Almirola Surprise Winner at New Hampshire
James Gilbert / Getty Images
LOUDON, NH – RIS – With darkness approaching, the delayed Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 NASCAR Cup race had to end early, so drivers were given ten laps to settle who would win. Aric Almirola driving a Stewart Haas Ford held off Christopher Bell in a JGR Toyota for the win. It was the third win of Almirola’s career on a day when the Fords and Toyotas found speed missing throughout the season.
“This is, by far, one of my favorite racetracks,” Almirola said. I love coming up here to New England. I had a chance to win a race here a few years ago and I threw it away. I am so glad to win a race here with this race team.”
From the start of the season, the 2021 season had been nothing short of a nightmare for Aric Almirola. Entering Sunday's race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Almirola was 27th in the points standings with only two top 10 finishes along with five DNFs due to crashes. And now, it doesn't matter - Aric Almirola is in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Almirola turned it on over the final green flag run of the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301, powering his way to the lead and then holding off Christopher Bell to take the checkered flag. Almirola's win is the third of his Cup career, and snaps a 98-race winless streak dating back to Talladega in the Fall of 2018.
Almirola's victory completely upends the NASCAR Playoffs grid, as he jumps from 27th in points all the way into a Playoff spot. Almirola's victory leaves three spots left for drivers seeking to make the playoffs on points, and bumps Austin Dillon below the cut line by five points over Richard Childress Racing teammate Tyler Reddick.
From the beginning, it looked like racing might be impossible on this Sunday. Before the green flag, it had been misting which turned into a rain. NASCAR put out the yellow flag, but not before the Toyotas of Martin Truex and Kyle Busch spun. Both cars received damage while running 1-2 at the start. Just a few laps into the race. Truex continued, but Busch’s car was damaged too much to continue, a big hit for both drivers. Both had wins and were playoff certified. Then came a two hour wait while the track was dried after the rain stopped.
Once racing resumed, it appeared the Ford cars of Team Penske, Stewart Haas, and the JGR Toyotas had found speed to compete with a rolling Hendrick Motor Sports who had dominated the 2021 season. Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, and the Wood Brothers’ Matt DiBenedetto had run near the front. Chase Elliott had taken over the lead when Truex and Busch had their problems, but he soon faded. Most had good finishes, with Keselowski finishing third, Blaney fifth, and Kevin Harvick sixth. DiBenedetto finished 11th, After Bell, only Denny Hamlin finished in the top 10 in 10th place, joining Bell among the leaders.
Almirola was ecstatic.
“We’ve been through so much, and I’ve just stood the test and kept the faith,” Almirola said.. “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.”
It was a short race. When it appeared that darkness was falling, NASCAR promised drivers it would give a warning when the race would have to be stopped. The announcement was ultimately made at Lap 282 with Almirola leading Bell. During the final 10-lap run, Almirola had to maneuver through lapped traffic – even driving Dillon up the race track with six laps to go – in order to stay ahead.
In the end, it was Almirola’s day and one that was appreciated by many. It also proved to fans that competition had returned to the NASCAR Cup series.
There will be a two-week stoppage in all three NASCAR national series for the next two weeks due to the Summer Olympics. Next Cup race will be at Watkins Glen International on August 8th.
Unofficial Results: 29th Annual Foxwoods Resort Casino 301, July 18, 2021, New Hampshire Motor Speedway: 1.058 - Mile Paved
Fin, St, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 22, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Smithfield Ford, 293, , 5, 2, 25, 5, 46, Running
2) 9, Christopher Bell, No. 20 Rheem/Watts Toyota, 293, 6, , , , , 40, Running
3) 11, Brad Keselowski, No. 2 eCascadia Ford, 293, 2, 1, 2, 53, 1, 53, Running
4) 15, Joey Logano, No. 22 Autotrader Ford, 293, , , , , , 33, Running
5) 7, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Menards/Tarkett Ford, 293, 1, 3, 2, 64, 1, 50, Running
6) 12, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Busch Light Apple Ford, 293, 4, 2, 2, 66, , 47, Running
7) 10, Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 293, 10, 7, , , , 35, Running
8) 20, Ross Chastain, No. 42 Clover Chevrolet, 293, 8, 9, 1, 3, , 34, Running
9) 5, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 293, , , , , , 28, Running
10) 6, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota, 293, 7, 4, 1, 1, , 38, Running
11) 14, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, 293, 9, , 1, 20, , 28, Running
12) 2, Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Resers Fine Foods #LetsPicnic Toyota, 293, , , , , , 25, Running
13) 8, Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Cat #WeDigLandscaping Chevrolet, 293, 5, 8, , , , 33, Running
14) 21, Cole Custer, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford, 293, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 29, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger/Dawn Chevrolet, 293, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 4, Kurt Busch, No. 1 Chevy Accessories Chevrolet, 292, , 10, 1, 2, , 22, Running
17) 13, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet Chevrolet, 292, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 3, Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 292, 3, 6, 2, 53, , 32, Running
19) 24, Erik Jones, No. 43 Medallion Bank Chevrolet, 292, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 31, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Good Sam Chevrolet, 292, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 16, William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet, 292, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 25, Ryan Preece, No. 37 Healthy Choice Power Bowls Chevrolet, 292, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 26, Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Nations Guard Chevrolet, 292, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 28, Ryan Newman, No. 6 Guaranteed Rate Ford, 292, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 23, Michael McDowell, No. 34 Horizon Hobby Ford, 292, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 18, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 McDonald's Toyota, 292, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 19, Chase Briscoe #, No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford, 291, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 30, Justin Haley(i), No. 77 Diamond Creek Water Chevrolet, 291, , , , , , 0, Running
29) 17, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 290, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 32, BJ McLeod(i), No. 78 Motorsport Games Ford, 288, , , , , , 0, Running
31) 34, Cody Ware(i), No. 51 Nurtec ODT Chevrolet, 285, , , , , , 0, Running
32) 27, Anthony Alfredo #, No. 38 Dude Wipes Ford, 285, , , , , , 5, Running
33) 33, Garrett Smithley(i), No. 53 Clubhouse Media Group Chevrolet, 283, , , , , , 0, Running
34) 35, Josh Bilicki, No. 52 Rich Mar Florist/Mayhew Tools Ford, 280, , , , , , 3, Running
35) 36, Quin Houff, No. 00 Permatex Chevrolet, 187, , , , , , 2, Accident
36) 37, James Davison, No. 15 Project 44 Chevrolet, 40, , , , , , 1, Clutch
37) 1, Kyle Busch, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, 8, , , 1, 6, , 1, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie
Race Length: 293 Laps, 309.994 Miles
Average Speed: 99.004 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.697 Seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: 12, 2, 9, 4, 8, 20, 11, 42, 21, 5
Stage 2 Top 10: 2, 4, 12, 11, 10, 9, 5, 8, 42, 1
Comments: Aric Almirola won the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, his third career NASCAR Cup Series victory.
Prior to the start, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: No. 00, 7, 37 and 78 (two inspection failures) and No. 23 (unapproved adjustments).
Caution Flags: 6 for 47 laps;
Laps: 7-23 (No. 11, 18, 19 and 48 Incident in Turn 1 [Red: 1:41:22] [None]);
33-38 (No.23 and 38 Spin in Turn 4 [22]);
77-82 (Stage 1 Conclusion [78]);
129-135 (No. 00 and 6 Incident in Turn 3 [14]);
140-144 (No. 17 and 23 Incident on the Backstretch [22]);
187-192 (Stage 2 Conclusion [3]).
Lead Changes: 14 among 10 drivers;
K. Busch 1-6;
C. Elliott 7-23;
K. Busch 24-25;
C. Elliott 26-61;
R. Blaney 62-77;
B. Keselowski 78;
K. Harvick 79-130;
D. Hamlin 131;
K. Harvick 132-145;
B. Keselowski 146-197;
R. Blaney 198-245;
A. Almirola 246-250;
R. Chastain 251-253;
M. DiBenedetto 254-273;
A. Almirola 274-293.
Stage Results:
Lap, Running Order (1-10), Speed, Rng, Out, OLL
75, 12, 2, 9, 4, 8, 20, 11, 42, 21, 5, 81.354, 35, 2, 28
185, 2, 4, 12, 11, 10, 9, 5, 8, 42, 1, 91.974, 35, 2, 27
293, 10, 20, 2, 22, 12, 4, 5, 42, 48, 11, 99.004, 34, 3, 15
Lead Changes (14)
#, Car, From, To, Tot.
Pole, 18, 1, 6, 6
1, 9, 7, 23, 17
2, 1, 24, 25, 2
3, 9, 26, 61, 36
4, 12, 62, 77, 16
5, 2, 78, 78, 1
6, 4, 79, 130, 52
7, 11, 131, 131, 1
8, 4, 132, 145, 14
9, 2, 146, 197, 52
10, 12, 198, 245, 48
11, 10, 246, 250, 5
12, 42, 251, 253, 3
13, 21, 254, 273, 20
14, 10, 274, 293, 20
Leaders (10)
#, Driver, Car, Times, Laps
1, Kevin Harvick, No. 4, 2, 66
2, Ryan Blaney, No. 12, 2, 64
3, Brad Keselowski, No. 2, 2, 53
4, Chase Elliott, No. 9, 2, 53
5, Aric Almirola, No. 10, 2, 25
6, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 21, 1, 20
7, Kyle Busch, No. 18, 1, 6
8, Ross Chastain, No. 42, 1, 3
9, Kurt Busch, No. 1, 1, 2
10, Denny Hamlin, No. 11, 1, 1
Cautions (6 for 47 Laps)
#, From, To, Tot., Benef, Remarks
1, 7, 23, 17, -, No. 11, 18, 19 and 48 Incident in Turn 1 [Red: 1:41:22]
2, 33, 38, 6, 22, No. 23 and 38 Spin in Turn 4
3, 77, 82, 6, 78, Stage 1 Conclusion
4, 129, 135, 7, 14, No. 00 and 6 Incident in Turn 3
5, 140, 144, 5, 22, No. 17 and 23 Incident on the Backstretch
6, 187, 192, 6, 3, Stage 2 Conclusion
Ron Fleshman with John Davison
RIS NASCAR Editor. Has been with RIS since the middle 90's. Writes on each of the three main series of NASCAR.