Aric Almirola, the driver of the #10 Smithfield Ford, leads a pack of cars during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 22, 2018, in Loudon, New Hampshire. Photo – Robert Laberge/Getty Images

LOUDON, N.H. – Despite a slow pit stop and a poor restart, Aric Almirola finished third in Sunday’s Foxwoods 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but the driver of the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford was hardly enthused about his best result of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

Almirola was leading the race when teammate Clint Bowyer slammed the turn three wall to bring out the seventh and last caution of the race on lap 256 of 301. Pitting under caution, Almirola lost two spots because of trouble with the left front tire.

On the subsequent restart on lap 263, he spun his tires, fell back to sixth and had to claw his way back to third at the finish. But Almirola lost a chance for his first victory in a Stewart-Haas car, and for that reason, the result was disappointing.

“You think I’d be really excited to run top five and I’m not,” Almirola said. “We had the best car hands-down. There’s no doubt in my mind. We gave it away on pit road, and then I gave it away again on the restart. I spun the tires on the restart and didn’t even give myself a fighting chance, so I’m just really frustrated.

“Chicago, we had a car capable of winning. And we didn’t execute today again with another car capable of winning, and we didn’t get our Smithfield Ford Fusion in Victory Lane. It’s just frustrating. They say you’ve got to lose some before you win some, and I feel like we’ve lost some now, and it’s time to stop it and go to Victory Lane.”