INDIANAPOLIS — Fresh from his breakthrough victory at Daytona International Speedway in early July, Aric Almirola can be forgiven for thinking big.
After all, he put the vaunted No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports car in the winner’s circle for the first time in 15 years.
Almirola would like nothing better than to complete the Daytona/Brickyard double, last accomplished by Jamie McMurray in 2010.
“We brought a brand-spanking new race car with, I’m sure, a lot of horsepower from Doug Yates, so I’m expecting good things,” Almirola said Friday morning before opening Sprint Cup practice. “We haven’t been on the race track for practice yet, but every time you show up at the race track, you expect to run really good.
“I don’t think anybody shows up at the race track expecting to run 35th, so I fully intend to have a lot of speed and be able to go race on Sunday for a Brickyard 400 win. That would be amazing to have an opportunity to win at probably both of the most historic race tracks on our circuit.”
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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