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