The ever changing colors of the No. 43 car of Richard Petty Motorsports will continue this coming weekend at Dover. Super 8 Motel’s will sponsor the Ford Fusion driven by Aric Almirola.
The car will be run in conjunction to the companies Road Trip Challenge. Earlier this year Almirola scored a season best sixth place finish at Dover and while his status at RPM in not certain the 28 year old is looking forward to returning to the one mile concrete track.
“I’ve been eager to get back to Dover ever since we left the first time earlier this year. We just had a really great run and came away with our best finish of the season, still, to date. Heck, there was even a point late in that race where I thought we could win. And I think we can go back and do that. I’ve won there in a truck, and Todd’s won there, and it’s a track that I just really like and am really comfortable on.”
Almirola’s chances of remaining at RPM likely increased a bit this week when it was announced that Kurt Busch would replace Regan Smith in the No. 78 car at Furniture Row Racing. Team owner Richard Petty has said that the team will remain a part of the Ford Racing family and that he anticipates few changes but that nothing was certain.
“It looks like there is not going to be a lot of change there for next year, but there’s no concrete stuff yet,” Petty said prior to the race at Chicagoland Speedway. “We’re figuring on staying in exactly the same place, with the same operation from a manufacturing standpoint. We don’t see a change unless somebody else comes up with something.”
Currently Almirola is a career best 22nd in the overall drivers standings. Last season he finished fourth after completing the entire NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule for JR Motorsports.