Saving it for the playoffs

You can’t blame Chase teams for putting some of their best equipment to the side during the regular season and bringing it out for the Chase.

Aric Almirola’s No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports outfit is a case in point. At Chicagoland this weekend, Almirola is driving a car that was racy at both Kansas and Kentucky.

“We feel like some of our best cars we ran at Kansas and Kentucky earlier this year and were both top-10’s there—Kansas for sure, and Kentucky we were running sixth and got in a wreck late in the race,” Almirola said. “Nonetheless that car has performed really well. We pushed that one aside after we won Daytona and have been prepping it and getting it ready for Chicago.

“Our Loudon car is a brand new car, just to try something. Every time we build a new car it’s usually a little lighter, and hopefully that will make a difference. I think we’re taking our primary car from Bristol (to Dover). That was the fastest car I’ve ever had there until I crashed it in qualifying. It didn’t do any frame damage, so they put a new body on it, and that is the car we’re taking to Dover.”

Reid Spencer -  NASCAR Wire Service