Tag: Aric Almirola

Almirola leads Ford domination in Atlanta Cup qualifying

Aric Almirola led a Ford onslaught in NASCAR Cup Series qualifying Saturday evening at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Stewart-Haas driver earned the pole with a lap of 177.346mph (31.261s) in the final round of single-car qualifying. It is the fifth …

Aric Almirola led a Ford onslaught in NASCAR Cup Series qualifying Saturday evening at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The Stewart-Haas driver earned the pole with a lap of 177.346mph (31.261s) in the final round of single-car qualifying. It is the fifth pole of Almirola’s Cup Series career and the first of the season for the No. 10 team.

He will be joined on the front row for the Quaker State 400 by Ryan Blaney, who was the final car to post a qualifying speed, clocking in at 177.266mph.

Chase Briscoe qualified third at 177.147mph, Joey Logano fourth at 176.876mph and Harrison Burton fifth at 176.803mph. Logano won at Atlanta earlier this season.

Kevin Harvick qualified sixth in his final Atlanta race at 176.712mph, Ty Gibbs qualified seventh at 176.701mph, Kyle Larson eighth at 176.628mph, Todd Gilliland ninth at 176.538mph, and Austin Cindric 10th at 176.101mph.

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Eight of the top 10 drivers in qualifying were from the Ford camp. Eleven Ford drivers qualified inside the top 15.

Martin Truex Jr., the championship points leader, qualified 16th. His fastest lap was 175.588mph.

Cole Custer qualified 21st for Rick Ware Racing. Custer is driving the No. 51 Ford for the team, making a return to the Cup Series for the first time since the season finale last season.

Defending race winner Chase Elliott qualified 23rd with a lap of 174.609mph.

Bubba Wallace was the only driver who did not post a qualifying lap. Wallace pulled off pit road in his No. 23 Toyota but felt something wrong and returned to the attention of his team.

“(It was) just really, really loose,” Wallace said. “A feeling I’ve never had before, so I brought it in so we didn’t tear up a good Leidos Toyota Camry. (We) found out what the issue was. Frustrating, but we’ll fix it and go and get them tomorrow.”

STARTING LINEUP

Almirola expected to achieve more at Stewart-Haas

Aric Almirola thought he was on the verge of something great with Stewart-Haas Racing, given how the first year driving the No. 10 Ford Mustang went. Almirola had a career year in 2018, finishing fifth in the championship standings. It included a …

Aric Almirola thought he was on the verge of something great with Stewart-Haas Racing, given how the first year driving the No. 10 Ford Mustang went.

Almirola had a career year in 2018, finishing fifth in the championship standings. It included a trip to victory lane in the fall race at Talladega Superspeedway, leading over 100 laps in a single season for the first time, a new mark in the average finish category and at the time, a career-high number of top five and top-10 finishes.

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But instead of it being more of the same, Almirola and his team have struggled. Something Almirola looks at, in his sixth year driving for Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, with a bit of surprise.

“No, certainly not what I expected,” Almirola said of his tenure with Stewart-Haas. “I expected more years like the first year, to be honest. I showed up here in 2018, and we not only won a race, but I was in contention to win probably five or six races throughout that year and consistently ran in the top 10, top five.

“(It) was a team that on any given weekend we showed up to a racetrack (and) felt like we could win, and that has certainly not been the case the last couple of years. It’s disappointing, for sure, but a lot of this is part of the sport, too. Our sport is very cyclical.”

There has been only one trip to victory lane since 2018 and although Almirola earned berths in the playoffs in 2019, 2020, and 2021, he hasn’t finished better than 14th in the standings, and he failed to make the playoff last season.

“We had a great year in 2018, not only for me personally but organizationally with winning a lot of races,” he said. “Then we went into 2019, and we weren’t quite as good as 2018 as an organization; 2020, we were still just OK, but we weren’t as dominant and as good as we had been in the past years. So, I feel like, for me, I totally anticipated coming over here and having success and building on that success to having an opportunity to go and be a champion.

A win at Talladega was the highlight of a standout 2018 for Almirola. John K Harrelson/Motorsport

“That hasn’t come to fruition, and I’m certainly disappointed about it, but, at the end of the day that doesn’t define me as a human being. As a race car driver, I always want more and want to be a champion, want to win multiple races in a year, and I have all of those lofty goals, but sometimes things don’t always go the way you want them to.”

Almirola has one top-10 finish going into Sonoma Raceway (Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET, FOX) before the season’s first and only off weekend. He is 25th in the championship standings with three DNFs and 44 laps led.

It is another year of fighting for Almirola and his team. A challenge he embraces, just like trying to be a consistent winner and Cup Series champion.

“Life is not easy; everybody has good days and bad days,” Almirola said. “Everybody has good years and bad years. There are seasons to life. There are seasons to a career and so, for me, it doesn’t water down the fact that I’m still racing at the highest level of stock car auto racing, something that I dreamed about as a kid.

“I’m getting to live out my childhood dream driving a NASCAR Cup Series car against 39 of the other best race car drivers in the world that drive stock cars, so I am very appreciative and very grateful of what I get to do.

“Do I want more wins and championships and all those things? Absolutely. I’m a competitive person, but at the end of the day, you sit there, and you look at Richard Petty, who is the King of our sport. I’ve gotten the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Richard, and he doesn’t ever sit down at Thanksgiving with all 200 of his trophies. He sits down at Thanksgiving with his family, and he sits down to share a meal with people he cares about.

“All the time I’ve ever gotten to spend with him and talk about things outside of racing and talking about life, he’s been a huge impact on me just being able to recognize and realize that you don’t always have to chase the success because it doesn’t really define who you are once you stop driving a race car.

“What defines who you are is how you treat other people and how you are with the people you love, so, yeah, I think as a competitive person, I want to win everything, but the reality is that’s not the case.”

Almirola has the speed, just not the results he’s looking for

The start of the NASCAR Cup Series season is a story of positives and negatives around Aric Almirola and the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing team. Entering Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway (3 p.m. ET, FS1), Almirola is 29th in the championship …

The start of the NASCAR Cup Series season is a story of positives and negatives around Aric Almirola and the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing team.

Entering Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway (3 p.m. ET, FS1), Almirola is 29th in the championship standings — not where an SHR driver expects to be or wants to think about.

Almirola has a clean sheet across the board, and not in a good way. There have been no top-10 finishes, no top-five finishes, and no wins. He’s led 33 laps and has an average finish of 26.1.

Before you ask, yes, it is frustrating that the potential of the team is there, but the results are not. Through eight races, Almirola’s best finish is 13th at Richmond Raceway. Just one of two top-20 finishes.

“It is (frustrating); it’s very reminiscent of two years ago,” he said Saturday before practice at Martinsville. “Two years ago, we got off to a similar start where it was just like, ‘Man, what in the world?’ We’re fast, we have speed, we’re running up in the top 10, and then we just don’t convert into results.

“At least I’ve seen this movie before.”

In 2021, he started the year with one top-10 finish in the first 15 races. But at Nashville Superspeedway in June, he felt things turn. Almirola won the pole and finished fourth. Five races later, he was in victory lane in New Hampshire.

“And (we) finished out the year relatively strong,” he said. “Yeah, it’s frustrating. It’s life. You go through seasons of life that aren’t always the greatest, and it’s just part of it.

“It’s not ideal. We don’t enjoy the results being what they are, but I know that the race team has a lot of fight in them. All the guys on our team are rallying, and we’re bringing fast race cars to the track every week.”

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The good news is the team just needs the results, which are far easier to find than speed.

“I’ve been on both ends of it, and the reality is, the results are usually the same,” Almirola said. “When you don’t have speed, and you run bad, you run bad. When you have speed and have bad finishes, you still get bad finishes.

“The pay is the same. The points are the same. It’s still bad. But the nice thing is you feel like, at any moment you can turn it around and get those finishes. Where when you’re searching for speed, it’s a lot harder.”

Unfortunately it’s not as easy to get the results as it is knowing that’s the issue. As it normally happens in racing, Almirola acknowledges there is a little bit of everything that he and his team need to do better.

“It’s execution. It’s luck. I’ve got to do my part as well,” he said. “Like last week at Bristol, sitting there running third, I had an opportunity to pick the front row, and I didn’t on one of the restarts. I chose to restart on the outside again, and it allowed Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon, those guys who were on tires, to pounce. Kyle tried to slide me and didn’t get clear, got me in the fence, and it bent the right rear toe link. Then a few laps, I got in the fence again and broke the right rear toe link. Just little things like that continually happen.

“I can look at every single race where we’ve had things happen, and we can Monday morning quarterback all we want, but it doesn’t change the results for that weekend. We just have to learn from it and go forward.”

2022 Ally 400 odds, picks and predictions

Analyzing Sunday’s 2022 Ally 400 odds at Nashville Superspeedway, with NASCAR odds, picks and predictions.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tenn., Sunday for the 2022 Ally 400. The green flag is set to drop a little after 5 p.m. ET (NBC). Below we analyze the 2022 Ally 400 odds and lines, with NASCAR picks and predictions.

Sunday’s race is scheduled for 300 laps and 400 miles on the 1.3-mile oval at Nashville Superspeedway. The Cup Series made its debut at the track in 2021.

2022 Ally 400: What you need to know

  • Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson posted the victory in last season’s inaugural race, leading 264 of the 300 laps after starting from the 5th position. Larson goes off 3rd Sunday.
  • Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin picked up the pole honors after Saturday’s rain-shortened, qualifying session. He finished 21st last season in Nashville after starting 13th.
  • Current TrackHouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, who drove for Chip Ganassi last season, was a runner-up to Larson at this track last year. He started 19th and led 4 laps before his 2nd-place finish. The Florida watermelon farmer will start from the 7th spot Sunday.
  • Hendrick’s Chase Elliott actually led the 2nd-most laps to his teammate Larson last season in Nashville, turning 13 laps in first. However, a disqualification after a post-race inspection due to loose lug nuts dropped him to 39th.

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Ally 400 – Expert picks

Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:30 a.m. ET.

LARSON (+480) is listed as the favorite, and rightly so after he dominated this track last season en route to the Cup Series inaugural win. Nobody was better, or even close, to the No. 5 machine.

However, HAMLIN (+900) is worth a roll of the dice since he is going off from the pole position. He struggled at the track in 2021, dropping 8 spots from his original starting spot. But it’s always nice to be out front and see a bunch of clean air to start.

Ally 400 picks – Long shot

ARIC ALMIROLA (+4000) ended up in 4th place at last season’s inaugural Music City race. He has been a bit uneven this season in what will be his final time racing a full schedule.

The “Cuban Missile” is also a worth a look in the props section. Playing an ALMIROLA TOP-10 FINISH (+130) is still plus-money.

Ally 400 prop picks

AUSTIN DILLON TOP-10 FINISH (+220)

The driver of the No. 3 machine, who is also now a reality TV star, posted a respectable 12th-place showing last season after scooting up from a starting spot of 28th.

DANIEL SUAREZ TOP-10 FINISH (-125)

Suarez has had 2 weeks to celebrate, becoming just the 5th foreign-born driver to secure checkers in a Cup Series win with his successful Sonoma run. He will look to build upon the confidence of that victory, and should be able to run inside the top 10 on the 1.3-mile oval.

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NASCAR at Texas Motor Speedway Live Stream, Start Time, TV Channel, NASCAR Starting Lineup

NASCAR is back in Texas and this will be the first race with fans in the stands with the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500, stream NASCAR now!

NASCAR is back at Texas Motor Speedway this Sunday and they will have fans for the first time since the restart. With the Texas State guidelines, they will be allowed to have 50% capacity which is around 67,500 fans. The TMS president, Eddie Gossage said he wouldn’t be surprised if they saw 60,000 fans attend the event.

Here is everything that you need to know to follow the NASCAR action this weekend!

O’Reilly Auto Parts 500

  • Date: Sunday, July 19
  • Race Time: 3:00 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: NBCSN
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

NASCAR Starting Lineup At Texas Motor Speedway

1. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford.

2. (12) Ryan Blane, Ford.

3. (1) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet.

4. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota.

5. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford.

6. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford.

7. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota.

8. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet.

9. (22) Joey Logano, Ford.

10. (19) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota.

11. (21) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford.

12. (88) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet.

13. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet.

14. (43) Bubba Wallace, Chevrolet.

15. (6) Ryan Newman, Ford.

16. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford.

17. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford.

18. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet.

19. (41) Cole Custer, Ford.

20. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet.

21. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet.

22. (42) Matt Kenseth, Chevrolet.

23. (20) Erik Jones, Toyota.

24. (8) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet.

25. (37) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet.

26. (00) Quin Houff, Chevrolet.

27. (53) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet.

28. (38) John Hunter Nemechek, Ford.

29. (27) Gray Gaulding, Ford.

30. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet.

31. (27) JJ Yeley, Ford.

32. (15) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet.

33. (95) Christopher Bell, Toyota.

34. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford.

35. (51) Joey Gase, Ford.

36. (32) Corey LaJoie, Ford.

37. (96) Daniel Suarez, Toyota.

38. (66) Timmy Hill, Toyota.

39. (78) B.J. McLeod, Chevrolet.

40. (7) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet.

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NASCAR Cup Series at Indianapolis Live Stream, Start Time, TV Channel, NASCAR Starting Lineup

The Brickyard 400 will run today in Indianapolis, Indiana, stream all the action right here.

In the second race of NASCAR’s doubleheader this weekend we have the Brickyard 400 running out of Indianapolis, Indiana. The big news of the weekend included Jimmy Johnson testing positive for COVID-19 and pulling out of the race, he’ll be replaced by Justin Allgaier.

You can see the starting lineup, tv coverage, and how to watch NASCAR below!

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Brickyard 400

  • Date: Sunday, July 5
  • Start time: 4:00 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: NBC
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

NASCAR Starting Lineup

1. (22) Joey Logano, Ford.

2. (1) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet.

3. (88) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet.

4. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet.

5. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford.

6. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota.

7. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota.

8. (19) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota.

9. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford.

10. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet.

11. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford.

12. (12) Ryan Blane, Ford.

13. (8) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet.

14. (6) Ryan Newman, Ford.

15. (21) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford.

16. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet.

17. (43) Bubba Wallace, Chevrolet.

18. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet.

19. (38) John H. Nemechek, Ford.

20. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford.

21. (42) Matt Kenseth, Chevrolet.

22. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford.

23. (20) Erik Jones, Toyota.

24. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet.

25. (51) Joye Gase, Ford.

26. (15) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet.

27. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford.

28. (78) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet.

29. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet.

30. (41) Cole Custer, Ford.

31. (32) Corey LaJoie, Ford.

32. (77) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet.

33. (00) Quin Houff, Chevrolet.

34. (27) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet.

35. (95) Christopher Bell, Toyota.

36. (37) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet.

37. (96) Daile Suarez, Toyota.

38. (66) Timmy Hill, Toyota.

39. (7) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet.

40. (78) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet.

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Pocono 350 odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Sunday’s Pocono 350 at Pocono Raceway sports betting odds and lines, with NASCAR analysis, picks and tips.

The NASCAR Cup Series is back at the Pocono Raceway for the Pocono 350. The green flag drops Sunday at 4:20 p.m. ET with the race televised on FOX. Below, we analyze the Pocono 350 odds and betting lines, with NASCAR picks and tips with odds from BetMGM sportsbook.

Pocono 350: What you need to know

Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Sunday at 5 a.m. ET.

The NASCAR boys just ran on the track Saturday in the first doubleheader weekend in Cup Series history. Stewart Haas driver Kevin Harvick streaked to victory, holding off Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin by a few car lengths.

  • Leavine Family Racing driver Christopher Bell and Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell showed Saturday that the little guys can compete, especially in these shorter-length races. The rookie Bell had a tremendous Cup debut at the “Tricky Triangle,” racing his way to fourth place, while McDowell finished eighth.
  • Toyota’s streak of five consecutive Pocono victories was snapped Saturday with Harvick’s win. Ford now has three wins in the past eighth Pocono runs, while Chevrolet hasn’t been to victory in Long Pond since the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 in the Spring 2016 race.
  • Lucky Nine? Harvick started in the ninth position Saturday and raced to the win, while Hamlin won from the ninth starting spot last July at Pocono. Penske Racing’s Ryan Blaney (+1200 for Sunday’s race) starts ninth in the 350.
  • Aric Almirola (+1600) recorded a third-place finish Saturday, his highest finish in a Cup car during a Pocono start. His previous best was seventh, set during the Spring ’18 run.

Who is going to win the Pocono 350?

HAMLIN (+500) was my top pick for Saturday’s race, and he was just edged out by Harvick. Hamlin could have used some lapped traffic to disrupt Happy’s flow, but it just never came into fruition and the No. 11 had to settle for runner-up.

Hamlin is 12th or better in seven of his past eight Pocono starts, including a win last July, and the runner-up showing on Saturday. He was the top finishing Toyota in Saturday’s race.

KYLE BUSCH (+550) was unable to pick up the checkered flag Saturday, but still has three wins in his past six Pocono starts. He ended up in fifth place Saturday, which isn’t too shabby. In fact, Rowdy has placed inside the top 10 in eight consecutive starts at the “Tricky Triangle” since a disastrous 31st-place showing in the Spring ’16 start.

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MARTIN TRUEX JR. (+1000) made his presence felt with a solid sixth-place run, giving JGR three cars – joining Hamlin and Kyle Busch – in the top six positions. Truex was third in last season’s summer race, and has been sixth or better in five of his past seven Pocono starts. At this price (+1000), TRUEX IS A VERY GOOD VALUE.

Pocono Raceway long-shot bets

BELL (+6500) turned in a fourth-place showing in his Pocono Cup debut Saturday, so he has to be on the radar of bettors at this price as we eagerly wait to see what he can do for an encore. Even if he falls a few positions, you can scoop him up and RING THAT BELL AT +310 FOR A TOP-10 FINISH.

WILLIAM BYRON (+2200) had a solid 14th-place showing Saturday, setting him up to start from the seventh spot in Sunday’s grid. He has a solid 10.2 Average-Finish Position (AFP) in five career Cup starts at the Pennsylvania tri-oval, so keep an eye on the No. 24 car. If you’re not feeling him for checkers, but perhaps to place inside the top 10, he is just about even-money at +105.

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GEICO 500 at Talladega odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Sunday’s Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway sports betting odds and lines, with NASCAR analysis, picks and tips.

The NASCAR Cup Series moves to the Talladega Superspeedway for the GEICO 500. The green flag drops Sunday at 3 p.m. ET with the race televised on FOX. Below, we analyze the GEICO 500 odds and betting lines, with NASCAR picks and tips with odds from BetMGM sportsbook.

GEICO 500: What you need to know

Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Friday, June 19 at 4:50 p.m. ET.

Sunday’s run at the Talladega Superspeedway is the first on a superspeedway track since the Daytona 500 opened the 2020 Sprint Cup Series season. That seems so long ago, as the stands were packed during pre-COVID 19 days. However, Talladega will actually host 5,000 fans in the frontstretch grandstands/towers, and there will be a limited amount of motorhome spots available outside of the track, too.

  • Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott (+800 for Sunday’s race) won the spring race at Talladega last season, while Penske Racing’s Ryan Blaney (+1100) took checkers in the fall race at the Alabama superspeedway.
  • Talladega’s tri-oval is 2.66 miles long, compared to Daytona International Speedway, which is 2.5 miles long. There are four turns, and those turns have a 33-degree bank with a slight bank or fifth turn in front of the main grandstand.
  • Each of the past five winners have started fourth or lower in the grid, and 15 of the previous 16 winners have started from the outside of Row 2 or lower.
  • Ford has dominated this track in recent years, posting eight victories in the past nine starts.

Who is going to win the GEICO 500?

BRAD KESELOWSKI (+850) leads all active drivers with five victories at Talladega, so the Penske driver has to be considered a must-bet option, especially considering Ford’s dominance in recent seasons.

Keselowski has seven top-5 finishes, 11 top-10 showings and 293 laps led in his 22 career starts with a 16.0 Average-Finish Position (AFP) and four DNFs.

JOEY LOGANO (+900), Keselowski’s teammate, picked up a victory in the spring 2018 Talladega race, and has raced to Victory Lane in three of the past nine Cup races at Talladega Superspeedway. In 22 career starts, Logano has finished inside the top 5 on eight occasions, leading 319 laps and posting a 16.2 AFP.

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CHASE ELLIOTT (+800) has been a quick study at Talladega, picking up a win in eight Cup starts at the track. In addition, he has three top-5 showings and four top-10 finishes, while racking up 126 laps in the front of the pack and turning in a 13.25 AFP, second among active drivers with at least three career Cup starts at the superspeedway.

Talladega Superspeedway prop bets

ARIC ALMIROLA (-110) has stepped up his game in recent seasons, bringing it home inside the top 10 in each of his past seven Talladega starts. As such, he is a SOLID BET TO FINISH INSIDE THE TOP 10 yet again. The defending champ from the fall race, Blaney (-200) is a little on the expensive side even for a top-10 finish. While yes, he won last season at the track, he had posted a 23.8 AFP in the previous five runs at ‘Dega. A better bet might be Ryan Newman (+185), as he has finished inside the top 10 in four of the past five runs at the superspeedway.

For Talladega, you can take part in group betting. If you’re new to betting, this simply means you choose one driver among a listed group of four. Whomever places highest cashes a winning ticket. In Group 3 betting, AUSTIN DILLON (+250) is a good play in the group with William Byron (+215), Matt DiBenedetto (+250) and Christopher Bell (+275).

Among the best finishing position matchups, take LOGANO (-118) to finish better than Denny Hamlin. ALMIROLA (-115) is a good bet to outpace Alex Bowman, while DILLON (-118) is also worth playing against DiBenedetto.

Talladega Superspeedway long-shot bets

RICKY STENHOUSE JR. (+2000) is always worth a look at superspeedways. He picked up a win here during the spring 2017 run in his Ford, while starting from the pole position. In 13 career Cup starts here, he has five top-5 showings, eight top-10 runs and a 11.62 AFP, leading all active drivers.

ALMIROLA (+2000) is also worth a roll of the dice, posting a win, four top-5 runs, eight top-10 results and 46 laps led with a 15.35 AFP in his 20 career Talladega starts. And, as mentioned, he has cracked off seven straight runs finishing ninth or better, including the win in the fall of 2018 at ‘Dega.

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