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