Aric Almirola sat out a portion of Friday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice at Michigan International Speedway as he dealt with an illness.
According to a release provided by Richard Petty Motorsports, Almirola was suffering from what the team hopes is a 24-hour virus. The team said it intended for Almirola to make limited laps in practice in the No. 43 Ford in hopes of participating in Coors Light Pole Qualifying later and retaining his starting spot for Sunday’s main event. Almirola did participate in qualifying and will lineup 30th for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM).
The team retained two-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Matt Crafton as a relief driver for the bulk of Friday’s lone practice.
It isn’t the first substitute role in the Sprint Cup Series for Crafton. The 39-year-old driver filled in for Paul Menard, awaiting the birth of his first child, during practice in March 2014 at Auto Club Speedway. Crafton also was an 11th-hour replacement for the injured Kyle Busch in the 2015 Daytona 500.
Almirola is the highest-ranking driver outside of the provisional Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup postseason grid entering Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400. He made his first Chase appearance last year after scoring his first Sprint Cup win at Daytona International Speedway in July.
NBCSN reported that Almirola was received treatment at the 2-mile track’s infield care center.
The change of plans for Crafton was amplified by the adjustment to the high-drag rules package for the Sprint Cup Series this weekend.
“It’s definitely different,” Crafton said after his first stint in the RPM No. 43. “A lot of it’s unknown for them because of the new aero packages we have, so nobody knows anything about it. They thought the car would be tight, but I don’t think everybody’s fighting real tight right now. So, we’ll keep working on it.”