Almirola debuts Nathan's famous on no. 43 at Pocono

Aric Almirola and the No. 43 Nathan's Famous team scored their fourth consecutive Top-15 finish last weekend at Dover. The team looks to keep up the consistency and hopes to improve with a Top-10 finish this weekend at Pocono (Penn.) Raceway.

A Top-10 will be an uphill battle for the team. Almirola has just four starts at the "Tricky Triangle" in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and a best finish of 18th. In addition, Crew Chief Trent Owens will be making his debut as a crew chief at the 2.5-mile track.

Owens is not the only one making a debut at Pocono. Nathan's Famous will adorn the hood of the iconic No. 43 Ford. In addition, Nathan's Famous will hold a qualifier event for the annual Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest at the race track on Saturday.

"Pocono is one of the tougher racetracks to set up your car perfectly. Turn One is a very high-speed and high banked turn. The 'Tunnel' Turn is really high speed too but just somewhat of a turn. It is just enough to make you slow down a bit. Then, you have Turn Three that is a long, slow, sweeping corner. Turn Three is very important - you have to get off that corner so you can make that long run down the front straightaway. Pocono is always a very challenging place to get a good handling car.

"We have been very consistent lately running in the Top-15. We have to keep it up and continue to get better. This will be a challenging week for us, but I think we can continue our streak of Top-15 finishes.

"I'm excited to have Nathan's Famous on the car this weekend. When you think of summer, you think of grilling hot dogs and the hot dog-eating contest, so it's a perfect fit that they are making their debut in June. They will have a qualifier event this weekend at the track, which will be cool for the fans at the track to watch."

Richard Petty Motorsports