● Crew chief Mike Bugarewicz visited victory lane at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway in 2016 with Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) co-owner and NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart during his final year as a fulltime driver in the NASCAR Cup Series.
● Road-Course History: Almirola has 24 road-course starts in the NASCAR Cup Series. He has two top-10 finishes at Sonoma with a best finish of eighth, four top-20s at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International with a best finish of 12th, three top-20s at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval with a best finish of 14th, and a top-12 finish in the Feb. 9 Busch Clash on the Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway road course. Statistically speaking, Sonoma has produced the best road-course finishes of Almirola‘s career.
● Almirola‘s best finish this year was sixth at Richmond (Va.) Raceway, and his next-best finish was 11th at Phoenix Raceway, both of which featured the 750-horsepower, low-downforce package the Cup Series cars will utilize this weekend at Sonoma.
● Pioneering a revolution in the supply of locally flavored meats, Farmer John has been a Southern California staple since 1931. This will be the second time Farmer John has been a primary sponsor on the No. 10 Ford and the first time this specific red, white and blue livery has adorned Almirola‘s car.
● Career Stats: Almirola has career totals of two wins, two poles, 24 top-five finishes, 80 top-10s and 842 laps led in 367 NASCAR Cup Series starts.
● Smithfield Foods celebrates 10 years of partnership with Almirola this season with a special campaign called Taste Victory.As one of the most active partners in NASCAR, Smithfield plans to engage fans all year long by hosting a microsite that provides the opportunity to win when Almirola wins or finishes inside the top-10. When Almirola wins, one fan wins $10,000, and 10 fans win a gift card for each top-10 finish. The microsite also doubles as an Aric Almirola fan page and entertainment source where fans can get behind the wheel of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford with a custom racing game, and learn more about Almirola with fast facts, favorite recipes and custom content about his life on and off the track. Visit www.tastevictory.com to learn more. Thanks to Almirola‘s Feb. 11 win in his Duel qualifying race for the Daytona 500, one lucky fan has already won $10,000.
— True Speed Communications —
