Michigan II Race Recap

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 43 Insignia HDTV Ford Fusion

• AJ Allmendinger started Sunday's event at Michigan International Speedway from the 16th spot
• Allmendinger finished the event in 17th place
• The driver holds down 22nd position in the driver point standings as the series returns to Bristol Motor Speedway

Race Summary: AJ Allmendinger lined up his No. 43 Insignia HDTV Ford Fusion in the 16th position for the start of Sunday's event at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. Mich., and let his team know in the early laps that his car was tight in the middle of the corners and loose off.

The first pit stop of the day came under green flag conditions on Lap 36 and crew chief Mike Shiplett called for four fresh tires, with air pressure adjustments and fuel. Allmendinger lined up for the restart in the 15th position and almost immediately radioed to Shiplett that his Insignia HDTV Ford was much too loose. A brief yellow flag for rain enabled Shiplett to make a wedge adjustment in an effort to tighten up the car.

Allmendinger remained in the top 20 for most of the race despite struggling with the handling of the car and the track's changing conditions.Shiplett continued to make changes to the Ford Fusion at every opportunity, but Allmendinger's machine stayed on the loose side. After a four-tire stop when the first 12 cars stayed on the track, the No. 43 car lined up for the lap-172 restart in the 22nd position.

The Los Gatos, Calif.-native fought hard in the closing laps and despite slight contact with the No. 77 that resulted in a tire rub for several laps, crossed the finish line in 18th place.

Allmendinger remains in the 22nd place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings heading to next week's Saturday night race at Bristol (Tenn.) Speedway.

Allmendinger on the Michigan International Speedway Event: "I was hoping we would have a much better day than that. We struggled with the handling of the car for most of the race and I struggled a bit finding the best line on the track at times too. Our Insignia HDTV Ford Fusion was really loose for most of the race. We had a couple of runs where we were just out of control. Mike and the guys worked hard to make it better, but we could never get it exactly where we needed it to be. Michigan has never been a place I've run really well at but hopefully we've learned some things that we can take away for next year."

Credit - Richard Petty Motorsports PR