Bristol II Race Preview

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 43 Best Buy Ford Fusion
• Allmendinger has made eight starts at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway
• Allmendinger enters Bristol in 15th place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings
• Allmendinger’s best start (eighth) at the .533-mile oval came in the fall race in 2008

Allmendinger on Bristol Motor Speedway: “I love racing under the lights. Bristol is one of the coolest races of the year. The fans are just awesome and the atmosphere is crazy at night. A first win for our Best Buy Racing team coming in Bristol would be incredible. We need a win to keep our Chase hopes alive and I’m going to do my best to try and make that happen this weekend.

“Bristol is a tough track and it hasn’t been all that good to me the past few years. It’s not my favorite place to race because there are so many things that can happen that are completely out of our control. It’s like that every week, but it’s magnified at Bristol. If I can stay out of trouble in the pits and on the track, I know the 43 team will do its best to give me a car capable of winning.”

Crew Chief Greg Erwin’s Thoughts on Racing at Bristol: “Bristol is a typical short-track. Though it is banked, it’s still really hard to get the car to roll though the center of the corner well and still be able to drive up off the corner. We need to be able to get the car’s nose underneath somebody and not lose the back tires leaving the corner. We’ll spend at least two hours of our day Friday working on those issues.

“I’m excited we’re going to get to practice and race on the same tire this time. When we were at Bristol back in March, we qualified and practiced on one compound and we raced on a different tire compound, so all the teams were a little off setup wise, to say the least. We didn't really know how the car was going to drive in the spring race, but this race should be different having just one tire.

“By AJ’s own admission, Bristol isn’t one of his best tracks, but he has been in the shop this week watching film of past races to try and see how he can improve, so that’s a positive for the No. 43 Best Buy team. The night race is very exciting and Saturday turns into a long day for our guys since we are racing late into the night. It will be important to keep the crew guys focused and rested because pit stops will be key. You can make or break your night on pit road. It’s going to be a real test for the Best Buy pit crew to see if we can keep AJ out front with good pit stops.”

Chassis History: The No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports team has prepared chassis No. 710 for this weekend’s event at Bristol Motor Speedway. This Best Buy Ford has been run previously this season at Bristol in March and Dover and Michigan in June.

Notes: Allmendinger has eight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Bristol Motor Speedway and has completed 3,740 of 4,007 laps at the .533-mile concrete oval. Allmendinger enters Bristol in 15th place in the Sprint Cup Series driver point standings.

Fun Fact: Bristol Motor Speedway is known for its unique driver introductions. Each driver will be introduced to the crowd with a song of his choice playing in the background. Allmendinger has chosen the song “Down with the Sickness” by Disturbed for his introduction.

Don’t miss your chance to meet “The King!” Richard Petty will be visiting the Ford display for a Q-and-A session on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Credit - Richard Petty Motorsports PR