Win at Talladega 'gratifying' for first-year Stewart-Haas Racing driver Aric Almirola

TALLADEGA, Ala. — By his own admission, Aric Almirola’s No. 10 Ford team had been driving under the radar this season and generally not considered a threat to win.

And why would it be? He was winless through the first 30 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races of the season, while his Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and Kurt Busch combined for 10 victories in that same stretch.

But Sunday in the 1000Bulbs.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Almirola reminded everyone his car has the same commanding speed as his teammates’ and that he earned his way into the 16-driver, 10-race playoff by roaring to his first victory of the 2018 season.

“One of the most frustrating things for me is to watch all my teammates win races, and for me to get close so many times, not win,” Almirola said following his first victory lane celebration since July 2014. “I feel like I was letting our team down and our organization down because they kept giving me fast race cars week after week after week and we weren't able to win.

“Today is gratifying. I feel like I finally gave Stewart-Haas Racing and all the guys on the Smithfield team what they deserved.”

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Going into Sunday’s race — the second of three in the Round of 12 — Almirola had accumulated two top-5 finishes and 12 top-10s. His best finish had been third at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July, the site of one of Harvick’s seven wins so far this season.

But he led 42 laps at that New Hampshire race, 70 laps at Chicagoland Speedway three races prior and 64 at Dover International Speedway last weekend. Almirola opened the season with a near win at Daytona International Speedway, leading the penultimate lap before eventual winner Austin Dillon bumped him out of the way to take the checkered flag at the Daytona 500.

Sunday at NASCAR's largest track, SHR’s four drivers led the way for the majority of the race, but when they were upfront, Almirola was typically in third or fourth behind his teammates. Busch led for 108 laps but ran out of fuel on the last lap of overtime in the 193-lap race, allowing Almirola to take the checkered flag.

Almirola said his team is exceeding not only the media’s expectations for it, but also probably those of owners Tony Stewart and Gene Haas. The first thing he said as he sat down for his post-race press conference was, “Who woulda thunk it?”

Well, Stewart did, and lately has been telling his first-year driver to relax. Before switching to SHR, Almirola competed for Richard Petty Motorsports in his first six seasons as a full-time driver.

“(Stewart's) like, ‘You're going to win, I promise you. The day I told you I was going to hire you, I knew you were going to win races for my company,’ he said. ‘It's going to happen. You just have to keep putting yourself in position,'" Almirola recalled of his boss.

After 149 winless races, Almirola finally got his second career Cup Series win. He joined Chase Elliott — who, coincidentally, won his second career Cup race last weekend at Dover International Speedway — as the only two drivers with guaranteed spots in the Round of 8. Next weekend’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway is the second elimination race and will shrink the playoff field from 12 drivers to eight.

So what’s sweeter for Almirola: the win or playoff advancement?

“The win,” he said without hesitation. “The playoffs — that's pretty sweet, too. ...

“Last year, to think about potentially my career ending and never knowing if I was good or not, I feel like I always had equipment as an excuse. When I showed up to Stewart-Haas Racing, that was no longer the case. I did not have that as an excuse.

"I have the best team in the garage. For me, it was up to me. It was time to go do my job and see if I'm good enough.”