Dover Preview

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 43 Richard Petty Hall of Fame Ford Fusion

• Allmendinger has made six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at the Monster Mile
• Allmendinger posted his best career finish at Dover—a seventh-place effort—last fall
• The No. 43 Ford Fusion will pay tribute to team owner and NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Richard Petty

AJ Allmendinger on Dover: “I’m really excited that we get to run this throwback paint scheme this weekend. The No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford looks so awesome. We had a great run last year at Dover. It’d be pretty cool to have it on the race car and win the race. I think it’s one of our best tracks, so I am looking forward to running well and being able to share that with Richard (Petty).

“To be a part of Richard’s race team and to be in the No. 43 car that he made so famous is such an honor for me. It’s great to see The King be a part of the inaugural class. He and the other inductees are who made NASCAR what it is today. Our Richard Petty Motorsports team is excited about this weekend and being able to pay tribute to Richard. I’m really just a very small, small part of what it all means, but to be a part of it as it’s happening is just an honor.”

Crew Chief Mike Shiplett’s Thoughts on Dover: “I’m really excited about Dover. We had a really good race there in the fall last year. I think the spoiler at Dover is going to make everything a lot better. To go fast at Dover, you need a lot of total downforce, a lot of rear downforce, and that’s what the spoiler is adding to the cars, so I’m really excited about going to Dover and picking up where we left off in the fall.

“They re-did pit road last year. It’s a lot nicer now and the pit boxes are a little bit bigger. It’s still tight getting out, but you have a few more options of pit stalls. Before it used to be pit stall one was the only place you wanted to go, so you’ve got a few more options in pit selection. I just like that track and everything about it. It’s a good track.”

Chassis History: The No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports team led by crew chief Mike Shiplett has prepared chassis No. 288 for this weekend’s 400 mile race in Dover. This car was last run at the event at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway where Allmendinger drove to a 17th-place finish.

Notes: On Monday, AJ unveiled this weekend’s Richard Petty Hall of Fame paint scheme on SPEED’s Race Hub. The car, a throw-back look from Petty’s days of NASCAR racing, will feature the familiar Petty Blue and Day-glo Red colors with NASCAR Hall of Fame logos on the hood. Petty will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame as a member of the inaugural class on May 23rd and will serve as Grand Marshal of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event this weekend in Dover.

Allmendinger will join Richard Petty for a question and answer session with the fans on Saturday at 10 am ET at the Monster Monument at Victory Plaza. AJ will also take part in an autograph session at the Dover Air Force Base Thursday evening.

Support The Paralyzed Veterans of America: Don’t miss out on the second annual King’s Cup - Karting For A Cause event hosted by Richard Petty on Tuesday, May 25. To learn more about how you can participate in the King’s Cup, visit: www.pva.org/gokart.