Going into the final regular-season race at Daytona in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series, several drivers will be racing to clinch the final playoff spot and the race itself promises to be an almighty scrap. While getting through on points is possible for some, most drivers will have to secure a win to get through into the last 16. In scenarios like this, drivers often rely on their teammates and manufacturer teammates who have already qualified to lend them a helping hand. Different teams of the same manufacturer have worked in the past to help a driver win a race and that is exactly what Tony Stewart’s star driver Aric Almirola hopes for in Daytona.

Almirola is a former winner at Daytona, both in the Cup and Xfinity Series, and he will be hoping and praying that he is able to repeat that feat on Saturday. There is just one problem. Almirola is not the only Ford driver in that situation. There are a number of them and they all will be jockeying to get into a good position to win in a race. The one safety net the 39-year-old will have is Kevin Harvick, who has already booked his spot in the top 16. Almirola believes that all Ford teams will have to work together for any of them to stand a chance of winning, just like Toyota and Chevrolet teams have done in the past.

Working Together Is the Best Course of Action for Ford Teams

In a recent episode of the NASCAR Live podcast, Dave Moody posed the question to the Stewart-Haas Racing driver about what role teammates and other Ford teams will play if he has to win at Daytona for a third time.

Moody asked, “Obviously, you’d love for all the Ford guys to just line up on your back bumper and shove you onto victory lane, but there are a number of other Ford guys in the exact same situation as you. Is there any sort of a plan or is it just, you know, see who your friends are and who’s in the neighborhood when it comes down to it?”

Almirola answered that the best possible course of action is for everyone involved with Ford to work together, just like people involved with Toyota and Chevrolet had done in the past.

“Yeah, I think a lot of it happens organically throughout the race. You go into it with a plan and you certainly need to work together with your teammates and your other manufacturer teammates to put yourself in contention,” he said.

“Like if everybody just goes every man for themself, you will quickly find out that you are at a major disadvantage to the Chevrolets and the Toyotas if you choose not to work together, cause they will and they’ve proved it over the years. They have, you know, stuck together, worked together, they pit together, they do all the right things.” the veteran racer added.

Almirola reiterated that it is crucial for everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing and everyone involved in Ford to work together until the closing stages of the race for any of the non-qualified Ford drivers to stand a chance of winning the race.

“So as an organization, as Stewart-Haas Racing, and as Ford teammates, we have to work together to make sure that we are upfront and that we are in contention,” he added.

However, Almirola admitted that in the end, it will be every driver for themselves, be it challenging for the race win or playoff points.

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Everybody Will Be Selfish, Tony Stewart’s Star Driver Makes Daytona Prediction

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“When it comes down to the end, it will be every man for themselves, no doubt, there’s gonna be a lot of different agendas, there’s gonna be some drivers that have to win to get into the playoffs, there’s gonna be some drivers that can move up or down a few spots in the points that matter to them as far as bonus points in the playoffs,” the 39-year-old said.

The Florida resident acknowledged that towards the end, there would be a lot of agendas for different drivers and everybody would be selfish in the crucial moments of the race.

“So there’s a lot of agendas and different things going on throughout the course of the race and everybody will be selfish when it comes time to it,” Almirola concluded.

The final regular-season race of the 2023 Cup Series at Daytona is building up to be one of the most exciting ones of the year with various drivers racing for the win to make it through to the playoffs. Who do you think will clinch the final spot in the last 16 on Saturday?

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