(LOUDON, NH)—The rain started early at New Hampshire Motor Speedway but the lightning did not strike until the end.
Aric Almirola, mired in 27 place in the points standings with no hope of making the playoff unless he won a race—
Won the race.
LOUDON, NEW HAMPSHIRE – JULY 18: Aric Almirola, driver of the #10 Smithfield Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 18, 2021 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Almirola, with only two top-ten finishes in the first 21 races and an average finish this year of 21.8, took the lead with 28 laps to go and held it until NASCAR ended the race because of darkness eight laps from scheduled 301. Almirola finished about two-thirds of a second ahead of oncoming Christopher Bell, who noted afterwards, “I was able to get to him, and it was going to be a heck of a race.
The win not only is the first of the year for Almirola, it’s the first of the year for his team, Steart-Haas Racing.
The race got off to an unhappy start with. One of NASCAR’s officials reported a wet track in turns 1 and 2. Leader Kyle Busch immediately reported it was raining but before NASCAR acted, he and several other cars spun in that area. Busch’s car backed into the wall and could not continue, leaving him 37th and last. NASCAR finally red-flagged the race on lap 7 and didn’t restart it until an hour and 41 minutes later. That delay led NASCAR to stop the race eight laps from the planned finish because of darkness.
Almirola is the thirteenth winner this year, leaving only three playoff slots available based on points. One of those slots will go to Denny Hamlin, who leads all drivers in points although he is still winless this year. Kevin Harvick seems solid for the fifteenth position. But Childress teammates Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon are headed for a four-round fight for the last playoff berth. They are separated by only five points.
NASCAR won’t race again until it runs the road course at Watkins Glen on August 8th. Its season second-half broadcast partner, NBC, will be busy covering the Olympics instead.
(INDYCAR)—INDYCAR is on its summer break until August 8 at Nashville. And when it comes back, Helio Castroneves will come back, too. It will be his first INDYCAR race since winning his fourth Indianapolis 500 in May. He’s driving a limited schedule of six races for Meyer-Shank Racing.
He’s filled the racing gap by running in the SRX series—six races on dirt as well as on paved tracks. The series wrapped up its season Saturday night with defending NASCAR champion Chase Elliott winning at Nashville, edging series co-founder Tony Stewart. Stewart won the season championship. Castroneves finished fifth among the ten regular drivers in the series.
(FORMULA 1)—Lewis Hamilton has chalked up his 99th career Grand Prix victory but not without controversy and some hard feelings by his top competitor for the championship, Max Verstappen. Hamilton’s aggressive move to the inside on the second lap of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone sent Verstappen’s car careening into the barrier. Verstappen was unhurt but made it clear he was unhappy with Hamilton’s move. Verstappen called Hamilton’s move “dangerous” and his Red Bull team’s principal, said it was an “amateur” move by a “desperate driver.”
Hamilton countered that he had conceded a position to Verstappen in the past to avoid collisions, but, “Unfortunately, the aggression stayed from his side and we collided.”
Hamilton’s victory and Verstappen’s early exit chopped twenty points off Verstappen’s point lead.
(Photo credit: NASCAR/James Gilbert-Getty images)