Aric Almirola looks for success at Daytona with the Air Force
[media-credit name=”Kirk Schroll” align=”alignright” width=”296″]
[/media-credit]July 4th marks an important day as it is Independence Day, and in typical NASCAR tradition, NASCAR is headed to Daytona International Speedway. In celebration, NASCAR has embarked on an initiative called NASCAR Unites an American Initiative. One of the drivers taking part is Tampa, Florida native Aric Almirola, who will be running a U.S. Air Force paint scheme on his No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford.
“It always means a lot to me whether it’s 4th of July weekend or any other weekend, to represent the U.S. Air Force,” he says. “It’s a big deal to represent our military and to basically represent the people that fight for our freedom on a daily basis. So, you know, it means a lot to me to represent them.”
Almirola grew up on an Air Force base as he was born in Elgin Air Force base.
“I realize and know the sacrifices that the families make for us to be free and to live in a free country. So it means a lot to me to be able to represent them and drive the U.S. Air Force car,” he adds. “Last time I drove the Air Force car, we qualified on the pole for the Memorial Day weekend at Charlotte for the Coke 600. So hopefully we can carry that momentum into this weekend, and we’ll go down to Daytona and have a good weekend.”
The sponsorship with the Air Force has allowed Almirola to see the similarities between the Air Force and NASCAR. He says in speaking with the pilots, he sees all of the trust that they put into the mechanics that build the airplanes and make them safe.
“They’re putting their lives in other people’s hands to make sure the plane or the jet is put together properly and maintenance properly and all that stuff,” he says. “It’s a team effort. It’s more than just a pilot. And that’s kind of the same thing that we have in NASCAR.
“I get in the race car, and it’s my name above the door, but there is a lot that goes on that has to happen correctly for us to go out and perform and perform at a high level. So without good people, good results don’t come. You have to have people you trust and are willing to work hard and to sacrifice time with their families and stuff like that to put a good product on the racetrack.”
So far this year, Almirola sits 22nd in points with one pole and two top 10 finishes this season. The last restrictor plate race at Talladega Superspeedway marked Almirola’s first race of the season with Mike Ford as his crew chief.
“The last couple of weeks we haven’t gotten the result we’re looking for, but everything leading up to that has been great,” he says. “Working with Mike has been really great. Mike’s a great crew chief and a great leader, and he’s really smart.”
In the last four weeks, Almirola only has one finish in the top 20 with a 17th place finish at Michigan. The reason has been is that they’ve been trying some new things to try and get better, without having much success.
“Sometimes it’s not fun to run bad, but sometimes you learn kind of what not to do,” he comments. “So the last couple of weeks we’ve learned that and I feel like since he’s come on board at Richard Petty Motorsports our organization as a whole has gotten better — not just the 43, but I feel like the 9’s performance has gotten better too. I really enjoy working with him. His experience has helped me a lot. He helps me a lot more than just being a crew chief.”
Almirola adds that he is leaning on Ford’s experience with showing up to some of the tracks for the first time in a Sprint Cup Series car and not knowing what to expect.
“I think as we build our notebook together and go back to racetracks together, and I’ll get to go back to a racetrack for a second time, I think we’ll be a lot better,” he continues. “Right now we just kind of feel like we’re filling our notebook with notes. Some are good notes, some are bad notes, but you need notes. Right now every time we show up to a racetrack, we have a blank sheet of paper.”
When they return to the race tracks, not only will they have notes to look back on, but Almirola says he’ll have a better understanding of the track.
“When I go out to practice, rather than learning the racetrack, I will already know the racetrack, but I’ll be working on my race car to figure out what I need to go fast,” he says. “That will be the biggest difference is just going back to these racetracks for a second time. When I get on the racetrack, I know what I’m looking for.”
This weekend marks the 17th race of the season and Almirola says he is more comfortable now than at the beginning of the year.
“I feel like I show up to the racetrack every weekend, and I know when I walk over to that 43 car, that’s my car, and my group of guys,” he says. “It’s a lot different than what it was at the beginning of the year. In the beginning of the year I was just trying to learn the guys’ names and figure out each week when we show up to the racetrack what to expect. I feel like I have a lot better understanding of that now.”
Now moving forward, the next thing Almirola wants to do is win a race and put up a good performance. Almirola says he has good moments, such as the pole at Charlotte, and he hopes to have more of those, though he knows it’s not easy to keep doing it
“I didn’t expect to come Cup racing and beat Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards and those guys every weekend,” he says. “I knew it was going to be tough, and I had a lot to learn, and I still do. I feel like I was right. It is tough. It’s extremely hard, extremely competitive.”
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kentucky
[media-credit name=”Brian Douglas” align=”alignright” width=”237″]
[/media-credit]Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson led 21 laps at Kentucky and finished sixth in the Quaker State 400, as Hendrick Motorsports drivers claimed four of the top six positions, led by Kasey Kahne’s second. Johnson is now third in the Sprint Cup point standings, 23 out of first.
“Brad Keselowski’s No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge was the car to beat,” Johnson said. “Would I go so far as to say Keselowski is a legitimate threat for the championship? Let me put it this way: despite my five Sprint Cup championships, I don’t necessarily ‘champion’ that belief.
“Try as we might, no Hendrick cars could catch Brad Keselowski. He was just too fast, and beat the field by such a margin that he was able to Tweet his win before it happened, which is the perfect argument for banning texting while driving.”
2. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth, who announced his departure from Roush Fenway Racing last week, posted a seventh in the Quaker State 400, his 12th top 10 of the year. He remained on top of the point standings with an 11-point lead over Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
“Jack Roush said he wished he had done more to keep me at Roush Fenway,” Kenseth said. “But Carl Edwards did plenty to make me want to leave. Anyway, the money was just too good not to leave. You could say I was ‘high-Jacked.’
“I’ve won only one Sprint Cup title with Roush. I felt I could reach my full potential at another team. So, this was not a case of good riddance, but a case of great riddance.”
3. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt surged closer to the lead in the Sprint Cup point standings with a fourth at Kentucky, his seventh top-5 result of the year. He now trails points leader Matt Kenseth by 11.
“I’ve moved on from Michigan,” Earnhardt said. “That’s more than I can say for Junior Nation—some of them are still camped out in the MIS infield.
“But thank goodness I finally got that elusive win out of the way. A win is much like a flask of warm liquor secreted away in an Earnhardt fan’s waistband: it’s good to know I’ve got one under my belt.”
4. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin led 58 laps at Kentucky, and was chasing Brad Keselowski to the finish before an uncertain fuel situation forced him to lay off the throttle. He still finished third, his eighth top-5 finish of the year, and is fifth in the point standings, 68 out of first.
“As you know,” Hamlin said, “I announced my contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing on Twitter just before Saturday’s race. So, literally and figuratively, no one ‘heard’ it.”
5. Tony Stewart: Stewart’s electronic fuel injection failed just 28 laps in on Saturday night’s race, forcing his No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil Chevy to the garage. He eventually finished 32nd, 36 laps down, and tumbled four places to ninth in the point standings.
“Saturday also saw another run-in between Ryan Newman and Joey Logano,” Stewart said. “My money’s on Newman, not only because he’s my teammate, but also because his neck is thicker than Logano’s waist. Ryan’s college-educated, so he’s more than able to knock some sense into Logano. Let’s just call Ryan ‘The Intimidator,’ because Logano’s too young to know the real one.”
6. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski, forced to a backup car, took charge late in the Quaker State 400 and ran away to a convincing victory, his series-best third of the year. Keselowski’s No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge was wrecked by Juan Montoya in Friday’s practice, forcing his team to scramble to prepare the backup.
“Before I could say ‘That’s three,’” Keselowski said, “I had to say ‘That’s Juan.’ Montoya obviously mistook me for a jet dryer. He drive’s like I’ve got ‘Target’ on my car.”
7. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 11th at Kentucky as his winless season continued. He is fifth in the Sprint Cup point standings, but has only three top-5 finishes on the year.
“Richard Childress Racing is struggling so far this year,” Harvick said. “Will an RCR driver play a role in the Chase? It’s doubtful. This year, it seems you can’t spell ‘irrelevant’ without ‘RCR.’
“That begs the question: how does an RCR driver make an impact in the Chase? He leaves the team. That’s a Clint Bowyer joke, but, as they say, the jokes on us.”
8. Greg Biffle: Biffle had a top-10 finish in his sights before a late green-flag pit stop relegated him to a finish of 21st. He fell two places to fourth in the Sprint Cup point standings, and is now 25 out of first.
“I spent a lot of time atop the point standings,” Biffle said. “But I’ve found it’s hard to stay there. I, much like Card Edwards on Saturday, found that you can’t ‘coast’ to victory. With Matt Kenseth’s impending departure and Edwards’ struggled, it seems we have two ‘lame ducks’ at Roush Fenway.”
9. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex posted his ninth top-10 finish of the year, coming home eighth in the Quaker State 400. He is now eighth in the point standings, 77 out of first.
“Michael Waltrip really wanted a win in Kentucky,” Truex said. “Waltrip is a lot like Kentucky head basketball coach John Calipari. He’s a great recruiter, and he finances his own team.”
10. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer finished 16th in the Quaker State 400, ending a streak of four consecutive top-10 results. He remained seventh in the point standings, 76 out of first.
“The No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota was good,” Bowyer said, “but not good enough. Last year at Kentucky, fans needed ‘five hours of energy’ just to leave the track.”
Rearview Mirror: Look Back at Last 5 Daytona Night Races
[media-credit name=”Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”286″]
[/media-credit]We come to Daytona once again for a Fourth of July tradition. Racing at Daytona is always special but when we do it and celebrate our great country of America, it is even more special. We’ll see fireworks light up the sky Saturday Night. The last five Night Races at Daytona have been some to remember. We’ve had amazing finishes, first-time winners and some great racing.
2007: We were still calling the race the “Pepsi 400”, but that night we saw a spectacular finish. For the most part of the final five laps, Kyle Busch (then in the No.5) and Jamie McMurray (then in the No.26) were racing side by side. They were coming across the line simultaneously almost every lap. Coming out of turn four for the final time, Busch had a slight edge but McMurray stayed along side. At the line it was too close to call but NASCAR officials eventually ruled McMurray the winner. At the time, McMurray had only one previous victory in his career so this win was pretty special.
2008: We saw a pretty calm race until the end. The biggest story leading up the finish had been Tony Stewart getting replaced in the car by J.J Yeley because Stewart was experiencing flu like symptoms. With two laps to go, Jeff Gordon was second coming to the restart and he got turned from behind which sent his car spinning but he did not hit anything and the caution did not come out. Then coming to get the white flag, we saw cars getting lose and sliding around but they did not wreck until they got to turn one. When the No.77 of Sam Hornish Jr got into the No. 28 of Travis Kvapil and turned Kvapil back across the field, the wreck began.
That incident ended the race and then NASCAR went back to the video to determine the winner. Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch were side by side when the wreck began but when NASCAR went back to the videos, they determined Busch had a slight edge over Edwards and pronounced Busch the winner of the race. After coming so close last season, Busch got redemption and got across the line first this year in Daytona.
2009: The race was run on July 4th for the first time since 1992. Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin dominated the race; they led a combined total of 149 laps. Two big wrecks occurred in the race; the first one occurred when Kasey Kahne (then in the No.9) got into the back in David Stremme (Then in the No.12) and then Stremme went head on into the wall and collected multiple cars with him. Many Daytona fans were angry because Dale Earnhardt Jr was involved; Jr was also involved in the 2009 Daytona 500 pileup. So 2009 in Daytona wasn’t a happy memory for Earnhardt Jr fans. Coming to get the white-flag, Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Hamlin and Busch pulled up the track to pass Stewart. Hamlin pushed Busch around Stewart but Stewart got back up behind Busch before Hamlin could.
Coming out of turn four Stewart was trying everything to get Busch loose and then Stewart moved up the track. Stewart would go to the outside of Busch and when Busch attempted to block Stewart, Stewart turned Busch head on into the outside wall and Busch hit hard. Stewart would go on and take the checkers and the wreck wasn’t finished quite yet. Kasey Kahne (then in the No.9) couldn’t see a thing and he ran right into the back of Busch’s car, lifting Busch’s car into the air and back down. Then Joey Logano hit Busch one last time in the drivers’ door. Cars were scattered everywhere and Stewart went on to celebrate his first win at Daytona since 2006.
2010: The race didn’t begin until after 9 PM due to showers but the show went on. On lap 103, Montoya and Kyle Busch were racing each other for the lead when Montoya turned Busch head on into the outside wall. Busch was the dominant car of the day before this incident. After winning in 2008, Busch had been turned into the wall the next two years. A 22 car pileup occurred when Jeff Burton and Kurt Busch made contact on the backstretch and bunched the middle of the field up and the big wreck began. Burton and Busch didn’t suffer nearly as much damage as what the main cars in the wreck did. Drivers involved included last year’s winner Stewart. Other drivers involved included Martin, Johnson, Newman, Logano, Hamlin and many others.
A green-white-checker finish was also a part of this race. More fireworks erupted with the finish in this race. On the last lap, Kurt Busch bumped Bowyer into the wall then Bowyer spun back across the backstretch and through the grass. No caution came out and the race continued, Harvick held off Kasey Kahne (then in the No.9) and Jeff Gordon to take the checkers.
2011: We saw a great race last year. The race had competitive racing and a first-time winner. The 2011 Daytona 500 champion, Trevor Bayne ran into trouble early when the No.2 of Brad Keselowski got into the back of Bayne and turned him around into the wall. The first big wreck occurred with two laps to go when Joey Logano turned Mark Martin on the exit of turn two. When cars went high to avoid the wreck, they all got involved. Drivers involved included; Stewart, Truex Jr, Bowyer and many more.
The second attempt of the green-white-checker finish left David Ragan leading with Matt Kenseth pushing him in the two-car-tandem with other tandems approaching them. On the final lap, two separate wrecks occurred. One in turn three started when Landon Cassill (then in the No.51) turned Marcos Ambrose and David Reutimann (then in the No.00) was also involved. Then when the cars roared out of turn four, another wreck occurred. Dale Earnhardt Jr made contact with Jamie McMurray and sent McMurray spinning back up the track. Other drivers involved include; Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Jeff Burton and Juan Pablo Montoya. Kenseth pushed David Ragan across the line and Ragan won his first career Sprint Cup Series race. The race ended with fireworks and a first-time winner, not a bad combination for a fourth of July showdown in Daytona.
In the last five Daytona night races, we’ve seen great racing and close and wild finishes. Drivers who won one year, have gotten involved in a wreck another year. That shows how wild and unpredictable the races in Daytona are. I expect a combination of all these races for our race this Saturday Night in Daytona. No matter what the outcome Saturday Night, we should see a great race.
NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: THE NATIONWIDE SERIES AT DAYTONA
The NASCAR Nationwide Series will hit the high banks of the Daytona International Speedway this Friday night for the running of the Subway Jalapeno 250. There is a lot on the line from this race. First off, there’s the prestige of winning at one of the most internationally famous race tracks in the world. Secondly, the Nationwide Series’ championship points profile is starting to get really interesting and Friday night’s race at Daytona could become a huge factor in that outcome.
THE STORY BREAKDOWN
We all know what the big story line is in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. It’s, of course, Austin Dillon and what happened during and after last weekend’s series race at the Kentucky Speedway.
First off, accenting the positive, Dillon, in his #3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, scorched the competition by leading 192 of the 200 lap event for his first ever Nationwide Series win. Unfortunately the elation of victory lane took a downward turn when the car failed a post race inspection. NASCAR inspectors discovered that the rear end of the car did not meet their minimum required height standards.
The final result, announced by NASCAR last Monday afternoon, was a $10,000 fine for the crew chief, Danny Stockman, plus probation until December 31st. Team car chief Robert Strmiska was also placed on probation until the end of this year. The really big hit came from the loss of six owner’s and driver’s points. Dillon left Kentucky as the new championship leader and, by Monday, he was moved back into second place.
Ironically, the big winner from the penalty was Dillon’s Richard Childress Racing team mate: Elliot Sadler. Going into Friday night’s race at Daytona, Sadler has a very slim four point lead over Dillon in the standings. Sadler, of course, has far more experience racing on the high banks of Daytona than his younger team mate. However, Dillon has a tremendous amount of momentum going into this race. After his on track performance at Kentucky, he now knows he can get the job done in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. These two drivers will be a pair to pay attention to Friday night.
***********
The other major storyline is, without question, reigning Nationwide Series champion Ricky Stenhouse and last week’s stunning announcement that said Roush Fenway Racing will be promoting him to the Sprint Cup level next year to replace the departing Matt Kenseth. Since that announcement, Stenhouse’s schedule has been a whirlwind of media requests for interviews. He now feels like the whirlwind has finally subsided and it will allow him to again focus on the task at hand: giving Roush Fenway Racing a second, consecutive, NASCAR Nationwide Series championship.
First off, it’s not likely that the whirlwind of this driver’s racing future has subsided. The story seems to be too huge at the moment. In fact, it appears that the whirlwind hasn’t even reached its peak velocity yet. However, Stenhouse is correct in his belief that he really needs to focus on the Nationwide championship. Some recent setbacks now has him third in the standings and 23 points behind the leader. In the current configuration of NASCAR’s points system, 23 points is approximately one half of one race win. The deficit is certainly not insurmountable but it won’t be easy to eradicate either. If Stenhouse is going to claim that second title, it’s go time and the process needs to start on Friday night at Daytona.
THE RACE BREAKDOWN
The Subway Jalapeno 250 is 100 laps/250 miles around the Daytona International Speedway’s mammoth 2.5 mile oval.
The race has 44 entries vying for the 43 starting berths.
14 of those entries are on the go or go home list meaning these teams do not have a guaranteed starting berth because they are currently outside of the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ top 30 in owner’s points. These teams will have to rely on qualifying speeds to make the race. The lone exception is driver Jeff Green who has a past champion’s provisional available.
The defending race champion is Joey Logano who is entered in this year’s race.
Friday night’s Subway Jalapeno 250 will be broadcast live by the ESPN Network beginning at 7 pm eastern time.
