‘I couldn’t quite keep the pace,’ Aric Almirola reveals how he missed out on the ‘track position game’ at Martinsville
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Aric Almirola
Aric Almirola and Stewart-Hass Racing found their way back to the front row after a couple of average finishes in the previous ground. Aric Almirola finished P8 in his SHR No:10 Ford Mustang and his teammate Chase Briscoe finished just behind at P9 in his No. 14 SHR Ford Mustang at the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400.
But it wasn’t all easy for the duo at the second successive short track of the season as dirty air and the reduced speed compared to fellow front runners were a constraint to overcome for the Cuban at Ridgeway. This was Aric Almirola’s successive top 10 finish at Martinsville.
Now the highest ranked SHR driver of 2022 has come forth revealing how he struggled with the lack of speed in the car and the dirty air at Martinsville.
Find out what Aric Almirola had to say about His and SHR’s performance at Martinsville
Aric Almirola who started the race at P2 acknowledged that the track position game was so tough for him and said he couldn’t keep up with his fellow front runners as his car started taking off and just building looser and looser in. He went on to add that though there were hardships the run was great for the team as they were able to bounce back from average finishes in the last rounds.
“We had a great Smithfield Spirals Ford Mustang tonight. It was a challenge at times. The track position game was so tough. I mean, everybody would just start running the same speed after about 30 laps, but our car would take off OK, and then it would just build looser and looser in. I rolled the middle well enough and I launched off the corner well, but I couldn’t quite keep the pace as those guys that were ahead of us,” Aric Almirola said.
“All in all, it was a solid night for us, bouncing back after a couple of finishes that weren’t great, so Drew (Blickensderfer, crew chief) and all the boys have been doing a good job. Hopefully, we can get back on a string of running upfront because if we run up front, we’ll have a shot to win,” Aric Almirola added.
“I wish I could get my qualifying lap back,” Aric Almirola’s SHR teammate Chase Briscoe on his Martinsville outing
Chase Briscoe, who drives the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang, finished P9 just behind Aric Almirola at Martinsville and when asked about the race he said he wish he could run the qualifying lap again as the race result was heavily in favor of drivers with a front-row start. He went on to say the team is making the car better and it performed well in the long run. Chase Briscoe expressed his happiness about the top 10 finish and his hope that the team will learn from it when NASCAR comes back here in the latter part of the season.
“I wish I could get my qualifying lap back after seeing how crucial track position was. That was unfortunate. I wish it would’ve turned out better. We continued to make the car better and I was able to make some passes and was good in the long run, so we’ll see if we can apply anything when we come back later in the year. Overall, it was great to get another top-10,” – Chase Briscoe said.
Also read: Ty Gibbs and Sam Mayers explain what lead to their infamous Martinsville fistfight
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Justin P Joy
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