2023 has certainly been a journey on rough seas for NASCAR great Tony Stewart and his proud Ford camp, Stewart-Haas Racing. While Front Row Motorsports and RFK Racing brought Ford back into the game with back-to-back wins, the manufacturer’s front-running teams like SHR and Team Penske have yet to join the party.

At the worst end of the spectrum are SHR, who were once the pride and glory of Ford until its disheartening downfall, as we saw this season. As we head into the playoffs, the four-car team is still chasing their first win of the season, and to make matters worse, except for Kevin Harvick, who is ranked 10th, none of its drivers have a playoff chance, including fellow veteran Aric Almirola.

Reflecting on the current lackluster season, Aric Almirola revealed he has “stored up credits” as the veteran driver plans to take one final stand as we approach the grand finale of the regular season at Daytona.

“Let me win this one”, Aric Almirola takes one last stand as he aims for a win at Daytona

From struggling to claim a win to racking up back-to-back wins, the Fords certainly have had a spectacular turnaround. But not for Tony Stewart and his team. 2023 hasn’t been their best year, with none of its four drivers winning a single race. With that being said, the team’s only sigh of relief is from veteran “Happy” Harvick, who has a solid playoff chance given his current 10th spot in the rankings.

Now coming to Harvick’s indecisive teammate, Aric Almirola, the #10 driver has a knack for NASCAR’s crown jewel race at Daytona. He won the 2023 Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2 race at Daytona International Speedway. But bad luck has followed him throughout this season, with four unfortunate DNFs ruining his hopes.

Despite being in NASCAR’s top-tier division for the 12th time, the driver has only 3 career wins. However, as we neared the gates of the organization’s biggest spectacle, the family man expressed his desire to win next week at Daytona through the almighty’s grace. “Well, I’ve certainly done a lot of praying in years passed in Daytona and Talladega and sometimes god listens and sometimes he doesn’t but most of my prayers are pretty selfish just you know,” said Almirola. 

He then revealed how he has earned credits, mentioning 2 of his prayers. “A. Make sure I stay safe because it can get pretty hairy and wild and intense, B. Like c’mon man like, let me win this one and he hasn’t really listened to those requests as of late so, hopefully, I got enough stored-up credits in the bank with not being fulfilled with those prayers maybe I’ll get one answered this weekend. “

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Tony Stewart-owned team’s driver gets candid about what it takes to win at Daytona

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Now, luck has been something Almirola has had the least of this year. But the 39-year-old is still optimistic about his chances at his favorite track, Daytona. Mentioning the speedway race this Sunday, Almirola explained how the track can be advantageous given SHR Ford’s outright pace and speed in speedways.

According to Robertsnascarnotes.com, the veteran said, “I know a lot of guys look at these superspeedways as a wild-card race, but I always look at it as an incredible opportunity for us. We are always consistent at superspeedways and we have continued to be consistent at them this year. I’ve won at Daytona in the Xfinity and Cup series.

We have been so close to winning it many times and we are almost always in a position to win if we don’t get collected early. Daytona is my home track, too, so I love going there with the added bonus of winning not far my hometown”, he further added.

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While the driver rests it all to god, he certainly knows that luck alone won’t see him through. “Honestly, luck will play a big part in winning this weekend. It starts with bringing a fast race car and making the right moves and executing,” he said.

He also added, “Luck doesn’t matter if you don’t have a car fast enough to run up front, but you have to avoid the inevitable wrecks and be there at the end. In the last five laps, you have to have the perfect formula of things going your way to execute and win.”