On Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Aric Almirola will strap into the famous No. 43 Ford for one last time before moving to Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2018 season. While quiet, Almirola and Richard Petty Motorsports broke many droughts surrounding the iconic No. 43 during their time together.
While racing for the team in 2014, Almirola took the famous No. 43 to victory lane at Daytona in the Coke-Zero 400. The trip to victory lane was the first since 1999 for one of the most iconic numbers in all of NASCAR with driver John Andretti at Martinsville Speedway.
With the win in 2014, Richard Petty Motorsports punched their ticket into the NASCAR Playoffs for just their second time in team history. In the opening race of the playoffs at Chicagoland Speedway that year, Almirola had an engine let go and that ultimately ended their playoff hopes.
In addition to scoring his first career win with one of the most well-known teams in NASCAR, Almirola also scored his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series pole with them in 2012 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The pole was the first for the No. 43 Ford since John Andretti at Phoenix Raceway in 1999.
“It’s been a great time racing for Richard Petty Motorsports,” said Almirola in a team release. “Richard and the Petty family gave me the opportunity to get into Cup racing full-time, and I appreciate that. I wish them nothing but the best.”
Almirola holds the most starts of any driver at Richard Petty Motorsports since their inception in 2009. Team owner Richard Petty described what it was like to work with Almirola since joining the small car operation in 2009.
“Aric always did everything we asked him to do,” said team owner Richard Petty in a release. “He brought the ’43’ back to Victory Lane for us, and that was just as special for me as it was for him. We really thank him for everything he has done.”
While Almirola moves on to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2018, Richard Petty Motorsports will welcome a new driver behind the wheel of the iconic No. 43. That new driver will be Darrell Wallace Jr.
Wallace filled-in for Almirola for four races after sustaining a heavy crash that resulted in a back injury at Kansas Speedway in May. The crash sidelined Almirola for eight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races as he recovered.
The 33-year old racer from Florida holds one victory, 11 top five and 32 top 10 finishes in NASCAR’s premier series. Through 28 races in 2017, Almirola has taken the No. 43 Ford to three top five and six top 10 finishes through 28 starts and takes an average finish of 18.8 into the season finale.
About Me: Brett has been following the sport of NASCAR since the beginning of the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Since Brett was 13, he has had a passion of chasing a job in sports that not many get the opportunity of doing. He has been in the NASCAR media since the middle of the 2010 season. Since then, he has been a part of many racing podcast shows to improve his talents. He has written for racingonfuel.com and theracingwheel.com. Currently, Brett writes for motorsportsnat.com and TracksideChatter.com. You can find him on twitter @NASCAR_Brett.
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