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ARIC ALMIROLA – 2018 All-Star Open Race Report

Event:               Monster Energy Open(non-points event)
Series:               Monster EnergyNASCAR Cup Series
Location:          Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Format:            50 laps, broken into three stages (20 laps/20 laps/10 laps)
Start/Finish:      1st/ 6th(Running, completed 50 of 50 laps)

 

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-20): 

  • Aric Almirolastarted first and finished sixth.
  • Almirola put the No. 10 Smithfield/Waffle House Ford Fusion into the lead right at the beginning of the race and paced the field for the first 11 laps.
  • Almirola noted that the front end of his car began to plow on lap 12.
  • Pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments at the end of Stage 1.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 21-40): 

  • Started seventh and finished sixth.
  • Almirola drove back to second place before he was shuffled out of the lead draft and fell to seventh place. 

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 41-50): 

  • Started third and finished sixth.
  • Almirola ran in and around the top-five during the final 10-lap dash.
  • Almirola’s Smithfield/Waffle House Ford found momentum on the last lap, but was caught behind traffic as the stage ended. 

Next Up: 

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 27 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The race starts at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX beginning at 5:30 p.m.