DARLINGTON, South Carolina – Still vying for an opportunity to put his Richard Petty Motorsports iconic No. 43 Ford Fusion into the Chase for the Sprint Cup for the second consecutive year, Aric Almirola said he is excited about Sunday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at the historic Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
Adding to his excitement arrives the second edition of the low downforce package, which was tested during the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series package at the 1.366-mile oval Friday afternoon.
Almirola looking for his second Cup win in a throwback retro STP paint scheme said it didn’t take him long to notice the change in the rules package.
“I thought I got a feel for it the very first lap,” said Almirola. “I think the thing that the low downforce package does is it creates a lot more off throttle time. As soon as you drive down into the corner for the first lap you know.
“We tested here a month or so ago, maybe six weeks ago and with the other package there was a lot of on throttle time. You were really close to wide open in one and two. You had to lift in three and four. The amount of on throttle time was unbelievable. Now with this package you lift really early, before you even get to the corner and it drives more like the older cars.”
Idling 17th in Sprint Cup points, 35 in the arrears to Clint Bowyer, the last driver into the Chase by virtue of points accumulated, the Tampa, Florida native hopes to pull off an upset in the returning Labor Day tradition – and defeat the track dubbed “Too Tough To Tame.”
Statistically, “The Lady In Black” has been relatively kind to the 31-year-old driver. With a worst finish of 24th in his last three races, Almirola knows that a subpar performance Sunday night won’t be enough to vault his team into the Chase, but with a rules package that puts drivers more in control of their fate, nothing is off the table.
Even a win.
“I think when you are mathematically still in – until somebody tells us we are not I feel like we have a shot,” offered Almirola. “I have been really proud of what we have accomplished this year. Last year we were 25th or 26th in points, but we made the Chase because we won at Daytona. This year, I feel like if we made the Chase we certainly earned it. We have been consistent this year. We haven’t had the speed we want.
“That is just being real. Our cars haven’t been as fast as we have hoped. But we have executed and gotten the finishes when we have had bad days and turned them into okay days and turned okay days into good days. We have had a few hiccups along the way, but overall this has been probably one of our best seasons as far as executing and running solid races and finishing.”
“I think if we do that two more times and some of the other guys around us maybe have some bad luck it is certainly possible. I don’t see why it is not. If we come here and run good, run top-15 or top-10 and the 15 hits the fence or something happens or an engine failure or anything like that, then we are right back in it and we go to Richmond 10, 12, 15 points out, then that puts us within a real shot. We run good at Richmond from time to time. I am excited about our chances. We have as good a shot as some of the other guys around us.”
In a weekend where retro paint schemes and drivers facial physiques have been somewhat altered to coincide with the throwback weekend at Darlington, Almirola says the low downforce package has the opportunity to bring out the best.
The best in Darlington.
The best in the drivers.
The best in NASCAR.
“It (rules package) drives like the old Darlington and the pavement is getting worn out and Goodyear brought a tire that seems to be falling off more,” added Almirola. “I am really excited about the race and this aero package. In practice I ran around a few other cars and the balance doesn’t change that much when you are behind another car so I am happy about that.
“As a race car driver, that is what we want. We want to be able to lift off the gas, use the brake pedal and actually drive the race cars, not just run wide open and steer around the race track. We don’t want the car to drastically change balance when you catch another car. I feel like that is what we have here and it is very similar to what we had in Kentucky.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
