JR Motorsports is Fired Up with...Seafood?

Almirola will be making his firsr trip to Loudon
for the NNS series.
Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

JR Motorsports has said Loudon is like Martinsville on steroids. All jokes aside, the 1.058 mile track is the flattest in the oval tracks in NASCAR; with long corners, flat turns with 7 degree banking and long straightaways.

Almirola will be behind the wheel of his No. 88 Grand Touring Vodka and fans at the race have a chance to meet him, Saturday morning at the JRM souvenir trailer at 11:45 AM. Almirola has said he is looking forward to Loudon, and especially looking forward to eating seafood, clam chowder and his favorite, lobster. This weekend is Almirola’s debut in the Nationwide series at Loudon and he's already 8th in his first practice run. He has previously raced in the Camping World Truck Series, he’s finished in the top ten twice.

Kasey Kahne is back in the No. 7 Go Daddy.com car with Tony Eury calling the shots as his crew chief. Last weekend in Kentucky he started in 11th spot and finished in 4th. Kahne is back for his second and final scheduled race with JRM; he’s the fifth driver to finish in the top five for JRM with the No. 7 team. This was Kahne's first race back at Kentucky in seven years. For Loudon however, he hasn't run in Nationwide since 2005; in three Nationwide starts in New England (aka NH) he has two top 10s and 1 top five. The pressure is on to keep the car in one piece as Eury Jr. is hoping to use the same chassis for three of four races, Loudon, Lucas Oil Raceway and Iowa. Currently he is running 13th during the first practice.

Qualifying for Nationwide is scheduled for 10:30 on Saturday morning and will be aired on SPEED and the race is at 1:30 to be aired on ESPN.