Aric Almirola enjoyed a breakout season in 2018 during his first year behind the wheel of the No. 10 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing.
In his seventh full-time season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Almirola posted career numbers in top fives (4), top 10s (17), laps led (181), average start (15.6) and average finish (12.8). Those numbers boosted Almirola to his first appearance in the Round of 8 – second career spot in the playoffs – and a career-best fifth in the final standings.
“It was a great year for us, our first year working together,” Almirola said. “That was quite an accomplishment for us to battle the way we battled and to come out with a top five in points. I’m just really proud of everybody on this Smithfield team. Ford had an amazing year. I’m really excited about getting ready for 2019.”
2018 Statistics
| Wins | Top 5s | Top 10s | Laps Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish | Driver Rating |
| 1 | 4 | 17 | 181 | 15.6 | 12.8 | 88.6 |
Almirola was one of the Ford drivers that went to Victory Lane in 2018 with his win at Talladega Superspeedway in the playoffs. The victory ended his 149-race winless streak and it gave crew chief Johnny Klausmeier his second career win and first as full-time crew chief. The Talladega race saw Stewart-Haas Racing drivers combine to lead 155 of the 193 laps with Almirola leading the final circuit after his teammate Kurt Busch ran out of fuel.
“It was an incredible day for us as an organization at Stewart-Haas Racing, and I am so proud and so thankful for the opportunity to be driving these racecars,” Almirola said. “When I got to his right rear quarter panel, pulled up next to him, I heard his motor start to sputter.”
Prior to the Talladega win, Almirola has a strong car on multiple occasions and came close to taking the checkered flag the weekend prior at Dover International Speedway. Almirola led 64 laps and had control of that race until the complexion was changed dramatically by a late caution.
Almirola came to pit road for four tires under caution and was ready to make a charge back to the front. But he slipped racing off Turn 2 down the backstretch and subsequently collected Brad Keselowski to trigger a multi-car accident. He wound up finishing 13th and fell to ninth in the playoff standings, 10 points below the cutline heading to Talladega.
“I was really over it by Tuesday,” Almirola said. “I was bummed out about it Sunday night pretty bad. Johnny came to my house after the race. We sat in my basement, had a few beers together, just talked. We said, ‘Hey, we’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.’ But we’re going to keep putting ourselves in position. They’re going to know we’re there.”
During the summer months, Almirola led 70 laps at Chicagoland Speedway and won his first stage of his career, but finished 25th after having to make two unscheduled pit stops for a loose wheel. He added to his laps led total at New Hampshire Motor Speedway where he was up front for 42 circuits en route to a third-place finish.
After posting 10 top 10s in the first 26 races of the regular season, Almirola started to heat up as the team started to visit tracks for the second time. Almirola’s 8.6 average finish in the 10 races in the playoffs tied 2018 champion Joey Logano’s mark.
“Going to the race track in the beginning of the year you didn’t know what you needed for a setup to unload with,” Almirola said. “I didn’t know what to expect out of the racecar when we were unloading in qualifying trim on Friday. Most of the beginning of the year we really leaned on our teammates for baselines and trying to get an understanding of where we needed to be. As the year went on we started building this notebook.”
Almirola, who scored stage points in 14 of the 20 stages in the playoffs, ended the year with three consecutive finishes of ninth or better.
“We accomplished a lot in one year, and I’m just really proud of that,” Almirola said. “I feel like we have so much potential, and we just continue to grow and get better and better, and next year is going be a lot of fun.”
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