Almirola Poised To Continue Sprint Cup Hot Streak

After a career-best three consecutive Top-10 finishes, Aric Almirola and the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 team have suddenly emerged as one of the most successful teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.  

This weekend, they hope to extend their streak on the high banks of Talladega Superspeedway, the first of two races this season that Almirola will carry Gwaltney sponsorship.  

Almirola will make his seventh career start at Talladega, after posting his best Sprint Cup superspeedway finish of 12th during the spring race there last season. At the 2.66-mile track, Almirola posted two runner-up finishes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck series in 2009 and 2010, along with a ninth-place finish in the Nationwide series in 2011. 

"Talladega is a bit of a crapshoot,” said Almirola this week. “You go in knowing you have a one in 43 chance of winning the race, but you also have a one in 43 chance of ending up on your roof and done for the day. Roush Yates has built a great engine package for this race and (crew chief) Todd Parrott and the guys worked on some aero with the chassis since Daytona, too. I feel like we will have good speed this weekend. 

"We have some really good momentum now,” he said. “I think last week at Richmond proved how good our team is. We took an okay car, worked on it all race, and by the end we had a Top-10 finish. We're right in the thick of it for a Chase position. Some think it's still early for that, but every race is important. Right now, we're taking advantage of all of them." 

Parrott, meanwhile, said he hopes to use lessons learned in the season-opener at Daytona to contend at Talladega this weekend. 

"We weren't too happy with our car in Daytona, so we came back and built a new chassis,” he said. “I am very proud of the season we have put together so far. If we keep putting ourselves in position for Top-10s and keep improving, we'll start posting Top-5s andbe in contention to win each week. That's our goal.  

“Talladega is difficult because you really don't know what you are going to get until the last few laps. We just have to give Aric a fast car and try to be in the right place at the right time at the end."