Richard Petty Motorsports Collects Another Top-Five at Dover

Richard Petty Motorsports earned its 39th Top-Five finish after Aric Almirola and the No. 43 Nathan’s Famous Ford team scored their second fifth-place finish at the Dover (Del.) International Speedway of the season on Sunday.  Almirola matched his finish from May on Sunday after a late race pit stop for four tires boosted Almirola through the field.

 
Sam Hornish and the No. 9 SlimFast Ford team finished 20th in Sunday’s race, two positions better than the race in May. Hornish advanced from his 26th starting position to get his second consecutive 20th-place finish in the past two races.
 
Kevin Harvick won the race to advance in The Chase as Jimmie Johnson, Paul Menard, Jamie McMurray and Clint Bowyer were eliminated.
 
A recap of Sunday’s race follows:
 
Aric Almirola, No. 43 Nathan’s Famous Ford
 
One of his favorite tracks, Aric Almirola ran a masterful race on Sunday to finish fifth in Sunday’s 400-lap NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the Dover International Raceway.  The finish is his third Top-10 at the track and he finished the season with two fifth-place finishes at the fast one-mile oval.  
 
After rain washed out practice and qualifying on Friday, Almirola lined up 18th for Sunday’s race. The team felt confident about their Nathan’s Famous No. 43 Ford after posting fast times during Saturday’s practice.  But, it was a methodical race for Almirola and the team who used all 400 laps to score the Top-Five finish. 
 
The opening laps, Almirola told Crew Chief Trent Owens that he was pretty happy with the car. Almirola jumped to 16th until a Lap 40 Competition Caution slowed the field.  Almirola communicated that the car was a bit tight.  The team made adjustments and took four tires. Almirola restarted 18th and quickly jumped to 14th.  He held 14th until a caution on Lap 111. The team took four tires and made adjustments to give Almirola more grip.  He restarted 15th. 
 
Over the next 40 laps, Almirola and the No. 43 team really showed strength.  Almirola stayed 15th by Lap 150 but moved into 13th by Lap 160.  The team was running as fast as anyone and Almirola was doing a great job moving through the field on a tough track to pass.

On Lap 189, under caution, the team was running 11th and came to pit road. More adjustments were made to the Nathan’s Ford and Almirola got four new tires.  He came back out 11th before settling into 12th.  Another caution waved on Lap 231 and Almirola wanted to go back on the changes to tighten the car back up.  He restarted 12th and felt that the car was getting better.
 
By Lap 300, however, Almirola stayed in the 12th position.  The adjustments just couldn’t make the car crack into the Top-10, yet.  Almirola stayed patient and let the track, car and race come to him.  With 50 laps left, Almirola was still running 12th, but felt that his speed was good enough to run in the top five.
 
As a late race caution slowed the race on Lap 371, Almirola came down pit road to get four tires.  The fresh tires and a restart was all Almirola needed to make his move.  On  the restarted he moved from 11th to fifth in the matter of 10 laps.  He was one of the fastest cars on the track.  The new tires then evened out and Almirola held the fifth spot in the final 10 laps. 
 
The No. 43 team earned its third Top-Five finish of the season.  They are only three points behind 17th in points, the highest they can get to finish the season.

That was a good run for us,” said Almirola.  “I’m really proud of the guys.  That’s two Top- Five finishes in a row here at Dover.  It was a really good job.  We just struggled with getting the car in the race track most of the day and right there at the end four tires paid off for us.  That was some really good adjustments by Trent and the guys and the pit crew did a good job getting me off pit road and just a really solid day for us.”
 
 Sam Hornish, No. 9 SlimFast Ford

Sam Hornish Jr. and the No. 9 SlimFast Ford team earned a 20th-place finish in Sunday afternoon’s NACAR Sprint Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway. With limited practice due to weather, many teams were unsure of what to expect during Sunday’s 400-mile event. Hornish battled with the handling of the No. 9 Ford at the beginning of the race, but the SlimFast crew made adjustments throughout the race and improved the handling at the end. Caught two laps down, Hornish was the first car to finish two laps down- only 18 cars finished on the lead lap.
 
After qualifying for the Cup Series was cancelled due to weather, NASCAR Officials set the line-up by the rulebook, and Hornish started the 400-lap race from the 26th position. After an early caution, Hornish raced the No. 9 SlimFast Ford into the Top-25. He was 23rd when officials brought out the yellow flag for a scheduled competition caution on Lap 42. Hornish reported the No. 9 Ford was tight in the center but free on exit. Crew Chief Kevin Manion called for an air pressure adjustment on the four-tire stop and Hornish restarted 24th on Lap 46.
 
Hornish didn’t like the adjustment from the last stop and continued to battle with tight conditions through the center of the corners over the next 67 laps. He fell a lap down to the leaders on Lap 94 over the long, green-flag run. Hornish still raced within the Top-25, and was 24th when debris brought out the caution on Lap 113, giving the No. 9 team an opportunity to make more adjustments. This time the crew made air pressure and a chassis adjustment on the four-tire stop. Hornish restarted 24th on Lap 118.
 
Up two spots to 21st, the handling of the No. 9 Ford seemed to improve and Hornish raced into the Top-20 before the next caution on Lap 193. Unfortunately, during the long, green-flag run, Hornish fell another lap down to the leaders after being one spot away from the Lucky Dog position early in the run. Still dealing with tight conditions, Manion called for four tires, more of the last chassis adjustment and an air pressure adjustment. The No. 9 Ford restarted 22nd on Lap 206.
 
After 18 laps into the run, Hornish reported he had debris on the grill of the No. 9 Ford. While engine temperatures were elevated, but still okay, Hornish stayed on the track while keeping an eye on his temps. Luckily, debris brought out the caution on Lap 232. Hornish pitted for four tires and more adjustments. With a clean grill, Hornish restarted 25th on Lap 237.
 
Manion and the team continued to make better adjustments and improve the handling of the No. 9 Ford. Over the next 75 laps, Hornish gained four positions to 21st when a spin in Turn Four brought out the caution. Manion called the No. 9 Ford to pit road for another four-tire stop with an air pressure adjustment. Hornish restarted 21st on Lap 317.
 
The field saw two more cautions over the next 59 laps. Unable to take the wavearound each time, Hornish came to pit road for four new tires and fuel. On the last restart of the race, the No. 9 Ford restarted 22nd with 23 laps to go. In the final laps, Hornish picked up two spots for a 20th-place finish, two laps down. With the Top-20 finish, Hornish maintains the 27th spot in the Championship Point Standings.
 
“Dover can be a tough track,” said Hornish. “We did a good job of keeping our nose clean and staying out of trouble today and that is half of the battle at Dover. I struggled with the handling of the car at the beginning of the race, but Kevin (Manion) and the team did a good job making adjustments throughout the day and at the end the car was much better. We need to keep having consistent days and hopefully the bad luck will fade away.”

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