Aric Almirola Scores Win at Kansas

Aric Almirola celebrating in Victory Lane after winning at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, September 28, 2024. (Photo: Cole Penning | The Podium Finish)

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — After a controversial season for Aric Almirola, the veteran won the Kansas Lottery 200 for his second win of the season. Almirola was able to get past Cole Custer in the closing laps of the race to claim the win and play spoiler to the 12 playoff drivers.

“I’m worn out,” Almirola said. “That was a hard day at the office for a guy that’s been sitting on the couch. We got lucky to get the caution when we did, and we were out of tires, so the fact that it went green there to the end, that’s where we were strong. We were really strong on the long runs.”

Almirola led 16 laps and won Stage 1 en route to earning the eighth win of the season for the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 “all-star car”.

Custer finished in second place after a hard-fought battle with Chandler Smith ended with the No. 00 car getting into the wall and losing the lead to Almirola. Custer felt that he was on the receiving end of the battle and ensured that payback would be coming.

Aric Almirola doing a burnout on the front straightaway at Kansas Speedway after winning the Kansas Lottery 300. (Photo: Cole Penning | The Podium Finish)

“Everybody wants to try and talk afterward, but at the end of the day, he put me in the fence, and he’s going to pay for it,” Custer said when talking about the incident.

Smith thought that it was just two guys racing hard for the win and that given a redo, he would not do anything differently.

“We’re racing for the win and five extra playoff points,” Smith said. “You’ve got a very, very valid statement, I understand, but I also wouldn’t change what I did, because I was giving myself the best shot to win.”

Smith finished in third place, leading a race-high 114 laps and earning 50 total points, putting him 36 spots above the cutline.

Finishing behind Smith and Custer were Connor Zilisch in fourth and Sheldon Creed in fifth.

Aric Almirola during the Kansas Lottery 200 at Kansas Speedway. (Photo: Cole Penning | The Podium Finish)

A few of the playoff drivers had rough races, one of whom was Justin Allgaier, who finished in 36th place. Allgaier was involved in multiple incidents throughout the race, including a Lap 70 crash while battling Creed for position.

The DNF plummeted Allgaier from first in the standings to below the cutline heading into Talladega.

“I don’t know if I’ve had a stretch of races that have been like these last three or four weeks,” said Allgaier. “We’ve got a long road the next two weeks. I’ve got the team that can do it. We’ve just got to go have some luck on our side.”

JR Motorsports teammate Sammy Smith also had a poor result, coming home in 22nd place. Smith and AJ Allmendinger made contact early on in the race, which resulted in the No. 8 car spinning around a lap later and never recovering.

Playoff Standings (Race 1/3 in the Round of 12)

1. Cole Custer (+41)
2. Chandler Smith (+36)
3. Austin Hill (+26)
4. Sam Mayer (+13)
5. Sheldon Creed (+10)
6. Shane van Gisbergen (+8)
7. Jesse Love (+3)
8. Riley Herbst (+1)
9. Justin Allgaier (-1)
10. AJ Allmendinger (-13)
11. Parker Kligerman (-15)
12. Sammy Smith (-23)

Stage 1 Top 10 Results

1. Aric Almirola
2. Chandler Smith
3. Cole Custer
4. Brandon Jones
5. Sam Mayer
6. Sheldon Creed
7. Austin Hill
8. Justin Allgaier
9. Riley Herbst
10. Parker Kligerman

Stage 2 Top 10 Results

1. Sam Mayer
2. Aric Almirola
3. Cole Custer
4. Chandler Smith
5. Connor Zilisch
6. Austin Hill
7. Sheldon Creed
8. Brandon Jones
9. Matt DiBenedetto
10. Ryan Sieg

Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway Finishing Results