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Aric Almirola: "Unusual" Talladega hurt by difficult cars

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola says that the NASCAR Cup series race at Talladega was “unusual” because the increased speeds are making the cars worse to drive on restrictor-plate tracks.

Erik Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry XYO Network and Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro Nationwide

Erik Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry XYO Network and Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro Nationwide

Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images

Aric Almirola, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford Fusion Smithfield
Joey Logano, Team Penske, Ford Fusion Shell Pennzoil and Paul Menard, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford Fusion Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center
Aric Almirola, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford Fusion Smithfield, Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro Nationwide, Brad Keselowski, Team Penske, Ford Fusion Snap on, Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry M&M's Flavor Vote, Ryan Blaney, Team Penske, Ford Fusion Menards/Richmond
Brad Keselowski, Team Penske, Ford Fusion Snap on and Daniel Suarez, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry ARRIS
Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford Fusion Monster Energy / Haas Automation
Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford Fusion Monster Energy / Haas Automation Paul Menard, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford Fusion Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center
Joey Logano, Team Penske, Ford Fusion Shell Pennzoil and Paul Menard, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford Fusion Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center
Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro Lowe's for Pros
Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro Lowe's for Pros

NASCAR ended its minimum ride height rule for Daytona and Talladega to bring the superspeedways in line with other tracks, meaning early weekend speeds reached over 200mph.

The restrictor plates, designed to limit horsepower and control cornering speeds, normally create pack racing.

But Jamie McMurray’s airborne accident after a puncture in practice forced a late revision to the restrictor plates and led to speculation from Clint Bowyer that Talladega would be “nuts”.

The race had a significant amount of single-file racing with few attempts to create second and third lanes of running, which surprised Almirola.

“It was an unusual Talladega, the cars are a big handful,” said Almirola. “They keep getting them lower and lower and lower, and we are going faster and faster and faster, but the cars just drive worse.

“It is a lot harder to run in a big pack three and four-wide all day long. You definitely saw it kind of file out with pit strategy and a lot of that stuff.”

Ride height rules to blame

Kurt Busch, who finished second at Talladega, says that the minimum right height was to blame for the lack of multi-lane racing.

“I feel like the ride height rule dropped the rear of the car even more from where it was at Daytona,” he said. When you look at some of the numbers, there’s less downforce on the cars.

“These rear spoilers, to me, are way too narrow. They need to be all the way out to the edge of the fender so it’s easier to side draft off of people. That would help with stability and with side drafting.”

But Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson said Talladega felt like a regular restrictor-plate race behind the wheel.

“I mean it seemed like a normal plate race to me,” he said. “The cars weren’t handling really good, so you had to be very cautious with the runs that you had and where you had them.  

“I don’t know how that looked to the eyeballs watching from the outside, but inside it seemed like a normal plate race except going 20mph faster with the lower ride heights.”

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