Richard Petty Motorsports Can-Am Duel Race Report

Starting Position for the Daytona 500: 
15: Aric Almirola, No. 43 Smithfield Ford

After rain cancelled today’s scheduled practice, Aric Almirola and the No. 43 team looked to use the Can-Am Duel as a test run for Sunday’s Daytona 500. Almirola started the Duel 16th in his No. 43 Smithfield Ford and worked with his spotter early in the race to find the best lane, settling into the Top 15 for the first 20 laps. During Lap 20, Almirola broke into the Top 10 and continued to race his way up before the Competition Caution at Lap 25. Running seventh, Almirola fought a bouncy left front and looked to Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer on a strategy for the team’s pit stop.
 
During the scheduled Competition Caution, Almirola and the team decided against working on the left front and pitted for two tires and a wedge adjustment. On the restart, Almirola was shuffled to the middle line with no help but quickly made his way to the top line and shot to the third position by Lap 39.
 
Lap 49 brought another caution, and despite the previous two tire stop making the No. 43 Smithfield Ford tight, the crew decided not to pit, keeping Almirola out front in sixth. Almirola stuck with the middle line and was scored with an eighth-place finish. The team will start 15th for the 59th Annual Daytona 500 on Sunday, and Almirola hopes to continue his consistency from the Duel and move through the field.
 
“It was a good run for us,” said Almirola. “I think that our Smithfield Ford Fusion had good speed in it. We mixed it up there a bit. I thought we had better car; I just couldn’t make the moves when I wanted to. We’ll find some more speed in our car. All in all, it was a decent race for us, and I think we have good momentum heading into the Daytona 500. We have good speed in our car. Our car drove well. We’ll just tune on it and find some more speed.”
 
RPM PR