Richard Petty Motorsports named Regan Smith to drive its No. 43 car Wednesday for the injured Aric Almirola in the All-Star Race preliminary event Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Regan Smith to substitute for injured Aric Almirola at NASCAR All-Star Race
Richard Petty Motorsports has not announced who will drive its No. 43 car past this weekend, nor when Aric Almirola may return.
Smith is familiar with being selected as a last-minute replacement, having been tabbed by Chip Ganassi Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, and Stewart-Haas Racing (twice) since 2012 to substitute for Kyle Larson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch, and Tony Stewart, respectively.
Three stage winners plus one driver voted by fans will transfer from the Open preliminary event to the All-Star Race Saturday night. Smith will need to win one of the three stages to advance to the non-points main event.
Almirola suffered a T5 vertebra compression fracture after being involved in an accident with Joey Logano and Danica Patrick during last Saturday’s Monster Energy Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway. Track workers had to cut the roof off the No. 43 car to safely extricate Almirola, who was then placed on a backboard and airlifted to the University of Kansas Medical Center.
The 33-year-old was released from the hospital Sunday morning and flew back to his North Carolina home that same day. No timetable is known for when Almirola may return, nor who will drive the No. 43 car past the All-Star Race. Almirola along with RPM executives will hold a press conference Friday at Charlotte.
Denny Hamlin suffered a L1 vertebra compression fracture after crashing at Auto Club Speedway in 2013. He missed four races while recovering.
The regular season resumes May 28 at Charlotte with the Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR’s longest race.
Smith currently races full-time in the Camping World Truck Series, sitting 10th in points after four races. He’s made 211 Cup starts with a best finish of first, winning the 2011 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
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