Loudon II Race Preview

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 43 Best Buy Ford Fusion

• Allmendinger has made eight starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H.
• Allmendinger enters the race in 14th 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 has a lot of racing grooves and it’s a flat one-mile track. I’ve always just enjoyed going there because it’s one of our better race tracks and I typically have good runs there. Chicago was a tough weekend for us so I’m looking forward to going to Loudon and putting last weekend behind us.

“We’ve got to have a Best Buy car that is good on the brakes, turns well in the center and has good forward drive off. That’s what we’re going to have to work on during practice. The track gets slick, so the best race car is going to be the one that gets off of the corners well. I’m looking forward to the next couple of weeks. We run really well at Loudon and Dover, Del., so I know we’re going to be really competitive the next two races.

“I think I’m really gelling well with Greg (Erwin). Working with him has been great. He’s a calming influence on the radio during the race and really helps me to stay focused on the task at hand. I’m excited to see what the last nine races of the season have in store for us, especially this weekend in Loudon.”

Crew Chief Greg Erwin’s Thoughts on New Hampshire: “I enjoy going to Loudon and I’ve won there before so I feel pretty confident about knowing good setups for the one-mile track. AJ is good at New Hampshire and he really likes racing there so I think we are in good shape heading into this weekend. If all goes well this might be the weekend for our first “W” with AJ and the whole Best Buy team.”

Chassis History: The No. 43 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 729 for this weekend’s event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. This Best Buy Ford has been run previously this season at Phoenix, Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Darlington (S.C.) Raceway and both Pocono (Pa.) Raceway events.

Notes: Allmendinger has eight 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 2,202 of 2,359 laps attempted.

Allmendinger enters the weekend in 14th spot in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings. He has finished no worse than 12th place in the last three events at Loudon.

Air Force Major General Michael R. Boera will be a guest at Allmendinger’s pit box this weekend. General Boera is the Director of Requirements, Headquarters Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. He is responsible for all functions relating to the acquisition of weapons systems for combat air forces, to include new systems and modifications to existing systems. General Boera is a command pilot with more than 5,600 flying hours and has flown more than 200 combat missions. Besides Operation Enduring Freedom, he has deployed in support of Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Provide Comfort, Northern Watch, Southern Watch, Deliberate Forge, Allied Force and Unified Assistance.

Credit - Richard Petty Motorsports PR