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No. 10 Smithfield Ford Racing: Aric Almirola Charlotte II Race Report

by MikeMay 29, 2020

Smithfield Ford Driver Endures Handling Issues After Starting in the Rear

Date: May 28, 2020

Event: Alsco Uniforms 500k (Round 8 of 36)

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)

Format: 208 laps, broken into three stages (55 laps/60 laps/93 laps)

Start/Finish: 6th/20th (Running, completed 208 of 208 laps)

Point Standing: 9th (225 points, 106 out of first)

Race Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 2 Winner: Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-55):

● Aric Almirola started sixth and finished 16th.

● The Smithfield Ford driver was forced to start in the rear due to unapproved adjustments before the green flag waved.

● Almirola raced to 26th before the competition caution on lap 20. He said his car was tight on the exit of the turns.

● He pitted under caution for two tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments to come off pit road 18th.

● Inclement weather postponed the race on lap 30. When racing resumed, Almirola did not pit and restarted 16th.

● Almirola continued to battle tight-handling conditions on the exit of the turns.

● At the end of the stage, he pitted for four tires, fuel, and wedge and air pressure adjustments. He came off pit road 14th.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 56-115):

● Almirola started 14th and finished 22nd.

● Almirola and the No. 18 car made contact on lap 65. He held on to the No. 10 Ford and fell to 21st.

● After a caution was called on lap 74, Almirola pitted twice for four tires, fuel and adjustments, and to repair damage.

● He restarted 32nd and drove back into the top-25. Almirola said he was extremely loose in traffic and needed help passing.

● At the end of the stage, he pitted for four tires, fuel, and air pressure and chassis adjustments. He came off pit road 16th and gained six spots.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 116-208):

● Almirola started 16th and finished 20th.

● The No. 10 Smithfield driver continued to note loose-handling conditions in traffic and fell to 18th.

● He pitted on lap 174 under caution for four tires, fuel and adjustments to restart 18th.

● Almirola endured more handling issues and fell back to 24th.

● The No. 10 Smithfield Ford driver battled his way back to 20th before crossing the finish line.

Notes:

● This was Almirola’s fourth straight top-20 finish at Charlotte’s oval. He finished 16th in last Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600.

● Chase Elliott won the Alsco Uniforms 500k to score his seventh career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his first at Charlotte’s oval. His margin of victory over second-place Denny Hamlin was 2.208 seconds.

● There were seven caution periods for a total of 37 laps.

● Only 22 of the 40 drivers in the Alsco Uniforms 500k finished on the lead lap.

● Harvick remains the championship leader after Charlotte with a 14-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano.

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“That was just an overall tough day for our Smithfield Ford team today. After starting in the rear we were able to get back to 16th by taking two tires and holding on, but our day went downhill from there. The car was just not where we wanted it to be and contact with the No. 18 put us back where we started. The pit crew did a great job today and gained us some spots, but unfortunately I just couldn’t pass in traffic with the way the car handled. I’m looking forward to Bristol in a few days to get back to a short track.”

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Supermarket Heroes 500 on Sunday, May 31 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

No. 10 Smithfield Ford Racing: Aric Almirola Charlotte I Race Report

by MikeMay 25, 2020

Date: May 24, 2020

Event: Coca-Cola 600 (Round 7 of 36)

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)

Format: 400 laps, broken into four stages (100 laps/100 laps/100 laps/100 laps)

Start/Finish: 40th/16th (Running, completed 405 of 405 laps)

Point Standing: 11th (207 points, 82 out of first)

Note: Race extended five laps past its scheduled 400-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Race Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Winner: Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 2 Winner: Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 3 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-100):

● Aric Almirola started 40th and finished 20th.

● Before the green flag waved, the No. 11 car dropped debris on the track, which made contact with Almirola’s splitter causing damage.

● Almirola advanced the No. 10 Smithfield Ford to 27th before the lap-20 competition caution.

● Inclement weather delayed the race for 68 minutes on lap 49. When racing resumed, the No. 10 team pitted for four tires, fuel, air pressure and chassis adjustments, and repaired splitter damage.

● Almirola advanced to 20th by lap 89 and continued to note loose-handling conditions.

● He pitted at the end of the stage for four tires, fuel and adjustments.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 101-200):

● Almirola started 17th and finished 16th.

● The No. 10 Ford driver pitted on lap 153 for four tires, fuel and adjustments to correct loose-handling conditions.

● Almirola was 16th when green-flag pit stops cycled through.

● He successfully raced to stay on the lead lap for the remainder of the stage.

● Almirola brought the Smithfield Ford to the pits at the conclusion of Stage 2 for four fresh tires, fuel, and air pressure and chassis adjustments.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 201-300):

● Almirola started 13th and finished 13th.

● The No. 10 team advanced to its highest position of 11th on lap 212.

● Almirola pitted under green on lap 255 for four fresh tires, fuel and more adjustments. He was scored 15th after green-flag pit stops cycled through.

● He pitted again under caution on lap 272 for four tires, fuel and adjustments. The team found a puncture in the right-rear tire.

● Almirola raced in and around the top-15 before the end of the stage. He pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments following Stage 3.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 301-400):

● Almirola started 15th and finished 16th.

● Almirola said the No. 10 car was extremely tight after the recent adjustments and needed better turn in the corners to make passes.

● The Smithfield Ford driver passed teammate Kevin Harvick for 13th on lap 347.

● Almirola pitted during the seventh caution of the race with 50 laps to go for four tires, fuel and adjustments to correct tight-handling conditions.

● He restarted 13th with 48 laps to go and raced to 11th before the caution on lap 398.

● Almirola brought the Smithfield Ford to the pits for two fresh tires and lined up 10th for the restart.

● On the final restart, Almirola was shuffled to the middle lane and lost positions before crossing the finish line in overtime.

Notes:

● This was Almirola’s third straight top-16 finish at Charlotte’s oval. He finished 11th in last year’s Coca-Cola 600.

● Brad Keselowski won the Coca-Cola 600 to score his 31st career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his second on the oval at Charlotte. His margin of victory over second-place Jimmie Johnson was .293 of a second.

● This was Ford’s 690th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory.

● This was Ford’s 31st NASCAR Cup Series victory at Charlotte’s oval, the most among all manufacturers. The last Ford driver to win the Coca-Cola 600 was Mark Martin in 2002. Ford’s first Coca-Cola 600 victory came in 1962 via Nelson Stacy.

● There were eight caution periods for a total of 52 laps.

● Only 20 of the 40 drivers in the Coca-Cola 600 finished on the lead lap.

● Harvick remains the championship leader after the Coca-Cola 600 with a 22-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano.

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“From the start of the day to the end of the day it was just a tough day. I was loose on the qualifying lap and spun, but was able to keep car from having much damage. We started in the rear and, on the pace laps, debris came out of the No. 11 car and damaged some of the splitter, so we had to make some repairs there later on. We battled both ends of the balance with the car all four stages and started to ease our way to the top-10 at the end before that final caution came out – then the restart didn’t go my way. The Coke 600 is such a long race and so much can happen. I’m proud we battled back up there, but didn’t get the finish we wanted. Luckily, we’ll be back here in a few days and see if we can get the Smithfield Ford Mustang up front the second time around like we did in Darlington.”

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Alsco Uniforms 500k on Wednesday, May 27 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The race starts at 8 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

ARIC ALMIROLA Back-to-Back Darlington Action

by MikeMay 19, 2020

KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (May 18, 2020) – The No. 10 Smithfield / #GoodFoodChallenge Ford Mustang team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) returned to live racing Sunday at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, where driver Aric Almirola started fifth by a random draw and finished 12th to advance one position in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings. The team sits seventh with 151 points – 67 out of first place. SHR teammate Kevin Harvick dominated the race to earn his first win of the season.

Almirola raced inside the top-five in the first stage and earned six stage points. He was forced to race his way back through the field after an uncontrolled tire penalty forced him to the rear of the field in the second stage. He gained four positions on the final restart and held the Smithfield/#GoodFoodChallenge Ford just outside the top-10 before the checkered flag waved. He was the second highest-finishing SHR driver.

“Overall, it was a good day after earning some stage points and moving up in the standings, but we’ve got some rust to knock off,” Almirola said. “The Smithfield car was good until we lost track position and, when we finally had the opportunity to run back toward the top-10, it was toward the end of the race. We definitely learned a lot that we can take back on Wednesday. That’s the good thing. We know where our weakness is and now we just need to get

buttoned up and run a clean race.”

Without a single practice lap or qualifying, Almirola and crew chief Mike Bugarewicz were put to the test. Communication was key and patience led the team to progress in the point standings.

“We have a few areas to fine-tune on our team,” Bugarewicz said. “We show potential every week to run top-10 and top-five. We just need to clean up a few areas and we’ll be in good shape.”

Advancing one position in the standings wasn’t the only positive during the team’s return to racing. Almirola and Smithfield teamed up to bring meals to families in need through Smithfield’s #GoodFoodChallenge.

From last Tuesday through May 21, Smithfield and Almirola are conducting the #GoodFoodChallenge. Smithfield launched the campaign amid the COVID-19 outbreak and has donated more than 40 million servings of protein to Feeding America – Now fans are asked to continue to help. The easiest way is via social media posts using the hashtag #GoodFoodChallenge, which automatically donates 10 meals to Feeding America through Smithfield. They can also visit www.SmithfieldGoodFoodChallenge.com if they’d like to donate monetarily.

Fans and industry members have rallied around the cause with an abundance of social media posts during Sunday’s The Real Heroes 400. Almirola and the Smithfield/#GoodFoodChallenge Ford team look to continue that charitable momentum Wednesday night.

Wednesday’s race will also again support The Real Heroes project by recognizing a front-line health care worker by replacing Almirola’s name above his driver-side door with that of Clayton Vaught, a supervisor of diagnostic radiology at Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center. Vaught’s work ethic is said to be second to none. He is thought of as a tremendous leader and team player. He works at Novant Health and Stone institute, a urology group that takes care of kidney stones. Vaught is a die-hard NASCAR fan who, throughout the years, has hosted a group of more than 30 fans at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway campgrounds and fires up the grill for everyone involved. Clayton is in the market for a new favorite NASCAR driver.

“It’s people like Clayton who make all of this possible,” Almirola said. “Without our front-line health care workers, we wouldn’t be racing on Wednesday. Hopefully, I can win him over and gain a new fan.”

Aric Almirola: Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield/#GoodFoodChallenge Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

How was it finally getting back to racing?

“I’m proud of everybody. I’m proud of NASCAR for being the first sport to get things going again. It was kind of eerie to walk out to pit road and not see anyone in the grandstands, but it sure felt good to get back in the racecar and that thrill of competition was much needed. I hope everybody enjoyed it and I hope everybody started getting their fix on sports from watching us race. We’re one step closer to getting back to normal.”

What would it mean to win at Darlington?

“It is such a physically demanding track, it’s such a demanding track on the car, on the crew, on everybody. When you win at Darlington, you’ve done something. Darlington is just a really tough racetrack. It’s called ‘Too Tough to Tame’ and the ‘Lady in Black’ for a reason. It such a challenging place. To go there and have success, to walk away with a trophy, is a bucket list kind of race that you want to win.”

No. 10 Smithfield/#GoodFoodChallenge Ford Mustang Team Report
Round 6 of 36 – Darlington 500k – Darlington (S.C.) Raceway

Car No. 10: Smithfield/#GoodFoodChallenge Ford Mustang Team Report

At Track PR Contact: Dakota Hunter with True Speed Communication (Dakota.Hunter@TrueSpeedCommunication.com)

Primary Team:

Driver: Aric Almirola

Hometown: Tampa, Florida

Crew Chief: Mike Bugarewicz

Hometown: Lehighton, Pennsylvania

Car Chief: Jerry Cook

Hometown: Toledo, Ohio

Engine Builder: Roush Yates Racing

Headquarters: Mooresville, North Carolina

Engine Tuner: Matt Moeller

Hometown: Monroe, New York

Spotter: Joel Edmonds

Hometown: Dobson, North Carolina

Over-The-Wall Crew:

Gas Man: James “Ace” Keener

Hometown: Fortuna, California

Front Tire Changer: Clay Robinson

Hometown: Simi Valley, Calif.

Tire Carrier: Tyler Bullard

Hometown: King, North Carolina

Rear Tire Changer: Chris McMullen

Hometown: Canton, Michigan

Jackman: Corbin Martin

Hometown: Winston Salem, North Carolina

Notes of Interest

● Almirola will make his 10th Cup Series start at Darlington Wednesday to bring his total of career Cup Series starts to 322.

o The Smithfield driver is looking to capture his third top-10 finish of the season

o Almirola’s best finish at Darlington was 11th in 2015.

● Career: Almirola has career totals of two wins, two poles, 18 top-five finishes, 63 top-10s and 543 laps led in 321 starts.

● Points: Almirola sits seventh in the season standings with 151 points – 67 points behind leader Kevin Harvick.

● Last win: Almirola’s Oct. 14, 2018 win at Talladega was his most recent in the Cup Series.

● #GoodFoodChallenge: As a food company, Almirola’s longtime sponsor Smithfield Foods has a responsibility to ensure the continuity of our nation’s food supply during this difficult time. In doing so, it has committed to donating more than 40 million servings of protein to Feeding America and its nationwide network of food banks in response to COVID-19. As the company continues to help communities across America, it invite everyone to join its journey in support of Feeding America by participating in the Good Food Challenge. Participating is easy – simply type the three words of the hashtag #GoodFoodChallenge on social media to automatically donate 10 meals to Feeding America on behalf of Smithfield Foods. Donations can also be made via the www.SmithfieldGoodFoodChallenge.com to donate. With such a simple task, large amounts of protein can be made to food banks across the nation.

● ‘Beyond the 10’ – Almirola is back with season two of his YouTube documentary series, where fans can get VIP, behind-the-scenes access by subscribing to his YouTube channel. Episodes showcase never-before-seen footage of Almirola at the racetrack, on iRacing, and “A Day in the Life” during the week, as well as all that goes into a NASCAR Cup Series driver’s season. Click here to subscribe on YouTube and watch the latest episode.

● Crew chief Mike Bugarewicz is in his fifth full-time season at SHR and his first with Almirola. To learn more click here.

Almirola Finishes 12th at Darlington

by MikeMay 18, 2020

Smithfield/#GoodFoodChallenge Ford Driver Runs Top-Five Before Penalty Derails Day

Date: May 17, 2020

Event: The Real Heroes 400

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

Location: Darlington (S.C) Raceway (1.366-mile oval)

Format: 293 laps, broken into three stages (90 laps/95 laps/108 laps)

Start/Finish: 5th/12th (Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)

Point Standing: 7th (151 points, 67 out of first)

Race Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 1 Winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-90):

● Aric Almirola started fifth and finished sixth, earning five bonus points.

● The No. 10 Smithfield/#GoodFoodChallenge Ford Mustang fell outside of the top-10 and Almirola raced his way back to eighth before the lap-30 competition caution. He took four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments.

● During the restart, Almirola raced his way to sixth place.

● Spotter Joel Edmonds told Almirola he was turning top-three lap times on lap 86.

● At the end of the stage, Almirola pitted for four tires, fuel and wedge adjustments. He said he needed more front turn.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 91-185):

● Almirola started seventh and finished 21st.

● The No. 10 Smithfield/#GoodFoodChallenge Ford Mustang raced to the top-five in the opening laps.

● On lap 112, the caution was called with Aric in the seventh position. He pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments.

● Almirola pitted again on lap 125 under caution from 10th place for four tires, fuel and more chassis adjustments.

● Another caution was called on lap 154. Almirola pitted for four tires, fuel and reversed prior adjustments.

● He was handed an uncontrolled tire penalty and was demoted to the rear of the field.

● Almirola raced back to 21st before the stage ended. He took four tires, fuel and adjustments following Stage 2.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 186-293):

● Almirola started 21st and finished 12th.

● Almirola said the No. 10 Smithfield/#GoodFoodChallenge Ford Mustang was building tighter at lap 202.

● He pitted under caution on lap 216 for four tires, fuel and adjustments from the 17th position.

● On lap 243, Almirola and the No. 10 Ford team began to see top-five lap speeds.

● Almirola pitted on lap 255 for four fresh tires, fuel and adjustments and came off pit road 16th.

● He gained four spots on the final restart and raced just outside of the top-10 before the checkered flag waved.

Notes:

● This was Almirola’s third straight top-12. He finished eighth March 1 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, and eighth in the series’ last race at Phoenix.

● Almirola’s 12th-place result was just shy of bettering his previous best finish at Darlington – 11th, earned in the 2015 Southern 500.

● There were 10 caution periods for a total of 57 laps.

● Only 24 of the 40 drivers in The Real Heroes 400 finished on the lead lap.

● Harvick remains the championship leader after Darlington with a 28-point advantage over second-place Bowman.

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield/#GoodFoodChallenge Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“It was a decent day for us. When we had track position we ran up front. That was nice. Then we lost track position and got put to the back of the field. We just had to fight and climb our way back up for the rest of the race, but I’m really proud of my guys and I thought we had a top-10 car. We scored some stage points and had a solid day. I’m proud of everybody. I’m proud of NASCAR being

the first sport to get things going again. It was kind of eerie to walk out to pit road and not see anyone in the grandstands, but it sure felt good to get back in the race car and that thrill of competition was much needed. I hope everybody enjoyed it and I hope everybody got their fix on sports from watching us race. We’re one step closer back to normal. We’ll try again here Wednesday night and see if we can’t get it done. Congrats to Harvick on the win.”

Next Up:

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Darlington on Wednesday, May 20 for a 500-kilometer race. It starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.