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Bob PockrassNASCAR
TALLADEGA, Al. – Aric Almirola has dominated a series of 149 winless victories and earned a spot in the third round of the playoffs, which could pardon him if he is already considering winning the Daytona 500.
That's how well Stewart-Haas Racing performed well at the Talladega Superspeedway, and everyone knows that the rules package for the Daytona and Talladega circuits will change after the 2018 Daytona 500.
With the four strong SHR cars working together on Sunday, they were in another league, at one point with a one – second lead over the entire pack. The only thing that could stop them in the 1000Bulbs.com was their fuel tanks, which spoiled the day of Kurt Busch (108 laps in 193) and Kevin Harvick (46 laps in the lead) while their cars were up. ; out of steam. the last laps.
Aric Almirola punctuated his loss to Talladega Superspeedway by winning his first win of the season with a bye for the final round.
The dynamic duo, which has won seven titles together, will be part of separate teams in 2019. Our ESPN experts establish a handicap, whether the crew commander or the driver raises the trophy before the other.
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Almirola only led one lap, the last one, to win as he crossed the line ahead of teammate Clint Bowyer.
"It was us against the field," said Almirola after his victory. "When we started to leave the field during this first stage, I knew we had something special.
"I knew that one of our four cars was going to win."
Some in the garage thought that higher temperatures on Sunday could hurt the SHR brigade, which had qualified 1-2-3-4. But it was wishful thinking as they controlled the first two stages.
"We have a group of guys and that's all they do, it's work." [Daytona/Talladega] cars all year, "said Almirola. We have been pursuing Penske for years. They were the dominant team. We have tried many different things and we have not been able to find out how to beat them.
"This weekend, we finally created a package."
Thanks to the presence of several drivers at the end of the second leg, the SHR cars were mixed in the peloton for about 25 laps before regaining control.
"It would have been a total crime if one of them had not won as strong and as many laps as they led," said Team Driver Joey Logano. Penske, after this fifth place.
"They drove the whole race, the super-speed race was eliminated, I do not know what they do."
The SHR cars looked different all day, not just because they had run in front. They obviously worked with a body shifted on the chassis that gave them an air of "crab" on the straight lines.
"We are working on small details," said Greg Zipadelli, vice president of competition for SHR. "Honestly, there are not many of them … Two of the cars that were here ran to Talladega during the spring race.
"We just stuff them."
Most of the competitors praised SHR, which won for the first time in Talladega.
"I do not know what they discovered, but they had a lot of things that no one else had the slightest idea because it was not even a race" Martin Truex Jr. said. "They qualified among the top four and beat everyone.
"It was pretty awesome … it's just crazy to see." Hat to them. "
The compensated bodywork was not the only difference.
"Absolutely, you're going to work on it," said Cole Pearn, Truex team leader. "We need a lot to get there, it must be something big … We could put all this bias in our car if we wanted it and we would not go that fast.
"We could do that, it's not rocket science, it does not seem to help our cars as much as it helps theirs."
Now comes the question: will the teams work to match the SHR cars or for the Talladega set next spring, when NASCAR will only use the 1-inch-thick spacer with tapered holes to limit the power rather than the combination of as well as a plate of an eighth of an inch pierced with holes. Power from Talladega next year will be closer to 550 hp rather than the 450 to 475 hp currently used at Daytona and Talladega.
"We will continue to work on it, but obviously, the urgency is there, because there is only one race left to do with this package," said the team leader. from Kyle Busch, Adam Stevens.
Despite the advantage of SHR cars, that should not stop us from winning at Almirola. He was leading the Daytona 500 when a block of Austin Dillon finished with Almirola in the fence and Dillon with the trophy. Almirola also had opportunities to win, at recent races in New Hampshire and Dover, but with the caveats dropped, he failed to seal the deal.
He took advantage of his opportunity on Sunday.
"So close to me so many times this year, it made me think for a long time about myself, am I good enough, why do I continue to lose while I'm in position and I'm 39 had the opportunity to win? " Almirola said. "I've been hard on myself.
"So winning was the most rewarding part, the playoffs, which go on to the round of 16, are secondary, just going to the track of victory, getting that bonus, giving what I think my team deserves. … All my teammates have won but me today was our day. "
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