By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
New Hampshire Motor Speedway was shades of Chicagoland for Aric Almirola in good ways and bad.
Just three weeks removed from arguably his best career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series performance at Chicagoland Speedway(leading 70 laps before falling to 25th), Sunday’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 was another day up front for driver No. 10.
Rallying quickly from 13th on the grid, Almirola ended Stage 1 in the 10th spot. From there, the first-year Stewart-Haas Racing driver cracked the top five in Stage 2 before grabbing the lead on lap 212 of 301.
The day was looking to end in Victory Lane for the first time in more than four years… until a late caution bunched the field onto pit road and back under green with 39 laps to go.
This is where the race was lost for Almirola, who lost the lead on pit road and spun his tires on the restart, falling nearly outside the top 10.
“We lost control of the race,” Almirola said. “I didn’t even give myself a fighting chance to race for the win. I’m just frustrated on all parts that we didn’t execute the way we need to to win.”
Leading 42 laps on the day, Almirola managed to drive up to third spot before the checkered flag flew for teammate Kevin Harvick. For Almirola, it was his best finish of the year, his first top five for SHR and his best Loudon finish.
Despite the career marks, he wasn’t happy. 2018 has been the start of a new opportunity for the veteran, who was paired with a championship-winning organization for a full-time stint. Because of this, he wants to pay his team back with wins.
“I feel like we owe it to so many people,” he said. “Me, personally, I feel I owe it to so many people who believed in me. It was a huge leap of faith for people to give me the opportunity when I didn’t have stats to back up deserving to get this ride. That hurts the most. As much as I want to win for me, selfishly, I want to win for them, too.”
With two near-wins in the past month, Almirola leaves New England knowing the team has made strides since February.
“The first 10, 12 races we were trying to learn each other,” he said of the No. 10 team. “These last seven [races], it has really clicked. We’re showing up with speed, getting the balance right. And for the race, we’re getting this car the best we had it all weekend.
“It’s frustrating but everyone keeps telling me you have to lose some before you win some… we’ve lost some. It’s time to stop it.”