Homestead Race Recap

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 43 Insignia HDTV Ford Fusion

*AJ Allmendinger began the race at Homestead-Miami Speedway from the fifth position
*The No. 43 Insignia HDTV Ford Fusion took the checkered flag in fifth position
*Allmendinger took home 19th place in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings

Race Summary: AJ Allmendinger began the final race of the 2010 season from the fifth position and moved into third place by just the second lap of Sunday’s event. Allmendinger took second place after a restart on Lap 28 and communicated to his Insignia HDTV team that the car was tight on entry into the corners.

Crew Chief Mike Shiplett called for air pressure adjustments, four tires and fuel during a pit stop on Lap 69 of the 267-lap season-ending race. Allmendinger remained inside the top five throughout the first half of the race but began to slip through the field as the handling of his No. 43 Ford began to fade. Shiplett called for chassis or shock adjustments during the remaining pit stops.

The team got a break when a caution flag flew at Lap 245. Many teams had already made what were to be their final pit stops of the day. Having not made his stop prior to the caution, Allmendinger lined up in the 11th spot for the restart.

Allmendinger took full advantage of the situation and began one final ascent to the front of the field with 17 laps to go. Allmendinger made it as far as fifth before the checkered flag flew on the event and the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season as a whole.

Allmendinger on Sunday’s Event: “That was pretty wild. We were pretty good in the beginning and then about the third run in we got so loose it was almost like something broke on the race car. The Insignia HDTV Ford was so loose and we tried everything to fix it. We basically flipped this thing upside down. I give all the credit to Mike Shiplett who kept me calm and pep talked me. I was frustrated and it was tough out there but he kept working on it and throwing things at it and finally we hit something at the end. It still wasn’t great but we got it raceable and we got a little lucky with that yellow to get us track position and a top five.”

Credit - Richard Petty Motorsports PR

Homestead Post-Race Quotes

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 9 Budweiser Ford Fusion
Finished 4th
"This is awesome. Working with Kenny Francis and all the guys on this Budweiser team has been a pleasure. They have fast race cars. Really fast race cars. Richard Petty Motorsports should be very proud of themselves. I know they are going through a lot, but they are going to get this race team turned around. They have great equipment, great people and they are going to be successful."

WAS IT NERVE RACKING RACING AROUND THE CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDERS? "Oh my gosh, it was. I was so conscious to not make a mistake. I made several today and we were able to rebound. It felt like we had a car capable of winning. All in all it was a great day and I am proud of all my guys on this team to step in and let me fill in on this team has been fun. I have learned a lot and it has been awesome."

***

AJ ALLMENDINGER, No. 43 Insignia/Best Buy Ford Fusion
Finished 5th
"That was pretty wild. We were pretty good in the beginning and then about the third run in we got so loose it was almost like something broke on the race car. We were so loose and we tried everything to fix it. We basically flipped this thing upside down. I give all the credit to Mike Shiplett who kept me calm and pep talked me. I was frustrated and it was tough out there but he kept working on it and throwing things at it and finally we hit something at the end. It still wasn't great but we got it raceable and we got a little lucky with that yellow to get us track position and a top five."

THAT IS A PRETTY EXCITING WAY TO END YOUR YEAR ON WHAT HAS BEEN A BIT OF A CRAZY SEASON FOR YOU ISN'T IT? "Yeah, all the credit goes to my race team and all the guys back at the shop. Credit goes to Ford, Insignia, Best Buy and Valvoline too. This team could have easily fallen apart and fought and just dismantled itself, but I feel like we became stronger and when we figure this stuff out back at the shop we will get this race team back where it needs to be and I think we will be that much stronger for having gone through this."

Credit - Ford Racing

Homestead Race Results

Ford 400 Finishing Order
1. Carl Edwards
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Aric Almirola
5. AJ Allmendinger
6. Kasey Kahne
7. Ryan Newman
8. Tony Stewart
9. Matt Kenseth
10. Greg Biffle
11. Martin Truex, Jr.
12. Clint Bowyer
13. Brad Keselowski
14. Denny Hamlin
15. Bill Elliott
16. Mark Martin
17. Regan Smith
18. Kurt Busch
19. Paul Menard
20. David Ragan
21. Jamie McMurray
22. Bobby Labonte
23. Scott Speed
24. Sam Hornish, Jr.
25. David Gilliland
26. Marcos Ambrose
27. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
28. Elliott Sadler
29. Andy Lally
30. Kevin Conway
31. Jeff Burton
32. Kyle Busch
33. Casey Mears
34. Travis Kvapil
35. Juan Pablo Montoya
36. Dave Blaney
37. Jeff Gordon
38. David Reutimann
39. Joey Logano
40. Landon Cassill
41. Joe Nemechek
42. JJ Yeley
43. Mike Bliss

Homestead Qualifying Quotes

AJ ALLMENDINGER, No. 43 Best Buy/Insignia Ford Fusion
Qualified 5th
"It was alright. This isn't my best place to qualify at. It's a tough race track trying to figure out what line you want to go and contemplate if you want to do something different. I'm happy with it. There could have been a little more there but us race car drivers always think there could have been. That should get us in the top 10 and I think we should have a pretty good car for Sunday. Maybe we can win 43 people a Ford Fiesta."

***

PAUL MENARD, No. 98 Menards Ford Fusion
Qualified 16th
"It felt pretty good. We have been fighting a little bit loose off of four. It had the same issues. It was a little late getting back to wide open but the car drove pretty decent so we should be okay."

***

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 9 Budweiser Ford Fusion
Qualified 24th
"I didn't do a very good job there. The car was a lot better than that and I did a bad job. I am disappointed in myself because we have a much better car that that. I just missed it. We have a really good car in race trim and I think we will be in good shape come Sunday."

Credit - Ford Racing

Homestead Qualifying Results

Ford 400 Starting Lineup
1. Kasey Kahne
2. Carl Edwards
3. Jamie McMurray
4. Bill Elliott
5. AJ Allmendinger
6. Jimmie Johnson
7. David Reutimann
8. Mark Martin
9. David Ragan
10. Regan Smith
11. Jeff Gordon
12. Elliott Sadler
13. Matt Kenseth
14. Jeff Burton
15. Kurt Busch
16. Paul Menard
17. Clint Bowyer
18. Brad Keselowski
19. Joey Logano
20. Joey Logano
21. JJ Yeley
22. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
23. Ryan Newman
24. Aric Almirola
25. Martin Truex, Jr.
26. Sam Hornish, Jr.
27. Greg Biffle
28. Kevin Harvick
29. Joe Nemechek
30. Mike Bliss
31. Tony Stewart
32. Bobby Labonte
33. Kyle Busch
34. Casey Mears
35. Andy Lally
36. Dave Blaney
37. Denny Hamlin
38. David Gilliland
39. Travis Kvapil
40. Juan Pablo Montoya
41. Scott Speed
42. Kevin Conway
43. Landon Cassill
DNQ Michael McDowell
DNQ Patrick Carpentier

Ford Racing Driver Appearance Schedule - Ford Championship Weekend

This is the Ford Racing driver appearance schedule for the main Ford display at Homestead-Miami Speedway
All appearances are stage Q & A sessions, unless noted...

Friday, November 19
Jennifer Jo Cobb 3:00 PM
Jason White 3:30 PM
Brent Raymer 4:00 PM

Saturday, November 20
Ken Block / Tanner Foust /Vaughn Gittin, Jr. /John Force 12:00 - 12:30 PM
Ken Block / Tanner Foust /Vaughn Gittin, Jr. /John Force AUTOGRAPHS 12:30 - 1:30 PM
Colin Braun 1:30 - 1:45 PM
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. 1:45 - 2:00 PM

Sunday, November 21
Vaughn Gittin, Jr. 9:00 - 9:15 AM
Ken Block / Tanner Foust 9:15 - 9:30 AM
Greg Biffle 9:30 - 9:45 AM
AJ Allmendinger 9:45 - 9:55 AM
John Force 10:00 - 10:15 AM

Credit - Ford Racing

Homestead Preview

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 43 Insignia HDTV Ford Fusion

• AJ Allmendinger has made two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway
• Allmendinger has never finished outside the top 11 at HMS
• After 35 races, Allmendinger holds down 20th place in the NSCS driver point standings

AJ Allmendinger on Homestead-Miami Speedway: “It’s a completely different mile-and-a-half than say a Texas or a Charlotte or an Atlanta, so it’s a different feel. We haven’t been the strongest on the mile-and-a-half race tracks as a race team on the 43 side of it, but we did the test there and it is a completely different mile-and-a-half, so for that reason I’m looking forward to it. I know Doug [Yates, Engine Builder] is gonna put a little extra horsepower behind it and we’re gonna bring our best piece and see what we’ve got out there.”

AJ on the 43 Fiestas Promotion:“It’s been really cool. The last couple of months have obviously been leading up to this with the commercials and all the promotion we’ve been doing, so there’s gonna be a little extra pressure, I’m not gonna lie. Being able to hang out with Ken Block and meet somebody like that is really cool. I read where he just scored his first championship points in World Rally, the first American to do that, so he’s obviously pretty good when it comes to his sport. And doing the Team O’Neil thing was fun. It’s fun to be a part of Ford and, ultimately to have something that’s such a big promotion and be one of the lead guys is pretty cool. It’s an experience I’ve enjoyed from the start and hopefully we finish it off right.”

Crew Chief Mike Shiplett’s Thoughts on HMS: “I wouldn’t say there is anything special about Homestead-Miami Speedway as far as the keys to getting around the place. It’s a pretty standard mile-and-a-half-track, really. Goodyear has a new tire for the weekend and we were able to participate in the tire test a while back, so I’m hopeful that will help our team as well as the rest of the Richard Petty Motorsports Fords on Friday.”

Chassis History: The No. 43 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 265 for this weekend’s event at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This particular chassis has been utilized on several occasions this season including most recently at Charlotte in October.

Notes: Allmendinger has competed in two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races on the 1.5-mile oval and has scored two finished inside the top 11, including a top-10 effort in the season finale last year. Allmendinger qualified for that event in the 13th position.

Allmendinger will spend Friday night at the Loews Hotel in the Miami Beach area celebrating with the winners of Ford’s 43 Fiestas promotion. The 43 Fiestas promotion kicked off several months ago and was highlighted a trip by Allmendinger to a rally school in New Hampshire and videos featuring Allmendinger, Ken Block and Richard Petty. 43 lucky fans won LCD flat-screen TVs and airfare, lodging and tickets to the Ford 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. One of these fans will be awarded a special Ford Fiesta, but should AJ Allmendinger happen to walk away with the win this weekend, everyone in the grand-prize lot will receive a new Fiesta.

Credit - Richard Petty Motorsports PR

The #43 Has Gone to the Elves

Christmas time is closing in, and everyone’s excited to see what Santa might leave under the tree. It’s likely that a good portion of the presents received this year will be in the form of electronics. Digital cameras, mp3 players, laptops, cell phones, gaming systems, DVRs, etc. – from children to senior citizens, the most sought after items this year more than likely can be found at an electronics store such as Best Buy. Unfortunately, all these items also come with a complicated instruction manual. And there’s nothing worse than opening your new gift and realizing that you can’t figure out how to make it work.

This year Best Buy comes to the rescue by offering free technical support through New Years, including on Christmas Day, by either visiting http://www.bestbuy.com/ or by calling 1-888-BEST BUY. To inform consumers of their dedication to making the holidays a stress-free time, Best Buy has introduced Kenneth the Blue Elf. Kenneth is a gung-ho, tech savvy, Santa’s helper who enthusiastically rallies the other elves to help customers. Now thanks to Best Buy, Kenneth the Blue Elf is coming to NASCAR!



Best Buy, the sponsor of the #43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford Fusion driven by AJ Allmendinger, is getting elf happy at the Homestead Miami Speedway for the final race of 2010. Kenneth the Elf will be riding on the hood of the green Insignia car as NASCAR closes out the season. With only two prior starts at the track, Allmendinger has finishes of 11th and 10th place. This year he not only has Kenneth the Elf hoping for a win, but also some lucky prize winners in the 43 Fiestas promotion by Ford. If the #43 car wins the Ford 400 then 43 people get a brand new Ford Fiesta. So this weekend there is a lot riding on that Insignia HDTV Ford, including Kenneth the Blue Elf.

AJ Allmendinger - Ford Interview

AJ Allmendinger, driver of the No. 43 Insignia/Best Buy Ford Fusion, will have the chance to win an all-new Ford Fiesta for 42 race fans on Sunday if he can earn his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory in the Ford 400. This weekend is the culmination of Ford's 43 Fiestas promotion, which also included Richard Petty and rally driver Ken Block. Allmendinger talked about his feelings heading into Ford Championship Weekend.

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO SEE THIS 43 FIESTAS PROMOTION COME TO A CLIMAX?
"It's been really cool. The last couple of months have obviously been leading up to this with the commercials and all the promotion we've been doing, so there's gonna be a little extra pressure, I ain't gonna lie. I want to go out there and obviously win for multiple reasons, but that's just another one. All I can do is show up and go there and do everything that we can. We did the tire test there, so we have some notes we can lean on when we get there, so it's gonna be a fun weekend. I'm really excited for the first time to be a part of Ford during all of Ford Championship Weekend and all the parties and get- togethers that go along with that, so it's just gonna be a fun weekend overall."

DO YOU LIKE THE TRACK FROM A RACING PERSPECTIVE?
"I don't know if it favors my style, but I enjoy it a lot more because you kind of get away from that cookie-cutter mile-and-a-half. It's a completely different mile- and-a-half than say a Texas or a Charlotte or an Atlanta, so it's a different feel. We haven't been the strongest on the mile-and-a-half race tracks as a race team on the 43 side of it, but, like I said, we did the test there and it is a completely different mile-and-a-half, so for that reason I'm looking forward to it. I know Doug is gonna put a little extra horsepower behind it and we're gonna bring our best piece and see what we've got out there."

WHAT'S BEEN THE BEST PART ABOUT THIS 43 FIESTAS PROMOTION FOR YOU?
"There's nothing that's been a favorite, it's just been everything together. Something like that, I think we get so caught up in sometimes, and I'm the first person that you're always focused on racing, you're focused on the task at hand and sometimes along with that you have to do stuff like commercials or photo shoots or things like that where you say, 'Oh, it's just taking up time. I want to be racing.' But something the King has taught me is that you're gonna have to do that stuff, so have fun with it. The point of being able to hang out with Ken Block and meet somebody like that. I read where he just scored his first championship points in World Rally, the first American to do that, so he's obviously pretty good when it comes to his sport. And doing the Team O'Neil thing was fun. It's fun to be a part of Ford and, ultimately to have something that's such a big promotion and be one of the lead guys is pretty cool. It's an experience I've enjoyed from the start and hopefully we finish it off right."

Credit - Ford Racing

Phoenix II Race Recap

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 43 Insignia HDTV Ford Fusion
■ AJ Allmendinger began the race at Phoenix International Raceway from the front row
■ The No. 43 Insignia HDTV Ford Fusion took the checkered flag in the 18th position
■ Allmendinger remains in the 20th position in the points battle with one race remaining on the schedule

Race Summary: AJ Allmendinger narrowly missed scoring his second career pole at Phoenix International Raceway but settled into the second position for the start of Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event. Allmendinger’s green No. 43 Insignia HDTV Ford Fusion was fast at the start of the 312-lap event and despite front end handling issues the driver remained in the top 10 for the majority of the first 100 laps.

Through a series of green and yellow flag condition pit stops, Crew Chief Mike Shiplett called for various adjustments to help alleviate the handling issues Allmendinger reported. The California native kept his Richard Petty Motorsports machine in the top 15 with under 100 laps to go.

Shiplett rolled the dice and called for a right side tire only pit stop towards the end of the event. Allmendinger and the No. 43 lost a little ground following the stop and slid back slightly in the pack. The driver held on and fought to regain a top-15 position, but when the checkered flag flew, the No. 43 Insignia HDTV Ford Fusion was running in the 18th position.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway next week for the season finale. Allmendinger holds down the 20th position in the NSCS point standings and is within striking distance of 19th place.

Credit - Richard Petty Motorsports PR

Phoenix II Race Results

Kobalt Tools 500 Finishing Order
1. Carl Edwards
2. Ryan Newman
3. Joey Logano
4. Greg Biffle
5. Jimmie Johnson
6. Kevin Harvick
7. Matt Kenseth
8. Mark Martin
9. Kurt Busch
10. Jamie McMurray
11. Jeff Gordon
12. Denny Hamlin
13. Kyle Busch
14. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
15. Martin Truex, Jr.
16. Juan Pablo Montoya
17. Tony Stewart
18. AJ Allmendinger
19. Jeff Burton
20. Bobby Labonte
21. Clint Bowyer
22. Marcos Ambrose
23. Regan Smith
24. Casey Mears
25. David Ragan
26. David Reutimann
27. Aric Almirola
28. Elliott Sadler
29. Paul Menard
30. Kasey Kahne
31. JJ Yeley
32. Sam Hornish, Jr.
33. Robby Gordon
34. Travis Kvapil
35. Scott Speed
36. Tony Raines
37. Dave Blaney
38. David Gilliland
39. Mike Bliss
40. Landon Cassill
41. Terry Labonte
42. Brad Keselowski
43. Brendan Gaughan

Phoenix II Qualifying Quotes

AJ ALLMENDINGER - No. 43 Insignia/Best Buy Ford Fusion
Qualified 2nd
"As Kurt said, he put up a great lap, especially as early as he went. Nobody could really get near him until the track cooled down a little bit. I knew it was gonna be tight there. In qualifying practice we were really good and I just felt like I wanted to go out there and put a solid lap in. I felt like I got everything I could out of the race car there, and I knew Carl was gonna be tough there at the end. I feel good about what everybody is doing on the race team, it's such a tough time here, so I'm just happy and proud of the guys back at the shop and here at the race track. Having Insignia back on the race car is really cool, so it's a good starting spot and now we've just got to put in a good race on Sunday."

"No matter what happens I'm just proud of everybody at Richard Petty Motorsports. There's no secret of what we're going through right now and it's a tough time. All the crew guys here and all the guys at the shop listening and watching, they're amazing people because it could easily tear this team apart. Everybody could be fighting with each other and not want to be here, but everybody is sticking together and fighting hard to go out there and perform. We've shown that, no matter what, it's not gonna get us off our game. We're just gonna keep getting better as a race team. I thank everybody at Insignia and Best Buy, Valvolina, PVA, everybody at Ford Racing and Doug Yates for building such great horsepower and everybody for building great race cars. That's all we can do, just go out there and drive."

IS THIS MORE MOTIVATION? "It's such a cut-throat sport. There's no secret to that. This is a tough sport and in tough times like that, we could easily give up or we could start fighting each other and it's not more motivation. We don't need anymore motivation than what we have, but it's just a tough time and these guys are fighting hard. I'm just going out there and trying to drive the wheels off this thing every weekend. These guys are stepping their game up and I'm proud of them. I'm proud to be here. We know The King and Robbie Loomis, all the guys, they're doing what they can to resolve these problems and we're just gonna put our heads down and do our jobs."

HOW HARD IS IT FOR THIS TEAM RIGHT NOW? "There's no secret right now with what our race team is going through right now. I think it shows my crew guys here and back at the shop and everybody at RPM that there's really two scenarios that can happen in a situation like this - you can try to band together and be stronger and come to the race track more focused, or you can let things start tearing you apart. It's wearing on everybody. It wears on me, but with that said, everybody inside the race team doesn't let it effect each other. Everybody is working well together. With everything they're still having to go through, to build great race cars, Doug Yates and everybody at Ford is still giving us great horsepower. It's a tough thing, but once we get to the race track our cars are here and it's pretty simple, we focus on the job at hand. That's all you can do. You just put your head down and keep working hard and that makes it a lot easier to go out there and run up front and try to sell the race team than struggling and trying to sell the race team. That's all we can do."

WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS TRACK YOU SEEM TO LIKE? "It's more Mike Shiplett and the guys. He's got a good setup here. This is a track initially when I came here in '07 that I hated, I struggled here. It's the same thing, it's kind of like Loudon where once you get a good setup there, it makes it easier. For us to go out there in qualifying trim especially we had a really good setup. It's something that we need to work on in race trim. We struggled a little bit in the race here in the spring. In race trim today we were OK, we weren't great, so we definitely have to keep working on it, but once you have a good setup you can start building off of it, instead of just trying to start from scratch and showing up each weekend with a different setup."

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT NEXT YEAR? "No, honestly we're taking it day-to-day. It's not something I can really focus on and help do anything with. My job is to get in the race car and run strong. We know Richard and everybody there is doing the best they can to go out there and figure out this situation and that's all we ask, so we just focus on day-to-day - just getting to the race track. These next two weeks are really important. We've got Insignia back on the car for the last two races and they've been a huge supporter of this race team throughout the year, and next week we have a huge Ford promotion with 43 Ford Fiestas and have a chance to go out there and win 43 fans a Ford Fiesta, so those are the things I'm focused on. Next year is something that as we go into the off-season we have to learn more about what's happening with the race team, but, honestly, no matter what, I can't do anything about it. I've just got to go out there and do my job and try to make Best Buy and everybody happy and just focus on that."

***

ARIC ALMIROLA - No. 9 Budweiser Ford Fusion
Qualified 9th
That was a respectable lap time because I thought that was gonna be extremely slow. I was actually surprised at how fast it went for how bad it drove, to be honest. I'm proud of Kenny and all the guys on this Budweiser team. They've done a good job."

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE PART OF THIS TEAM NOW AFTER THREE OR FOUR WEEKS BEHIND THE WHEEL? "Yeah, I really do. Kenny Francis and all the guys on this team do a good job of making me feel welcome, and I've had a lot of fun with it. That's the biggest thing I've noticed is how much fun I'm having. I don't have a whole lot of pressure involved with it, so it's been a good time."

***

ELLIOTT SADLER - No. 19 Paralyzed Veterans of America Ford Fusion
Qualified 23rd
I was a little disappointed. I didn't make a good lap. I didn't get through three and four like I needed to. My car was a little tight and I tried to run across the apron to loosen it up and got it a little bit too loose. That's definitely not the lap we wanted or needed, so we've got a lot of work to do on Sunday. We'll race hard and see where it takes us."

Credit - Ford Racing

Phoenix II Qualifying Results

Kobalt Tools 500 Starting Lineup
1. Carl Edwards
2. AJ Allmendinger
3. Kurt Busch
4. Greg Biffle
5. Jamie McMurray
6. David Reutimann
7. Kyle Busch
8. Regan Smith
9. Aric Almirola
10. Joey Logano
11. Martin Truex, Jr.
12. David Ragan
13. Marcos Ambrose
14. Clint Bowyer
15. Matt Kenseth
16. Sam Hornish, Jr.
17. Denny Hamlin
18. Paul Menard
19. Ryan Newman
20. Tony Stewart
21. Jimmie Johnson
22. Jeff Gordon
23. Elliott Sadler
24. Casey Mears
25. Kasey Kahne
26. Bobby Labonte
27. Scott Speed
28. Mark Martin
29. Kevin Harvick
30. Brad Keselowski
31. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
32. Dave Blaney
33. JJ Yeley
34. Robby Gordon
35. Juan Pablo Montoya
36. Mike Bliss
37. David Gilliland
38. Travis Kvapil
39. Landon Cassill
40. Jeff Burton
41. Brendan Gaughan
42. Tony Raines
43. Terry Labonte
DNQ Jason Leffler
DNQ Joe Nemechek
DNQ Michael McDowell

Phoenix II Race Preview

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 43 Insignia HDTV Ford Fusion

*AJ Allmendinger has made four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Phoenix International Raceway
*Allmendinger posted his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole position at the track in the spring
*After 34 races, Allmendinger holds down 20th place in the NSCS driver point standings

AJ Allmendinger on Phoenix International Raceway: "It's hard to believe we're down to two races left in this season. 2010 has been an interesting year. We've had some pretty high highs and some pretty low lows, but I'm proud of this Insignia team for working as hard as we have and having some really good things to show for it. We've come so close to breaking through so many times with our Insignia HDTV Ford and I'm truly surprised we haven't found our way to victory lane. Consistency has been our biggest problem, I think, but we're looking forward to finishing the season out strong. Mike [Shiplett--crew chief] and I have come a long way together this year. We work well together and our personalities complement each other. It's been a good year and it's not quite over yet, so there's still time for success."

Crew Chief Mike Shiplett's Thoughts on PIR: "In Phoenix, you really fight drive off and can get bad loose off the corner. Turns one and two are much different than three and four so even if you have your car perfect in one and two, you'll be way too loose off four. Turn two opens up and you have a lot of race track, but four doesn't open up like that and it's pretty easy to hit the wall. There's a lot of compromise in that respect and that's what you generally spend a good deal of time working through. We've got a good car, so we'll just have to see what happens when we unload and hit the track for practice on Friday."

Chassis History: The No. 43 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 267 for this weekend's event at Phoenix International Raceway. This particular chassis has been utilized on several occasions this season including most recently at New Hampshire Motor Speedway where the team qualified in the sixth position and finished the race in 12th.

Notes: Allmendinger will make a pit stop at the Glendale Best Buy before heading to the track. The driver will spend two hours at the store, located at 8290 West Bell Road, on Thursday evening. Allmendinger will sign autographs and meet with fans beginning at 6 p.m. local time.

Credit - Richard Petty Motorsports PR

Project Save the 43 video 11/11/2010

Project Save the 43

Texas II Race Recap

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 43 Valvoline Ford Fusion

*AJ Allmendinger began the race at Texas Motor Speedway from the 10th position
*Allmendinger brought the No. 43 Valvoline Ford home in the 14th position
*Allmendinger advanced one position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings and now stands in the 20th place

Race Summary: AJ Allmendinger started Sunday’s 334-lap event in the Lone Star State from the 10th position. The top-10 start was the driver’s 10th of the season.

As the race around the 1.5-mile Fort Worth, Texas track began, Allmendinger relayed to his crew chief Mike Shiplett that his No. 43 Valvoline Ford Fusion was a little loose on entry into the corners but overall handling well. With the day’s first caution at Lap 12, the Richard Petty Motorsports team opted for fuel and two right side tires only and quickly sent Allmendinger back on track.

Allmendinger began to relay that his No. 43 Ford was struggling with rear grip at Lap 40. Opportunity to make necessary adjustments quickly came for the RPM team with another caution at Lap 43. Shiplett called for track bar and air pressure adjustments as well as four tires and fuel. Back to green flag racing, the driver fought for track position among the top 20 in the field for the majority of the middle stages of the race.

Struggling with handling, the Valvoline crew took every chance presented during the race to make adjustments to the No. 43 Ford. Allmendinger continued a steady flow of communication to his crew. As the laps wound down, Allmendinger reappeared in the top 15 and on the final lap of the event he sailed across the start/finish line in the 14th position. The top-15 finish is the driver’s 17th in 34 races this season.

AJ Allmendinger advanced one position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings and stands 20th with two races remaining in the 2010 season. The Series heads to Phoenix International Raceway where Allmendinger collected his first career pole in April this season.

Credit - Richard Petty Motorsports PR

Texas II Race Results

AAA Texas 500 Finishing Order
1. Denny Hamlin
2. Matt Kenseth
3. Mark Martin
4. Joey Logano
5. Greg Biffle
6. Kevin Harvick
7. Clint Bowyer
8. David Ragan
9. Jimmie Johnson
10. Paul Menard
11. Tony Stewart
12. Marcos Ambrose
13. Kasey Kahne
14. AJ Allmendinger
15. David Reutimann
16. Jamie McMurray
17. Trevor Bayne
18. Sam Hornish, Jr.
19. Carl Edwards
20. Ryan Newman
21. Aric Almirola
22. Regan Smith
23. Elliott Sadler
24. Kurt Busch
25. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
26. Casey Mears
27. Scott Speed
28. Juan Pablo Montoya
29. David Gilliland
30. Bobby Labonte
31. Patrick Carpentier
32. Kyle Busch
33. Brad Keselowski
34. Andy Lally
35. Robby Gordon
36. Jeff Burton
37. Jeff Gordon
38. Martin Truex, Jr.
39. Mike Bliss
40. Landon Cassill
41. Travis Kvapil
42. Dave Blaney
43. Joe Nemechek

AJ Fan Support Hits the Airwaves

This homemade sign by a loyal AJ fan who wants Best Buy to continue to support the Dinger got a lot of air time on NASCAR RaceDay at Texas. Great job!

Texas II Qualifying Quotes

ELLIOTT SADLER, No. 19 Stanley Ford Fusion
Qualified 1st
“I don’t know if that is good enough for the pole or not. If they can run faster than that, then they can have it. That was a really good lap for us. I am proud of my guys. It means a lot for them to work as hard as they have been working the last couple weeks to get us in and get us good equipment. I really can’t thank my guys at RPM enough for working as hard as they have the last couple weeks to get us good cars to the race track. I could sit here and say it is me, or this or that, but Todd Parrott is the man. He can do so much as a crew chief. He is good for me from the mental side and we have been qualifying so much better here the last six weeks or so. We have a lot of folks here from Stanley this weekend, so that was a good start. That is a really fast lap for me. I got all I can get out of it.”

***

AJ ALLMENDINGER, No. 43 Valvoline Ford Fusion
Qualified 10th
“The car is better than the driver right now. I am really frustrated with myself. I can’t get the speed out of it that I want. I feel like the car is pretty decent but the driver is just not getting it right now. I am really struggling.”


***

PAUL MENARD, No. 98 Menards Ford Fusion
Qualified 12th
“The car has been driving really good. We picked up a little bit, but not enough. We will be disappointed with that I think. Three and four felt really good but we were late getting back to wide open off of two and that hurt us. We have a fast car and a good driving car though, so I am looking forward to the race.”

ARE YOU ENCOURAGED FOR SUNDAY? “Yeah, the car has been adjustable and we haven’t done any race runs yet, but it has been driving really well.”

***

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 9 Budweiser Ford Fusion
Qualified 13th
“It was good. We picked up a lot of speed from where we were in practice, so that was good. We encountered a few other problems we weren’t anticipating but we fought a few things that slowed us down a little bit. All in all it was a good run for us. I am proud of Kenny and all the guys on this Budweiser team.”

ARE THE PROBLEMS CORRECTABLE BY SUNDAY? “Yeah, absolutely. They are things that are an easy fix really. It should be no problem. Hopefully we can take that, build upon it and we should have a good car for the race.”

Credit - Ford Racing

Texas II Qualifying Results

AAA Texas 500 Starting Lineup
1. Elliott Sadler
2. Greg Biffle
3. Carl Edwards
4. Juan Pablo Montoya
5. David Ragan
6. Kurt Busch
7. Clint Bowyer
8. Regan Smith
9. Mark Martin
10. AJ Allmendinger
11. Tony Stewart
12. Paul Menard
13. Aric Almirola
14. Ryan Newman
15. Jeff Gordon
16. Jeff Burton
17. Jimmie Johnson
18. David Reutimann
19. Matt Kenseth
20. Joey Logano
21. Martin Truex, Jr.
22. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
23. Scott Speed
24. Kasey Kahne
25. Jamie McMurray
26. Kevin Harvick
27. Sam Hornish, Jr.
28. Trevor Bayne
29. Kyle Busch
30. Denny Hamlin
31. Bobby Labonte
32. Marcos Ambrose
33. David Gilliland
34. Joe Nemechek
35. Casey Mears
36. Brad Keselowski
37. Patrick Carpentier
38. Mike Bliss
39. Robby Gordon
40. Andy Lally
41. Travis Kvapil
42. Dave Blaney
43. Landon Cassill
DNQ JJ Yeley
DNQ Scott Riggs
DNQ Michael McDowell
DNQ Jeff Green
DNQ Josh Wise
DNQ Brian Keselowski

Project Save the 43

If you haven't been over to Facebook yet to check out the Project Save the 43 page, do it now. A fellow Dinger fan, Silas Smithies, has made a fun page for everyone to share their AJ pictures, stories about AJ and how they became fans of his, and has even created a Youtube channel to keep Dinger fans up to date on all the news.

I love to see someone who is as enthusiastic as me about doing everything they can to support their driver, and Silas has definitely stepped up. If you are an AJ fan, a 43 fan, or just a NASCAR fan, you will love this page and the videos on it. So show him your support and Like his page, watch his videos, and every now and then let out a big GO DINGERRRRR!!!!!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Project-Save-The-43/172683082742427

The Dinger Song

Texas II Race Preview

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 43 Valvoline Ford Fusion

*AJ Allmendinger has made five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Texas Motor Speedway
*Allmendinger posted his best finish at the track (10th) in the fall event last season
*After 33 races, Allmendinger holds down 21st place in the NSCS driver point standings

AJ Allmendinger on Texas Motor Speedway: “I’m just glad to be out of Talladega, to be honest. That’s a track I really don’t enjoy so I’m really happy to be headed to Texas this weekend. We went through a lot in Texas in the spring and had a couple of different chances to really get frustrated, but my guys did a really good job of making quick repairs a couple of times and it was really their hard work in the pits that helped us squeak a top-15 finish out of that one.

“I think our mile and a half program is pretty good right now. I know that Mike Shiplett and the Valvoline crew have got a really good Ford Fusion for this weekend and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do. We’ve got a couple of more chances to get ourselves in Victory Lane this season and I think we’ve got a pretty good shot at it this weekend.”

Crew Chief Mike Shiplett’s Thoughts on TMS: “Texas is a big downforce track. It has a lot of speed and it doesn’t have a lot of grip so you usually fight a little loose off the corners and not turning in the middle there. We’ll concentrate on those things this weekend and see what we can do.”

Chassis History: The No. 43 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 288 for this weekend’s event at Texas Motor Speedway. This is the same car the team utilized in the most recent race at Dover (Del.) International Raceway where Allmendinger qualified on the front row and finished inside the top 10. This Ford Fusion was also run at Michigan International Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway and Pocono (Penn.) Raceway.

Notes: AJ Allmendinger will spend Thursday evening bowling for charity. Allmendinger will join several of his fellow NASCAR competitors for the AutoTrader.com Sam Hornish, Jr. Celebrity Bowling in Grapevine, Texas. This is the sixth year of the event, which raises money for the Texas Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities.

Valvoline will return to the hood of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford Fusion this weekend in Texas. This is the second consecutive week that Valvoline has served as the primary sponsor for the No. 43 team. 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.

Talladega II Race Recap

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 43 Valvoline Ford Fusion

*AJ Allmendinger began the race at Talladega Superspeedway from the 36th position
*Allmendinger’s race ended a half lap early due to an accident and the team was credited with a 32nd-place finish
*Allmendinger fell one spot in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings and now stands in the 21st place.

Race Summary: AJ Allmendinger started Sunday’s 188-lap event at Talladega Superspeedway from the 36th position. The green flag brought the field roaring to life under sunny skies in front of a crowd eager to see what kind of action would unfold on the high banks of the Alabama track.

The field raced single-file and Allmendinger remained in the second of two packs of cars that sailed around the 2.5-mile superspeedway for the opening laps of the race. At Lap 38, teams began to cycle through scheduled green flag stops including the No. 43 Valvoline team. With the first stop of the day, the Richard Petty Motorsports crew bolted on four fresh Goodyear tires and topped the Ford Racing machine with fuel. As Allmendinger went to leave the pit, however, his racecar stalled, which left the driver needing a push from his crew before the engine re-fired.

Back on track the 28-year-old driver patiently held position among the middle pack of the field as spotter Tony Hirschman kept his eye on when and how the driver should make his next move. At Lap 69, Allmendinger got sideways after contact from another competitor but was able to avoid contact with the inside wall as he spun down on the apron. With the caution flag displayed, the Valvoline crew was able to make necessary repairs to the bumper cover and quarter panel as well as add fresh tires and fuel in two trips down pit road.

Due to the team having to make the stops for repairs, Allmendinger subsequently lost two laps to the leader. However with 36 laps to go in the event, the driver was in position to receive the free pass, which put him back on the lead lap for the closing laps.

Allmendinger had clawed his way into the top 20 with only a few laps remaining and was in the thick of the pack making a move towards the front. But bad luck came calling again for the No. 43 Ford. On the final lap of the race as the field made its way around Turns 3 and 4, Allmendinger was involved in an accident that sent him flipping in the air before making contact with the inside wall. Thankfully the driver was injury-free after the incident. The No. 43 was credited with a 32nd place finish.

Credit - Richard Petty Motorsports

Talladega II Post-Race Quotes

PAUL MENARD - No. 98 Menards Ford Fusion
Finished 13th
"We struggled in the pits. We struggled getting the tire off because of the rebound, so it's something we've got to look at, but I think we ran something like 300 miles on the left side tires. We just kept taking two tires and gaining track position. The car sucked up really well. We struggled on restarts, but once it got wound up it was pretty quick."

BIFFLE PUSHED YOU INTO THE LEAD LATE. DID YOU FEEL YOU WERE IN POSITION TO WIN? "We were working pretty well together. I think we were both hoping it was gonna run out to the end. We were kind of formulating a plan to do that again with a lap or two to go and then a caution came out and kind of ruined that idea. It was just wild at the end. Everybody was pushing the hell out of each other. It was a lot of fun."

WERE YOU SURPRISED THERE WASN'T A HUGE MULTI-CAR WRECK? "Yeah. There were a couple wrecks that I thought would collect more people, but everybody did a good job. I knew with that last restart it was gonna get wild. Everybody kind of kept their heads until it was time to go, so it was good."

***

AJ ALLMENDINGER - No. 43 Valvoline Ford Fusion
Finished 32nd
"I'm alright. It's not the most fun run I've ever had, but it's Talladega. It's one of those things. I hate this place. I always have and always will. I don't know. I'm not really sure. I wish I could give you a description of what happened. I was just in the middle four-wide, I was getting shoved and I got in the right-rear of Michael, but I was on the brakes as hard as I could be getting pushed as hard as I was. It was just one of those things."

HAVE YOU EVER FLIPPED LIKE THAT BEFORE? "No, I've never flipped in anything like that. I guess there's a first for everything, but that's the first I never wanted to have."

HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR RACE BEFORE THAT? "It wasn't very good. I just hate this place. I'm proud of my guys. They fought hard. We went two laps down and we've got something with our shocks with the compression in it. It just doesn't allow us to change the right-front very fast, so we got a lap down and we lost the draft, and then we got bundled up and I got hit once and spin to go two down, so I'm just proud of the guys for fighting so hard. We got back on the lead lap and I thought maybe we had a chance to get something good out of it, so I'm sorry for that. Honestly, like I said, I hate this place but I'm just proud of my guys. They keep fighting in a lot of tough times right now."

Credit - Ford Racing

Talladega Race Results

Amp Energy 500 Finishing Order
1. Clint Bowyer
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Juan Pablo Montoya
4. David Reutimann
5. Joey Logano
6. Martin Truex, Jr.
7. Jimmie Johnson
8. Jeff Gordon
9. Denny Hamlin
10. Brad Keselowski
11. Mark Martin
12. Regan Smith
13. Paul Menard
14. Elliott Sadler
15. Sam Hornish, Jr.
16. Matt Kenseth
17. Carl Edwards
18. Robby Gordon
19. Greg Biffle
20. Aric Almirola
21. David Ragan
22. Chad McCumbee
23. Ryan Newman
24. Casey Mears
25. Kyle Busch
26. Kasey Kahne
27. Joe Nemechek
28. Michael Waltrip
29. Scott Speed
30. Kurt Busch
31. Tony Stewart
32. AJ Allmendinger
33. David Gilliland
34. Marcos Ambrose
35. Michael McDowell
36. Jamie McMurray
37. Robert Richardson
38. Bobby Labonte
39. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
40. Bill Elliott
41. Jeff Burton
42. Dave Blaney
43. Jeff Fuller