Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Almirola Rolling To Richmond

Aric Almirola heads to Richmond International Raceway this weekend on the highest roll of his NASCAR career.

The Richard Petty Motorsports driver hopes to record his third consecutive Top-10 finish Saturday night at RIR; the first Top-10 three-peat of his Sprint Cup career. The No. 43 Smithfield Ford team comes off a seventh-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway and an eighth in Kansas, and sits just 18 points from a coveted spot in the 2013 Chase For The NASCAR Sprint Cup.
"Our team is on a roll right now,” said Almirola. “Everyone is really gelling together. We finished in the Top-10 in the last two races, and now we're eying a top-five. Todd (Parrott) and the guys have brought me fast cars each week. Todd has a few wins here, so I'm confident he'll put a good setup in the car."
Almirola said a recent test session at the track has him feeling even more confident.
“We tested at Richmond a few weeks ago and felt good about our cars there,” he said. “The track was really fast, which surprised me. We learned a lot from the test and felt that it helped us figure out what we need for our short-track package. I really like short track racing, so I am excited to get back to a short track this weekend.
"Richmond is Smithfield's home track, since they are just up the road in Smithfield, Virginia,” he added. “It's a big deal for our team to run good there for them. We would love to be able to win a race there. They are going to have a lot of people out this weekend, so I hope we can put on a good show and celebrate with them in Victory Lane."
Almirola has two prior Sprint Cup starts at Richmond -- both last season – along with five Nationwide Series starts. He collected his best RIR finish of seventh in the fall Nationwide race in 2011.

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