Loudon Race Preview

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 43 Best Buy Ford Fusion
• Allmendinger has made seven starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H.
• Allmendinger enters the race in 18th place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings
• Allmendinger’s best finish (10th) came in last year’s spring race at New Hampshire

Allmendinger on New Hampshire Motor Speedway: “Loudon is fun, I really like racing there. It’s kind of different from the typical race tracks that we go to because it has a lot of racing grooves and it’s a flat one-mile track. I’ve always just enjoyed going there. Mike (Shiplett) has always had a really good setup at New Hampshire, which makes it fun for me to race. Because of the way the oval is configured there are a lot of different ways to get around the track by running in the different racing grooves. We’ve been fast at New Hampshire the last two years and I feel like it’s a good race to get us back on track after a disappointing weekend in Kentucky. I’m looking forward to getting our Best Buy Ford Fusion a good finish this weekend.”

Crew Chief Mike Shiplett’s Keys to Getting Around New Hampshire: “We need to have a Best Buy Ford Fusion that turns well in the middle, but has very good forward drive off of the corners. Loudon has long straightaways and really tight turns; it’s like a supersized Martinsville. Brakes are very important. We don’t want to overuse the brakes, we’ve got to make sure we try and save them. It’s a short race in terms of miles, but it is a very hard race on the car and equipment.”

Shiplett on Pitting at Loudon: “Pit road is very challenging. You can lose a lot of time on pit road or gain a lot of time on pit road depending on how your entry is from the race track. Pit strategy is going to be very important. We usually get a quick caution early on in the race and everyone gets two tires, then we have a couple of green flag runs, so having good pit strategy at the end is key. Often the race comes down to fuel mileage or there will be a bunch of late race cautions and we’ll have to decide if we are going to pit or not, and if we pit, are we going to take two tires or four? It will all depend on how the car is handling and where we are as far as track position goes.”

Chassis History: The No. 43 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 736 for this weekend’s event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. This Best Buy Ford has been run previously this season at Las Vegas, Richmond and Kansas.

Notes: Allmendinger has seven NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Allmendinger’s best starting position (sixth) came in last year’s fall race at the one-mile track. He has completed 1,901 of 2,058 laps attempted. Allmendinger enters the weekend in 18th spot in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings and will make his 135th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at Loudon.

Allmendinger’s car will have a different look this weekend as Best Buy will return as the primary partner of the No. 43 Ford Fusion.

Allmendinger and “The King” will be attending the 18th Annual Best Buy Charity Classic in Minneapolis, Minn., Wednesday for a golf tournament and gala to benefit The Best Buy Children’s Foundation. The foundation was founded in 1994 and today the Best Buy Children’s Foundation works with nonprofit organizations to support programs that create opportunities for teens. Their goal is to provide positive experiences that will help them excel in school, engage in their communities and develop leadership skills.

Credit - Richard Petty Motorsports PR