Despite the new championship format in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, with a heavy emphasis on race wins, Richard Petty Motorsports driver Aric Almirola has reservations about taking a checkers-or-wreckers approach to the 2014 season.
Though a win all but guarantees a place in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, there is still a possibility that a driver can qualify on points.
“If you win a race, you pretty much know you’ll be in the Chase, but at the same time you have to think about points,” Almirola said. “I want to win a race. That’s our number-one objective, but if we don’t and we’re the first or second guy in points that hasn’t won a race, you’re going to be in the Chase. We can’t lose sight of that.
“We can’t just throw caution to the wind and either win or wreck every week. We have to be conscious about the points and be able to make the Chase, even if we don’t win a race. We fully anticipate to win a race, and I think we’re certainly capable of that, but we need to maximize how many points we get every weekend as well.
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