● After 20 races this season, Almirola is the only driver in the NASCAR Cup Series without a DNF (Did Not Finish).
● History at Pocono: Almirola will make his 20th Cup Series start at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway this weekend. Almirola has four top-10s, two top-fives and 67 laps led at the 2.5-mile track.
● Almirola has one start at the “Tricky Triangle” in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, which came in June 2016 and resulted in an 11th-place finish. He’s also made one start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in July 2010 and earned a fourth-place finish.
● Driver Points: Almirola arrives at Pocono 12th in the driver standings with 490 points, 244 out of first.
● Playoff Points: The No. 10 Ford driver sits 18th in the playoff standings, 129 points behind the top-16 cut line. Almirola has scored more points than six of the 14 drivers currently locked into the playoffs by virtue of race wins this season.
● Almirola’s career: In 408 NASCAR Cup Series starts, Almirola has earned three wins, 28 top-five finishes, 90 top-10s, three poles, and has led 899 laps.
● One More Time: On Jan. 10, Almirola released a video on his YouTube channel announcing his retirement from fulltime NASCAR Cup Series racing after the 2022 season to spend more time with his family. His opening remarks were attributed to his grandfather’s mentorship. This year marks Almirola’s 11th fulltime Cup Series season. The official press release can be viewed here.
● Beyond the 10 YouTube Series: In 2022, Almirola is once again sharing his life beyond the No. 10 Smithfield Ford with season three of his award-winning YouTube series. Fans and media can subscribe on YouTube to see Almirola’s personality on and off the track. Episodes have already featured life as a dad, a husband and an athlete, and it gives fans a unique perspective on what goes on in the life of a professional NASCAR driver. Fans can also follow Almirola’s social media channels: @Aric_Almirola on Twitter and Instagram, and @AricAlmirola on Facebook.
● Almirola was the only NASCAR Cup Series driver to finish in the top-10 in this year’s opening three races. He finished fifth in the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, sixth at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, and sixth at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Almirola’s top-10 streak ended with a 12th-place finish at Phoenix Raceway despite running inside the top-10 throughout the race.
● Haas Automation, founded by Gene Haas in 1983, is America’s leading builder of CNC machine tools. The company manufactures a complete line of vertical and horizontal machining centers, turning centers and rotary tables and indexers. All Haas products are constructed in the company’s 1.1-million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Oxnard, California, and distributed through a worldwide network of Haas Factory Outlets.
You participated in the Goodyear tire test at Pocono earlier this year. How was that, and what can we expect in the NextGen car at Pocono?
“I think we had a really good test there. We felt like we were the best car at the tire test. That doesn’t always translate to success on race weekend because Goodyear could always bring a different tire, so it’s hard to put too much weight into how you did at the test. I did feel good about it and I think we learned a lot. I feel like Pocono is going to be somewhat of a wild-card race. It’s going to be crazy on restarts and the track is so wide. Track position is going to be as important as always, so there will be a lot of risk-taking on that big, long, front straightaway.”
What is going to be the key to success this weekend?
“It’s going to be important to have cars that drive good. These cars have shock limiters, and the amount of shock travel we have, and going through three different corners to try and make this aero platform correct is going to be a challenge. There are just so many variables that make Pocono unique, and it takes somewhat of a compromise, so whoever figures out that compromise best, not only from the drivers but the engineers, as well, is going to win, and I hope we got a head start on that because of that test.”
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