No. 43 Best Buy Ford Fusion
*AJ Allmendinger started from the seventh position at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
*Allmendinger finished the 400-mile event in 19th place
*Unofficially, Allmendinger sits in ninth place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver points after the third race of the season
Race Summary: AJ Allmendinger lined up for the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the seventh position. An early caution period enabled him to communicate to crew chief Mike Shiplett that the Best Buy Ford was tight in the center of the corners. Shiplett called for a chassis adjustment during the first pit stop of the day, which came on Lap 11.
The change made to the car seemed to helped during the early stages of the next run, but as the laps wore on, Allmendinger began to struggle with the handling of the car. Shiplett made air pressure and track bar adjustments during the first several pit stops. The No. 43 machine was caught speeding entering the pits during a routine stop under yellow at Lap 99 and Allmendinger was sent to the tail end of the longest line for the ensuing restart. Following the penalty, he lined up in 22nd position at Lap 102 of the 267-lap event.
Allmendinger patiently began to work his way back toward the front of the field and by Lap 130 held down 13th place. At the midway point of the race, the No. 43 Best Buy Ford remained inside the top 15, but Allmendinger was still working through handling issues. The Richard Petty Motorsports crew made adjustments to the car during every pit stop and when the checkered flag flew, Allmendinger held down 19th place.
Allmendinger remains solidly inside the top 10 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings, holding down the ninth position.
Next Race Information
Date: March 20, 2011
Track: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway
Laps: 500 Laps/266.5 Miles
TV Information: 1 p.m. ET on FOX
Radio Information: 1 p.m. ET on PRN and Sirius Radio
Credit - Richard Petty Motorsports PR
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