Talladega II Race Preview

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 43 Valvoline Ford Fusion

• AJ Allmendinger has made four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway
• Allmendinger posted his best finish at the track (19th) in the spring event this season
• After 32 races, Allmendinger holds down 20th place in the NSCS driver point standings

AJ Allmendinger on Talladega Superspeedway: “I never know exactly how to feel about going to the superspeedway events. These races are such big question marks. We have four pretty strong teams and really talented superspeedway drivers and the more help you can have on these tracks, the better. Our Valvoline Ford should be pretty strong and I think I get to be a better driver at these restrictor plate races every time we go, so I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do this weekend.”

Crew Chief Mike Shiplett’s Thoughts on Talladega: “Talladega is like a big lottery. If you get in the right line at the right time you can go from the 20th position all the way to first or from first to all the way back to 20th in one lap. Its just being in the right place at the right time, finding people that will help you and missing the wrecks.

“At Talladega handling is kind of a non-issue. Its mostly about horsepower and how fast you can go because the track has so much banking and its so smooth since they’ve repaved it. You’re just wide open all the way around the 2.66-mile track. You never have to lift out of the throttle. The name of the game is staying out of trouble for 160 laps and then really going racing for the last 28.”

Chassis History: The No. 43 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 682 for this weekend’s event at Talladega Superspeedway. This is the team’s favorite superspeedway car and is the same one the No. 43 crew has prepared for all three of the previous superspeedway races this season.

Notes: Valvoline will make a return appearance on the hood of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford Fusion this weekend in Talladega. This week, the names of the Spotlight Lexington volunteers from the World Equestrian Games, which took place at the beginning of this month, are on the hood of the No. 43 Ford. On the final day of the festival, Oct. 10, one lucky volunteer won the car hood and two tickets to the race, Valvoline was a large supporter of the World Equestrian Games, which took place in Lexington, Ky., this year.

Valvoline, a division of Ashland Inc., serves more than 100 countries worldwide and is a leading marketer, distributor and producer of quality branded automotive and industrial products and services. For more information about Valvoline products, please visit http://valvoline.com/.

Credit - Richard Petty Motorsports PR