No. 28 NASCAR Ford Outduels Chevy To Win Xfinity Sonoma 2023: Video

Aric Almirola has plenty of Cup Series racing experience under his belt, and for a one-off Xfinity Series race, he took control of the No. 28 NASCAR Ford at Sonoma on June 10^th, 2023. After dueling with the No. 17 Chevy Camaro of fellow Cup Series driver Kyle Larson, Almirola took advantage of a critical mistake on Larson’s part to put the No. 28 Mustang in Victory Lane.

Larson showed the way in the No. 17 Camaro for much of the race, defending against charges from Almirola’s No. 28 Mustang as the laps ticked down. However, the race changed in Almirola favor, as he put the No. 28 Mustang in the lead on a restart on Lap 65 and didn’t look back, even under pressure from Larson’s No. 17 Camaro. Then, on Lap 72, Larson overdrove the No. 17 Camaro into Turn 11, missing the hairpin and getting into the tire barriers, allowing Almirola’s No. 28 Mustang to take off with the race lead.

“Oh, man, this is so special,” said Almirola after the race. “It’s hard to explain. I know it’s an Xfinity win – it’s not a Cup win, but after COTA [I said] I don’t think I should run any more road course races in an Xfinity car.”

He added, “It makes me look like a wanker, and I lose self-confidence going into Sunday [for the Cup race]. But I knew that this racetrack, this is one I that can run good at. I’ve run good here my whole career. I don’t know what it is about this place, but I love racing here.”

It’s worth noting that the top four finishers were Cup Series regulars rather than full-time Xfinity Series drivers, including Almirola winning in the No. 28 Mustang, AJ Allmendiver’s No. 10 Camaro in second, Larson’s No. 17 Camaro in third and Ty Gibb’s fourth-lace result in the No. 19 Toyota Supra. Parker Kligerman’s No. 48 Camaro finished fifth, the best of all the Xfinity Series drivers.

# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver

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