LOUDON, N.H. — Aric Almirola carried the weight of a winless season while chasing a playoff berth that seemed implausible for a driver buried deep in the standings on a Stewart-Haas Racing program that had yet to take a checkered flag.
With darkness falling in New England, Almirola saw his season suddenly come into focus. Almirola sprung to life late Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and pulled off the surprise victory for a vital boost to SHR as well as Ford and another shakeup of the NASCAR playoff picture.
“Coming into this race, we never gave anybody a reason to pick us,” Almirola said.