NASCAR: 5 drivers who could be in serious trouble
By Asher Fair
NASCAR drivers in jeopardy: No. 3 – Aric Almirola
It hasn’t been flashy, but believe it or not, Aric Almirola has never failed to qualify for the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs since taking over for Danica Patrick behind the wheel of the #10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford ahead of the 2018 season.
He got in on points in 2018 before winning a round of 12 playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway to advance to the round of 8 en route to a career-high fifth place finish in the championship standings, and he got in on points in both 2019 and 2020.
In 2021, he had a terrible start to the season, recording just two top 10 finishes in the first 21 races. But despite being well below the playoff cut line, an upset win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway late in the regular season locked him into the postseason for the fourth year in a row.
Almirola had the best start of his career in 2022. Through two races, he hadn’t finished lower than sixth place, singlehandledly keeping a 49-year Cup Series streak alive since no other driver had even managed to record two top 10 finishes.
He added another sixth place result in the third race. But in the six races that have been contested since then, he has not finished higher than eighth, and that eighth place finish is his only top 10 result. As a result, he has fallen to 12th place in the point standings, just 12 points ahead of teammate Kevin Harvick, and 14th in the playoff picture.
While he was obviously in a much worse points situation when he won last year, he may end up needing a win again this year to remain above the playoff cut line.