Aric Almirola‘s good fortune – at least where starting grid spots are concerned – continues this week, as a random draw sits him on the NASCAR Cup Series pole for this weekend’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
It’s Almirola’s third pole by virtue of the random selection and his 10th top-five starting spot since NASCAR returned amid the coronavirus pandemic and began the random draw process.
Teammate Kevin Harvick, who won last year’s event at the track, is slated to start seventh. Denny Hamlin, last week’s winner at Kansas Speedway, drew the second-place spot.
Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch round out the top five. Clint Bowyer, Harvick, Alex Bowman, Joey Logano and Kurt Busch complete the top ten.
Meanwhile, both JTG Daugherty Racing machines will be mired in the back of the field after a rough night last Thursday at Kansas. Ryan Preece and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are set to roll off 30th and 31st, respectively.
Cup Starting Lineup: Foxwoods Resort Casino 301
This weekend’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 will get underway shortly after 3 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 2.
About the author
Adam Cheek joined Frontstretch as a contributing writer in January 2019. A 2020 graduate of VCU, he covered sports there and later spent a year and a half as a sports host on 910 the Fan in Richmond, VA. He's freelanced for Richmond Magazine and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and also hosts the "Adam Cheek's Sports Week" podcast. Adam has followed racing since the age of three, inheriting the passion from his grandfather, who raced in amateur events up and down the East Coast in the 1950s.
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Getting the pole by “random selection” just doesn’t cut it anymore. Too coincidental every single week.