AJ Allmendinger ready to leave “everything out there” in must-win Daytona race

With his playoff hopes teetering this weekend, AJ Allmendinger takes on Saturday night's Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway knowing that he has to lay it all out when it matters. 

The Kaulig Racing driver is well aware of the risks at play at a superspeedway, but his objective is simple this weekend: "The focus is just winning."

“I guess the positive way to look at it is we don’t have to worry about anything besides winning," he said via On3. "We don’t have to worry about points, we don’t have to worry about stages, if we’re not up front at the end of the stages."

Believing he has the machinery to push through the pack, he's well aware that other drivers will be driving in 'desperation mode' as they themselves fight for their place in the playoffs.

“I’m confident we’re going to have a fast CELSIUS Chevy every time we come to these superspeedway races. Kaulig Racing and with the help of ECR horsepower - we have a fast car.

A.J. Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images

"This race is hectic and it’s chaotic… [there’s] about 20 or 22 guys in desperation mode. There’s really only two of them that probably got to be a little careful and then there’s 14 that don’t have to worry about anything because they’re already locked in.

“We’re just going to go out there and try to be there at the end. That’s the first thing is you’ve got to be there at the end of this race. You got to be aggressive at times, but you got to do it in the right scenarios and with 15 or 20 laps to go, you got to be full tilt and leave everything out there.

"So, I think the biggest thing about this race is the way these cars draft now, you just got to be up front a lot earlier than you did in the past with the old cars. I would say kind of in that third stage, you got to get up to the front and try to do everything you can to stay there.”

The California-born driver is well-versed in racing at Daytona, but with him sitting 181 points below the playoff cutline, there's plenty of pressure on his shoulders. Fortunately, six top-10 finishes in the last eight starts at the superspeedway will bolster his confidence this weekend, although with just one top-10 finish in the last 12 races, he'll be hoping for a small miracle and a clean race.