Aric Almirola tries to keep momentum after penalty

Race Info

Race: Go Bowling 400
Track: Kansas Speedway
Date: May 13, 2017
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: Fox Sports 1

Aric Almirola tries to keep momentum after penalty

A ninth-place finish at Richmond.

A fourth-place finish at Talladega.

Everything was going swimmingly for the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports team.

That’s until Aric Almirola and company found out that they failed post-race inspection at Talladega.

The No. 43 team was docked 35 championship points for the penalty that was labeled an L1 infraction, knocking them from a single point out of the playoffs, back to 36 points out.

On top of the points penalty, crew chief Drew Blickensderfer will be suspended three races and fined $65,000.

The team issued a statement on Wednesday:

“We accept NASCAR’s decision and will continue to work to get the most out of our race cars every week while maintaining the NASCAR rulebook. We look forward to Kansas this weekend.”

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads into Kansas Speedway for a night race this Saturday.

Almirola looks to keep his on-track momentum going.

“We’re definitely on a good run here,” Almirola said. “The last two weeks have been really good for us. This team has worked hard all season, and we’re finally getting the results to show for it.”

In ten Cup series starts at the 1.5-mile track, Almirola has three top ten finishes, on top of a DNF in 2012 where he led 69 laps.

“We hope the momentum continues this weekend at Kansas,” Almirola said. “I like Kansas and have had fast cars here in the past. We’ve been working hard on our intermediate track program.”

The Go Bowling 400 will be televised by Fox Sports 1, and starts at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Point Standings

*This indicates a win was encumbered due to penalties and does not count toward playoff standings.
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