DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The rain and the wrecks kept on coming at Daytona International Speedway in Sunday's 56th running of the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola.
When the carnage from two major contender-claiming incidents was over, it was Aric Almirola who not only survived but claimed his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory and took the giant step toward punching his ticket into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Running the iconic No. 43 with the U.S. Air Force on the hood for July 4 weekend, Almirola's win came on the 30th anniversary of team owner Richard Petty's 200th Cup victory.
"I'm more concerned with getting my first win than what happened 30 years ago," admitted Almirola during the race's third red-flag delay for a thunderstorm that eventually halted the race with 48 scheduled laps remaining.
Not that Almirola, who edged Brian Vickers and Kurt Busch for the win, had no sense of history or what his triumph might mean to Richard Petty Motorsports.
"Man, I just took the 43 car to victory at Daytona," said Almirola, standing under an umbrella in Victory Lane. "This is amazing.
"I grew up two hours away from here in Tampa and grew up in those stands, watching Daytona 500s and Firecracker 400s -- and grew up dreaming about what it would be like to win here."
Richard Petty wasn't at Daytona on Sunday but reveled in the victory via phone.
"Today is the future," Petty said. "To be able to win a race down there, win it for the Air Force on the Fourth of July, the whole thing is great. We've had so many disappointments -- and it rained on us today. But it rained on us at the right time.
"You know, I don't ever give up on anything. Looking back on the history of Petty Enterprises -- the turmoil we've been through the last seven or eight years ... I've always said is that if I keep working on it long enough, you're going to overcome all of these things. One win doesn't get you over the hump but it makes it easier to go on from here."
With the No. 43's first victory at Daytona since 1984 and first Cup win at any track since John Andretti's victory at Martinsville Speedway in 1999, Almirola can now dream about what it will be like to pilot the No. 43 in the Chase.
"Yes, and deservedly so for this race team," he said. "Now we're going to be a part of that, to have the opportunity, not only to take (our sponsors) to Victory Lane, but to have that added exposure of the Chase. It is really cool to give back to those people who took a chance on me and took a chance on our race team."
The victory was the third consecutively for Ford, which last won three in a row in 2005 with victories by Greg Biffle (2) and Carl Edwards.(NASCAR)
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