Aric Almirola is riding the momentum of a Top-15 finish in the desert heading into southern California's Auto Club Speedway. The No. 43 Smithfield Ford team scored a 13th-place finish in Phoenix, NASCAR's first short track of the season, and currently sits 13th in the Sprint Cup Series Championship Point Standings. Now heading to the Fontana, Calif., intermediate track, the team is ready to take on one of the circuit's most versatile race tracks and continue to build the Richard Petty Motorsports intermediate track program. Almirola will compete in both Saturday's XFINITY Series race in the No. 98 Ford Mustang for Biagi-DenBeste Racing and Sunday's Sprint Cup Series race in the No. 43 Smithfield Ford. |
![]() Race fans will be able to see Almirola on Sunday morning in the Auto Club Speedway Fan Midway when he and "The King" Richard Petty judge Smithfield's Whole Hog Challenge. Contestants will compete to eat 2 lbs. of bacon the fastest. The competitor to be the first with a clean plate will be declared the winner and will advance to the championship round of the Whole Hog Challenge in Miami at the end of the season. The contest will begin at 9:45 a.m. at the Smithfield display. When: Sunday, March 20 at 9:45 a.m. Where: Smithfield Display in the Fan Midway at Auto Club Speedway |
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