Richmond II Preview

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 43 Insignia HDTV Ford Fusion
• AJ Allmendinger has made seven NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Richmond International Raceway
• Allmendinger scored his best finish (17th) on the .75-mile track in May
• After 25 races, Allmendinger holds down 22nd place in the driver point standings

AJ Allmendinger on Richmond International Raceway: “I think we can build off of the run we had there in the spring. It wasn’t a spectacular run, but we ran in the top 15 for a good portion of the night and just fought with the handling of the No. 43 Ford for a while. I think we’ve got some short-track races under our belts and we know what we need to do to make things even better. We’ve done our homework so we’ll go from there. Racing at Richmond is fun. I don’t think there’s a driver or a fan out there that doesn’t look forward to this one and I can’t wait to get there.”

Crew Chief Mike Shiplett’s Thoughts on Richmond: “At Richmond, if you have a good exit you are usually too tight in the middle so you have to find the balance of getting the center to turn and still keeping good drive off. You can get really loose off of turn 4 really fast and still be tight in the middle so finding that balance is really important. Track position is big there too.”

Chassis History: The No. 43 RPM team led by crew chief Mike Shiplett has prepared chassis No. 289 for this weekend’s event at Richmond International Raceway. This car was run on three other occasions this season. Allmendinger drove it in the first event at RIR, the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the New Hampshire Motor Speedway event where he finished in the 10th position.

Notes: The movie Petty Blue made its media debut on the big screen this Tuesday at the MEZ Epicentre in downtown Charlotte, N.C. The movie, which is an engrossing and moving documentary about the life and times of NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty and his extraordinary family, will be released on DVD September 21, 2010 from Paramount Home Entertainment. Petty Blue will make its cable debut on CMT in October.

AJ Allmendinger will take part in a question and answer session at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday afternoon prior to the NASCAR Foundation Track Walk, which begins at 1:15 p.m. ET. The Track Walk presented by Reynolds benefits the PVA (Paralyzed Veterans of America), which is a Richard Petty Motorsports partner, and several other organizations.

For more information on the PVA, please visit www.pva.org. For additional information regarding the Track Walk, please visit www.foundation.nascar.com.

Credit - Richard Petty Motorsports PR