In case you missed it, StatChat is counting down the days ‘til the 2021 Daytona 500. Every two days, we will have a new article featuring one of the Top 30 Drivers of 2020. 15th Place – Aric Almirola – 2235 pts By the Numbers: 9 Races – 2020 was a sneakily solid year for Aric Almirola. It wasn’t always flashy, but it was his 2nd best year as far as average finish goes. Over the course of the 9 races from Homestead to New Hampshire, each of Almirola’s finishes were in the Top 10, with five of them being Top 5s. Almirola only had one other Top 5 all season long. 1 DNF – One of the (many) keys to success in any racing series is to keep your car ‘clean,’ so to speak, meaning you finish the race without crashing. Aric Almirola finished 2020 with only a single DNF (Did Not Finish), coming at the 2nd Talladega race. 28 Lead Lap Finishes – Not only did Aric Almirola keep his car clean throughout most of 2020, he also managed to finish 28 races on the lead lap. This certainly contributed to a consistent season for Almirola, helping him to earn a spot in the playoffs despite no win in 2020. 8th Best Avg. Finish – Almirola may have finished the season in 15th place, but his average finish was still better than 9 of his fellow playoff drivers. Finishing the season with an average finish of 13.44, Almirola can chalk his 15th place finish up to a poor showing in the Round of 12, where he finished 17th, 37th, and 16th, ultimately leading to his elimination. 306 Laps Led – Good enough for 10th best of all drivers in 2020, Almirola led 306 laps throughout the course of the season. The majority of these came at Kentucky, where he led a field-leading 128 laps, eventually finishing 8th in the race. Aric Almirola will return to the Stewart-Haas No. 10 Ford in 2021. Despite only two career wins (only one with Stewart-Haas), Almirola’s good relationship with Smithfield – one of his key sponsors – certainly makes him an attractive commodity for a top-tier team. Coming up in two days – William Byron Follow us on Twitter @StatChat_RR
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