There were two winners at Daytona International Speedway Sunday; Mother Nature and Aric Almirola. Almirola took the iconic No. 43 Ford for Richard Petty Racing to victory lane in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Coke Zero 400 not only delayed by rain by shortened by rain as well.
Almirola worked his way to the front of the field and took over the lead after a round of pit stops on lap 103. From there he led the way until lap 111 when the second rain delay of the race hit sending the field down pit road and bringing out the red flag. NASCAR waited for nearly an hour before declaring the race over and giving Almirola his first career win.
“I grew up two hours away from here in Tampa,” Almirola said. “I grew up in those stands watching Daytona 500s and Firecracker 400s and grew up dreaming about what it would be like to win here. I can’t believe I just took the 43 car to victory lane here at Daytona. This is amazing.” MORE>>>
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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