Kentucky Race Preview

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 43 Valvoline Ford Fusion
• AJ Allmendinger will be making his 134th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start this weekend in Kentucky
• Allmendinger enters the race in 15th place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings
• Allmendinger will make his first career start at Kentucky Speedway this weekend

AJ Allmendinger on Kentucky Speedway: “Kentucky is going to be a fun race for me. I’ve never raced there before in any series, I’ve only tested there back in 2008, so this weekend is going to be a new experience for me all together. I feel like Mike and my whole Valvoline team have really made some strides in our 1.5-mile track program and I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of a Valvoline Ford we’ve got this weekend.

“It’s a Saturday night race and I really enjoy night racing. It’s cool to see the fans getting so excited about Cup racing coming to Kentucky. I can’t wait to show them what it’s all about.”

Crew Chief Mike Shiplett on Kentucky: “Kentucky is a 1.5-mile track, it’s got wide sweeping corners that have some bumps to them. It’s going to be a challenge for everyone, and NASCAR has given us a test date on Thursday, so we’ll have about six hours to try and figure out the track before we officially start competition on Friday. I’m looking forward to the challenge with the Valvoline Ford Fusion.

“We didn’t have the best luck at intermediate tracks earlier in the season, but we’ve recently figured out a few things at the 1.5-mile tracks and were looking forward to putting them to good use at Kentucky this weekend.”

Chassis History: The No. 43 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 742 for this weekend’s event at Kentucky Speedway. This Valvoline Ford Fusion has been run previously this year at California.

About the Track: This Saturday will mark the first time a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event has been held at Kentucky Speedway. Located in Sparta, Ky., the 1.5-mile oval is 57-feet wide, with 14-degree banking in the turns. It has a 12-foot apron and a 1,600-foot backstretch.

Notes: Allmendinger will make his first career start at Kentucky Speedway Saturday night. After his 10th place finish at Daytona last weekend, Allmendinger enters the 18th race of the season in the 15th position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings.

Allmendinger will have a different look this weekend as Valvoline will make its second appearance of the year as the primary partner of the No. 43 Ford Fusion.

The third of 12 Best Buy “Re-Tailgate” events will occur this Saturday. A combination of 100 premiere Best Buy customers and Best Buy employees will be invited to a private shopping/tailgating event. Following the event the guests will be bused to the track and get the opportunity to meet Allmendinger. After the meet and great attendees will be given a pit tour and then be able to enjoy the race from their grandstand seats.

Credit - Richard Petty Motorspots PR