Aric Almirola Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – As the old aphorism goes, there’s nothing certain except death and taxes. After Sunday’s TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway, you can add Kevin Harvick at Phoenix to that list. Harvick beat Kyle Busch to the finish line by .774 seconds to win his third straight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series of the season, the first time a driver has strung three victories together since Busch accomplished the feat at Kentucky, New Hampshire and Indianapolis. The victory was a record ninth forRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor New name, still the same old Phoenix. For now. After the kickoff to the West Coast swing last weekend in Las Vegas culminated in a second straight domination by Kevin Harvick, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Phoenix this weekend to take on the TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway. Phoenix has resided on the Cup Series schedule since 1988, but the track looks completely different than it did 30 years ago, having undergone a reconfiguration back in 2011. The reconfiguration added progressive bankingRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer Three races, two dominant wins, leave Ford Performance on top of the three Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series manufacturers. Ford Fusions took six of the top-10 finishing positions in the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube. Stewart Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick took the victory, his 100th career win across NASCAR’s top three series. Prior to the season, many expected Ford Performance to be at a disadvantage. This was based on the domination of Toyota’s 2018 Camry last season and the brand-new Camaro ZL1 for Chevrolet.Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Restrictor plate racing is a strategic game, requiring critical thinking to make the right moves. A few days removed from Sunday’s Daytona 500 and it has dawned on me how frustrating this current era of racing has become. What happened to the word patience? The days of strategizing your move without causing a junkyard is gone. Part of this has to do with three things — stage racing, the demand of winning the Great American Race at an all-time high, or just a generational problem.Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Austin Dillon prevailed in a game of Survivor played at 200 miles per hour, winning the Sunday’s Daytona 500 fiercely and unapologetically after turning race leader Aric Almirola in the third corner of the final lap. Ten of the 40 drivers who started the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ season-opening event finished on the lead lap in a race that featured eight cautions and three massive wrecks that eliminated many of the strongest cars in the field. After a huge pushRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat was the storybook ending in Sunday’s 60th running of the Daytona 500. For Aric Almirola, he drew the short straw, losing the lead on the last lap after being turned by Austin Dillon, who won the Great American Race for the first time in his career. “It was the last lap and we’re all trying to win the Daytona 500.  It’s the biggest race of the year and it’s a career-changing race, so we were justRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Have the Can-Am Duels at Daytona outlived their usefulness? The evidence certainly seems to point that way. Since the outset of the Daytona 500, qualifying for the biggest race of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season has been a mix of single car qualifying for the front row and qualifying races to set the remainder of the field. In seasons past, with more cars entered than the field allowed, the two qualifying races held the Thursday before the 500 have been full of dramaRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season for the top-30 drivers in the series leading into next month’s 60th running of the Daytona 500. Age: 33 Years in Cup: Six Full-Time, 244 Cup Series starts Career Wins: 1 (2014 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway) The 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season will be one of change for Aric Almirola, as he will have a new team, crew chief and car number. Officially announced back in November,Read More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer For the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, Stewart-Haas Racing will have two returning crew chiefs and two new crew chiefs for their four drivers. Clint Bowyer and 2014 Premier Series Champion Kevin Harvick will have the same crew chief, meanwhile 2004 Premier Series Champion Kurt Busch and newcomer Aric Almirola will have new faces atop the pit box. Almirola, who will replace the out-going Danica Patrick, will have John Klausmeier leading his No. 10 Smithfield Ford Fusion. Klausmeier has been a race engineerRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer Athletes in their final events before moving from one team to another are often considered a ‘lame duck.’ Current Richard Petty Motorsports driver Aric Almirola does not want that label. Almirola has just two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races left with the team before departing for Stewart Haas Racing next year. Almirola’s tenure at RPM started at the 2010 Martinsville Playoff race. Since then he has earned one victory (Daytona 2014), 11 top-fives, 30 top-10s, and one pole position for the team. Almirola’s bestRead More