Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-25):
● Aric Almirola started 12th and finished 21st.
● The No. 10 Smithfield Ford driver started the race on rain tires.
● Almirola said his Smithfield Ford needed more turn and forward drive throughout the first stage.
● Almirola took four fresh slick tires under green on lap 20.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 26-50):
● Almirola started 15th and finished 36th.
● Almirola spun on lap 38 in Turn 4 after running over a wet spot.
● The caution was called on lap 46 while Almirola was on pit road for a scheduled green-flag pit stop. He was put a lap down.
● He rejoined the lead lap after pitting at the end of the stage.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 51-109):
● Almirola started 36th and finished 16th.
● He pitted under caution on lap 71 for fuel only and gained 10 positions on pit road.
● Almirola restarted 12th.
● Almirola entered the top-10 for the first time on lap 75.
● The caution was called on lap 86. Almirola pitted for four tires, fuel, and air pressure and chassis adjustments.
● Almirola restarted 12th with 10 laps to go and held the Smithfield Ford inside the top-20 before the checkered flag waved.
Notes:
● Chase Elliott won the Bank of America Roval 400 to score his ninth career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his second at the Roval. His margin of victory over second-place Joey Logano was 3.895 seconds.
● There were nine caution periods for a total of 16 laps.
● Thirty-two of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Kevin Harvick leaves the Roval as the championship leader with a 13-point advantage over second-place Denny Hamlin.
Playoff Standings at the conclusion of the Round of 12:
1. Kevin Harvick (4,067 points)
2. Denny Hamlin (4,054 points) -13 points
3. Brad Keselowski (4,035 points) -32 points
4. Chase Elliott (4,027 points) -40 points
5. Joey Logano (4,022 points) -45 points
6. Martin Truex, Jr. (4,017 points) -50 points
7. Alex Bowman (4,009 points) -58 points
8. Kurt Busch (4,006 points) -61 points
Failed to Advance to Round of 8:
9. Austin Dillon (3,071 points)
10. Clint Bowyer (3,063 points)
11. Kyle Busch (3,060 points)
12. Aric Almirola (3,047 points)
Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“Gave it my all today. We learned some things today that we’ll build on for next year’s road courses. We have a few races left in the year that we’ve got our eyes on and think we’ll have a good shot to win at. This Smithfield Ford team is still as motivated as ever.”
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday, Oct. 18 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. It is the seventh race of the 10-race playoffs and the first race in the Round of 8. It starts at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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