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NASCAR AMERICA: Almirola, No. 43 Petty team focused on winning, making Chase again (VIDEO)

AAA Texas 500 - Practice

FORT WORTH, TX - NOVEMBER 01: Aric Almirola, driver of the #43 Farmland Ford, sits in his car in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 1, 2014 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway)

Todd Warshaw

Aric Almirola and his No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports team made their breakthrough last July at Daytona.

Their Coke Zero 400 victory propelled them into the Chase for the Sprint Cup. And as 2015 looms, they have bigger goals now.

During his co-host role in today’s episode of NASCAR AMERICA, Almirola talked about those aspirations and also discussed how competing in the Chase caused them all to recognize that they had to raise their game.

“Everybody really understands now at RPM what level of excellence is expected out of them throughout the season, especially when you get to those last 10 races,” he said today.

“It’s amazing how much the level of competition actually increases when you get to Chicago to start the Chase. Now we have a better understanding of how tough we’ve got it [then], and how hard we’ve gotta work.”

Almirola’s win was the first for the famous Petty No. 43 car since John Andretti took the checkered flag at Martinsville in 1999. Almirola wants to ensure that it won’t take as long for the next one to occur.

“I don’t want somebody else 15 years from now talking about trying to get the 43 car back to Victory Lane,” he said.

For more on how Almirola and RPM have been preparing for the new season, check out the clip at the top.

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