Aric Almirola, who was winless and 27th in points entering Sunday, now has a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Due to approaching darkness, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver fought off Christopher Bell to win Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which was eight laps short of its planned 301-lap course.
Almirola ended a 98-race winless drought with winning his first Cup race outside of a superspeedway.
As NASCAR takes a two-week break for the Tokyo Olympics, he also shocked the playoff landscape.
Tyler Reddick was knocked out of the 16th and last playoff spot as a result of Almirola’s victory. Reddick is only five points ahead of Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Dillon in the standings.
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But most importantly, Almirola turned around one of his worst Cup seasons to date.
“… We’ve been through so much, and I’ve just stood the test and kept the faith,” Almirola told NBC Sports. “The team, everybody’s been working so hard. … My pit crew did a phenomenal job on pit road. All the guys that work on this car, they just keep fighting, they just keep digging, bringing the best race car they can bring every week.
“And there is no doubt that we have struggled, but guess what? We’re going playoff racing.”
A thrilling race at the “Magic Mile” on Sunday got off to a shaky start. Rain fell six laps into the race, causing a multi-car incident involving Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., and Denny Hamlin.
Busch and Truex, running first and second at the time, both spun into the Turn 1 wall. In the race for sixth, Hamlin spun as well, but he avoided the wall and continued on.
Busch was knocked out in the crash. Hamlin came in 10th place. With a damaged car, Truex Jr. managed to finish 12th.
Due to the extended halt, NASCAR said after Stage 2 that the race would continue “until conditions dictate otherwise,” and that if the race had to be shortened, officials would announce 10 laps to the checkered flag with no overtime.
Tại vòng 283 với Almirola dẫn đầu Bell, thông báo đã được đưa ra. Để tiếp tục dẫn đầu trong 10 vòng đua cuối cùng, Almirola đã phải di chuyển qua dòng xe cộ đông đúc, thậm chí buộc Dillon phải vượt lên trên đường đua với sáu vòng còn lại.
Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Ryan Blaney of Team Penske finished third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.
STAGE 1 WINNER: Ryan Blaney
STAGE 2 WINNER: Brad Keselowski
WHO HAD A GOOD RACE: Logano finished fourth despite receiving a two-lap penalty. During the red flag, a Team Penske crew member removed debris from Logano’s No. 2 Ford’s linkage, and Logano was penalized. The debris had prevented Logano from going full throttle during the opening laps, according to No. 2 team crew chief Paul Wolfe, and a correction had to be done.
WHO HAD A BAD RACE: Due to his misfortune with Mother Nature, Kyle Busch finished last in the 37-car field. The defeat brings to an end a four-race winning streak, which included a victory in the second race at Pocono.
NOTABLE: Kyle Larson finished seventh, leading the Hendrick Motorsports stable. No Hendrick drivers were among the top five finishes for the first time since the Bristol Dirt race in March.
NEXT: Sunday, Aug. 8 – Watkins Glen International (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN)
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