Aric Almirola 2018 season recap

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing, finished fifth in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings. Here are the highlights from his seventh full year competing in NASCAR's premier division.

Almirola joined Stewart-Haas Racing in the offseason, replacing Danica Patrick as driver of the No. 10 car. The move paired Almirola with crew chief Johnny Klausmeier.

In his first season with the team co-owned by Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, Almirola flourished. He set career-highs in several major statistical categories including top fives, top 10s, laps led, average start and average finish.

In his first race with SHR, Almirola nearly won the Daytona 500. He was leading after taking the white flag when contact with Austin Dillon caused Almirola to crash on the backstretch. Dillon would win the race, while a dejected Almirola finished 11th.

Despite acclimating to a new team, Almirola quickly jelled with Klausmeier and SHR teammates Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick. That was evident by Almirola starting the season strongly by finishing 15th or better in 14 of the first 16 races. And during the regular season, he was never lower than 12th in the standings and secured himself a second career playoff berth.

Although Almirola found himself in contention several times, reaching Victory Lane and earning his second-career Cup win proved to be a challenge. In addition to the Daytona 500, he also saw potential wins at Chicagoland, New Hampshire and Dover all slip away due to various circumstances, all of which Almirola admitted left him frustrated.

Almirola's breakthrough win eventually occurred during the fall playoff race at Talladega. Although he only led a single lap on the afternoon, it was the most important one. The win capped a banner day for SHR, which saw its four drivers dominate the race. By winning, Almirola clinched a spot in the Round of 8 for the first time in his career.

Joining Almirola in the Round of 8 bracket were teammates Bowyer, Busch and Harvick. It marked only the second time an organization had four drivers advance that deep in the playoffs within the same season.

Almirola came close but just missed qualifying for the Championship 4. He was second to leader Kyle Busch on a restart with 12 laps remaining in the Round of 8 elimination race at ISM Raceway, where a win would've allowed Almirola to stay in the playoffs. But Busch got the better restart and would go on to win the race, while Almirola slid to fourth.

Almirola capped his career-best year with a ninth-place effort at Homestead. That result moved him to a fifth-place ranking in the points standings, 24 positions better than where he finished in 2017.