Aric Almirola Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Elimination Sunday is upon us again. Last weekend’s visit to the the high banks of Talladega Superspeedway saw an ass kicking by Stewart-Haas Racing and other Playoff drivers foiled by fuel mileage. With the 2.66-mile Alabama behemoth in the rear-view mirror, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads west to America’s Heartland to take on the fast 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway for Sunday’s running of the Hollywood Casino 400 – the final race of the Round of 12. First joining the circuit as a relatively tame 1.5-mileRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – “It’s a good day to be in a Ford,” Clint Bowyer said with a laugh after Sunday’s 1000Bulbs.com 500 at Talladega. “We finally got all four cars to the cream of the crop. Oh my gosh, was it awesome.  To be able to work together like that, we could hold on.  They get runs on you and everything else, but as long as you stayed your ground, stayed in line, we’d prevail.” A good day indeed, as Stewart-Haas Racing Fords finished first andRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – Aric Almirola has been tantalizingly close to winning this season, only to come up empty. On Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, he finally got to light the victory cigar. When the No. 41 Ford of Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kurt Busch lost fuel pressure on the final lap of the 1000Bulbs.com 500, Almirola was there to collect his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory since 2014 and clinch a spot in the Round of 8 in the series Playoffs. Almirola’s second careerRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – All four Stewart-Haas Racing cars were amply endowed with speed for Saturday’s knockout qualifying session at Talladega Superspeedway. Kurt Busch was just glad he got the pick of the litter. “Four Stewart-Haas Fords—I’m really happy that I got the fast one,” Busch quipped after winning the pole for Sunday’s 1000Bulbs.com 500 (2 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and lead an SHR sweep of the top four starting spots for the second race in the Monster Energy NASCARRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – The past week has shown a full range of emotions for Aric Almirola following his near miss at Dover last Sunday. Despite the frustration that came with how that race ended, the driver of the No. 10 Ford is looking to Talladega as an opportunity to bounce back. Almirola sits 10 points below the cut-off line heading into Sunday’s 1000Bulbs.com 500 and explained that while the finish at Dover stung, he was able to put it behind him in a day or twoRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – Talladega may not be the Round of 12 elimination race any longer, but the mammoth 2.66-mile superspeedway is still a huge wild card and will go a long way toward determining which drivers will be in position to move on to the next round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Racing at Talladega has always been crazy from the time the track opened back in 1969. From the driver boycott of the first race that led to unknown driver Richard BrickhouseRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Both Clint Bowyer and Aric Almirola had a shot at the win Sunday at Dover, but by the time the checkered flag flew, the two drivers were left with nothing but heartbreak. All four Stewart-Haas Racing cars were strong throughout the day, with Kevin Harvick dominating and the remainder right behind him, but when Harvick had to make an extra trip down pit road late in the race, it looked as if Almirola was in the catbird seat to finally be able to break through forRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer It was the “Kevin Harvick Show” for the first 320 laps, but an unscheduled pit stop changed his entire day and he never regained the lead back. Instead of celebrating his eighth win of the season, it was a salvageable rally for the spring winner, as he ended up sixth in Sunday’s Gander Outdoors 400 at Dover International Speedway after leading 286 of 404 laps. Before making his race-changing stop, Harvick cruised his way towards two stage wins, and had pulled away from his Stewart-Haas RacingRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The Monster Mile. Bristol on steroids. No matter the nickname, Dover International Speedway lives up to the hype as being one of the most physically demanding racetracks on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series circuit and plays host to Sunday’s Gander Outdoors 400, which kicks off the second round of the playoffs. One of the only two concrete tracks currently in use by NASCAR’s top division, drivers have likened a lap around the one-mile oval to riding a rollercoaster, as they drop off the straightaways intoRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor CONCORD, N.C. – Day two at the new Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course has been just as eventful as the first, with Jimmie Johnson putting up the fastest time on the board, while others found themselves ensnared by the 17-turn, 2.28-mile layout. Daniel Hemric led the way for the majority of the session before Johnson took over the No. 1 spot with a lap of 1 minute, 18.043 seconds at 105.173 mph. Hemric finished the session in second place, followed by Martin Truex, Jr., Brad Keselowski,Read More