do that Sunday.”
In addition to building his on-track performance, Kvapil is also working hard to build a solid relationship with his teammate as well as between the two teams. And he thinks the world of his new teammate Landon Cassill.
“I really have a lot of respect for Landon,” Kvapil said. “Being as young as he is, he’s very mature. He’s got a lot of experience and he’s great with sponsors, owners, and the media.”
“He’s a really good kid and a really good race car driver,” Kvapil said. “We share information, our thoughts, and what’s happening at the track. I’m happy and I couldn’t ask for a better teammate.”
“Me and him both are trying to build BK Racing and take it to the next level,” Kvapil continued. “I think we have a great relationship so we can do that together.”
Whether on or off the track, Kvapil feels there is just one thing needed to continue to build his own team and his BK Racing team, perseverance.
“I think the lesson is hard work, dedication and perseverance through the hard times,” Kvapil said. “I think back in my career in racing and my days growing up in Wisconsin, working on my car all hours of the night to get to the race track just to race for a couple hours on a Saturday night.”
“It was something I loved but it was a lot of hard work and dedication,” Kvapil continued. “There’s always bumps in the road but you have to figure out a way how to get through them.”
“You just keep fighting and if it’s something that you have your heart set on and enjoy, you always find a way,” Kvapil said. “You build by being dedicated and believing in yourself.”
