Watkins Glen Race Review

AJ ALLMENDINGER • No. 43 Insignia HDTV Ford Fusion

•AJ Allmendinger started Sunday’s event at Watkins Glen International in the fourth position
•Allmendinger finished the event in fourth place
•The driver holds down 22nd position in the driver point standings as the series returns to Michigan

Race Summary: AJ Allmendinger lined up his No. 43 Insignia HDTV Ford Fusion in the fourth position for the start of Sunday’s event at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, N.Y. and wasted no time making his way to the front. Allmendinger moved into third by the second lap of the race and then into the second spot when he made the move to pass the No. 1 car for second place on Lap nine.

Allmendinger let his Insignia HDTV crew know that his Ford Fusion was pretty good overall, but he needed a bit of help with rear grip. Crew chief Mike Shiplett called for four fresh tires and fuel during the first pit stop of the day, which came at Lap 28 of the 90-lap event. A slight problem with the rear tires resulted in several lost spots in the pits but Allmendinger returned to the track in the fourth position.

Allmendinger remained in the fourth spot at the halfway point of the race and communicated to the crew that forward bite was the biggest issue they were fighting. A Lap 59 pit stop enabled Shiplett to address that issue with four fresh tires and fuel and Shiplett let his driver know that barring unforeseen circumstances, that would be the last pit stop of the day.

Allmendinger maintained his position inside the top five for the remainder of the race and took the checkered flag in the fourth spot. The fourth-place effort was the best finish ever by a Best Buy sponsored car. It was the season’s best finish thus far and the fourth top-10 finish for the No. 43 team this year. Allmendinger remains in the 22nd position in the points standings heading back to Michigan International Speedway.

Allmendinger on the Watkins Glen Event: “I am proud of everybody with the Insignia Best Buy Ford. The car was really strong all day. We didn’t have anything for the 42, he was on another planet. It was a solid day. It was a good day in the pits. We need to build on this. It is really cool to sign a multi-year deal and have a great weekend. I am proud of everyone at Richard Petty Motorsports and at Ford. It was a great week last week getting a win and this week a lot of us were strong. I am looking forward to the rest of the season.”

Credit - Richard Petty Motorsports PR