Aric Almirola Looks to Continue Recent Short Track Success in Martinsville

The final 10 races of the season feature four short tracks, one mile or less. With two of those races complete, Aric Almirola scored a 17th-place finish in New Hampshire and a 16th-place finish in Dover. This weekend’s race in Martinsville will be the third short-track race, and Almirola is looking forward to continuing his strong finishes. During the previous trip to Martinsville this season, the team suffered a rare engine failure and was unable to finish the race. The No. 43 Smithfield Ford is prepared to make the trip back to the southern Virginia track and showcase the strong short-track program.

This weekend will be Almirola’s 16th Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway. His best finish of 12th place came in the 2012 season for Richard Petty Motorsports.

Almirola will meet with fans at the Fanatics tent in the Fan Midway on race day morning. Almirola and Richard Petty Motorsports merchandise can be purchased at Fanatics prior to the autograph session.

When: Sunday, October 30, 10:00 – 10:15 AM
Where: Fanatics Tent, Martinsville Speedway

Fans will have the opportunity to see Almirola when he judges the Whole Hog Challenge at the Smithfield Display in Martinsville Speedway’s Fan Midway. Pre-selected contestants will compete against one another to eat two pounds of Smithfield bacon the fastest. The winner, crowned by Almirola, will move on to participate in the final Whole Hog Challenge Championship in Miami at the end of the season.

When: Sunday, October 30, 10:15 – 10:45 AM
Where: Smithfield Display, Martinsville Speedway

“Between the tire that Goodyear is bringing to Martinsville and the new aerodynamics package, the cars seem to be driving quite a bit differently than in the past. We struggled a bit adapting to those changes at the last Martinsville and didn’t run how we normally do there. We’ve been running in the Top 15 for the last four years, but we didn’t run that well last time, and then we ended up having an engine issue. But, I think that we’ve gotten a better handle on the package here recently, and we’ve been showing improvement these past few weeks, especially at short tracks. We’ll definitely have some work to do once we get to the track, but this team has worked hard all year and will this weekend. We’ll get our No. 43 Smithfield Ford running how we need it and, hopefully, bring home another Top 20 finish.” 

RPM PR