HOMESTEAD, Fla. (Nov. 19, 2011) –Aric Almirola finished eighth with the No. 88 GT Vodka Chevrolet to lead the JR Motorsports contingent in Saturday’s Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The finish secured fourth place in the championship point standings for the JR Motorsports driver as he posted the team’s 18th top-10 finish of 2011. Danica Patrick was on the verge of a top-15 run in the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, but contact with the turn three wall late in the race relegated her to 32nd. Brad Keselowski won the race. He was followed to the line by Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who clinched the 2011 Nationwide Series title.
No. 88 GT Vodka Chevrolet Key Moments
Start – 10th / Finish – 8th / Laps Led – 0 / Points – 36 / Driver Point Standings –4th
Beginning the race with a top-10 starting spot, Almirola drove into the seventh position in the race’s early stages. Following the competition caution on lap 36, he was scored in 10th.
Almirola radioed the crew that the GT Vodka machine was handling well, but he still needed help to roll the center of the corner. The team drove as high as fourth during green-flag pit stops, eventually cycling to eighth after coming to pit road.
Almirola drifted to 15th prior the race’s seventh caution. The team pitted for four tires and a chassis adjustment to assist with the car’s handling. They lined up in 12th for the ensuing restart, and Almirola picked up four positions over the final 21 laps of the race to finish eighth.
“I can always look back and see things we could have done better throughout the year,” Almirola said following the race. “We’ll take this year, learn from it and come back next year even stronger. I’m proud of everyone at JR Motorsports. I want to thank TaxSlayer, Unilever, GT Vodka and all the sponsors that supported us this year.”
The No. 88 team finishes the season with seven top-five and 18 top-10 finishes. Almirola concludes the season fourth in the championship standings, with the No. 88 securing eighth position in owner points. Additionally, Almirola has now completed his first full-time season in Nationwide Series competition, averaging a of finish of 12.1.
No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet Key Moments
Start – 12th / Finish – 32nd / Laps Led – 0 / Owner Point Standings – 12th
Patrick’s final race of her sophomore campaign started in the 12th position. She spent first quarter of the race occupying a spot inside the top-15.
When the field began ducking onto pit road on lap 86 for green-flag pit stops, Patrick and the GoDaddy.com team cycled ahead several positions. Fortune found the team in the form of a caution flag prior to Patrick’s scheduled stop. They came to pit road under caution and lined up for the ensuing restart in 10th.
The team slowly gave up a handful positions over the next 85 laps, dropping to 15th by a caution on lap 176. Shortly after, Patrick made hard contact with the turn three wall, resulting in a trip to pit road for extensive repairs. The GoDaddy.com team then took the repairs to the garage area where their race ended prematurely. Patrick was scored in 32nd on the day.
"Certainly not the finish we wanted," Patrick said after the race. “That's not the number you want to put up going into winter. But I also think the race was the kind of race that I wasn't capable of running one year ago or even earlier this year. There are some positives we can take out of this one."
In 12 starts this year, Patrick holds one top-five and three top-10 finishes. The No. 7 team secured six top-five and 12 top-10s on the season. Impressively, every driver of the No. 7 this season has scored a top-10 finish. The list includes Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ron Fellows, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Jamie McMurray, Patrick and Josh Wise. The team finished its season ranked 12th in owner points.