DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Aric Almirola drove the famous Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 car, complete with
Flowmaster decals, back to victory lane Sunday in the rain-shortened Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. This win marked the first time since 1999 that the famous Petty car has been parked in the winner’s circle and a career-first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory for Almirola.
“I just took the 43 car to Victory Lane in Daytona,” exclaimed Almirola, the 30-year-old driver who was raised about two hours from Daytona in Tampa. “I couldn’t have dreamed of a better place to get my first win.
“This is so cool to get this team and all these guys that have been working on this race team for a long time and haven’t gotten to victory lane with the 43 car, this is so special. We have had good cars, top-10 cars. We have been right where we need to be to be competitive, but just haven’t gotten to that next level.”
Almirola took the lead from Kurt Busch following a lap 97 restart; Busch got the top spot back for lap 105 before Almirola re-took the point. On lap 110, of 160, the caution flag waved for rain and ultimately that rain would continue forcing the event to an early ending with Almirola claiming the victory.
It was Almirola’s 125th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start; his previous best finish was third at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in March. The victory virtually locks him into a spot for the Chase For The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship run that begins in September.
Brian Vickers finished second on Sunday with Busch, Casey Mears and Austin Dillon completing the top five. For Dillon it was his career-best finish.
Flowmaster is the Exclusive Performance Exhaust of NASCAR and many of the top teams in the sport have the company’s decal on the side of their cars. With the win, it was a clean-sweep of Daytona this year with the Sprint Unlimited, both Budweiser Duel races, the Daytona 500 and the Coke Zero 400 all won by Team Flowmaster drivers.
Almirola is the 11th different race winner this season; nine of the winning drivers carry the
Flowmaster colors on their cars.
Top-10 Finishers:
1. Aric Almirola**
2. Brian Vickers
3. Kurt Busch**
4. Casey Mears
5. Austin Dillon**
6. Denny Hamlin**
7. Michael McDowell
8. Danica Patrick**
9. Clint Bowyer
10. Marcos Ambrose**
**Indicated
Team Flowmaster Driver
Next Race: Camping World RV Sales 301, New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Sunday, July 13, 2014