1. Has there ever been as clutch a win as the one Aric Almirola just pulled off? Ever since Kyle Larson started getting on a roll, the dream of NASCAR Cup Series playoff intrigue has been just about dead. Then this past Sunday (July 18), Aric Almirola decided to give it the racing equivalent of a defibrillator jolt. Up until the Cup cars rolled into New Hampshire, Almirola’s 2021 season had been, to put it bluntly, dismal. As recently as 2020, Almirola and the No. 10 team had managed to rack up five straight top-five finishes, but he entered Loudon with only one such result this year (at Nashville) plus a lowly one additional top-10 finish (at Richmond). Playoffs? Please cue the famous Jim Mora video for the proper way to scoff at the idea.