Martinsville II Race Preview

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 43 AdvoCare Ford Fusion

• AJ Allmendinger has made eight starts at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway
• Allmendinger enters the weekend in 16th place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings
• Allmendinger’s best finish (ninth) at the half-mile track came in the 2009 spring race

Allmendinger on Racing at Martinsville Speedway: “I enjoy short-track racing at Martinsville. I always look forward to going there and I’ve run pretty good the past couple of times we’ve raced at Martinsville. It’s racing where you have to get a rhythm going. I’ll have to really concentrate on saving my brakes because it’s a track that really wears them out quick. Brakes are really key at Martinsville and I want to make sure I still have them at the end of the race. I’m looking forward to a great weekend with my team and a good finish in my AdvoCare Ford.”

Crew Chief Greg Erwin’s Thoughts on Martinsville Speedway: “We are taking the same car this weekend that the team raced at Martinsville earlier this year. This will be my first race with AJ at Martinsville, but I suspect he is good there like he is on most short tracks because of his ability to brake hard and get the car turned down in the center and keep the weight on the front tires like he does on road courses. Most of the good road course drivers are also good short-track racers. We are looking forward to going to Martinsville and recovering some of the points we lost at Talladega last weekend. The fall race at Martinsville is a terrific time of year to go to the track and it’s great racing to watch. The AdvoCare team is looking for good things this weekend and a “W” would be great to pull off in one of these last four races of the season.”

Erwin on the Famous Martinsville Hot Dog: “I love the Martinsville hot dogs. There was a time in my younger days I would eat eight or nine hotdogs a day, but now I can only handle about three or four a day. That is one of the unique things about Martinsville Speedway, nobody makes hot dogs like they do!”

Chassis History: The No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports team has prepared chassis No. 729 for this weekend’s event at Martinsville Speedway. This AdvoCare Ford Fusion was run previously this season at Phoenix Raceway, Martinsville, Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and in New Hampshire.

Notes: Allmendinger has eight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Martinsville Speedway and has four top-15 finishes at the .526-mile track. Allmendinger enters Martinsville Speedway in 16th place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings. He has completed 3,546 of 4,019 laps attempted at the track and has led six of them.

Don’t miss out on your chance to meet The Dinger. AJ will be signing autographs at the Richard Petty Motorsports merchandise hauler Sunday, Oct. 30 at 10 a.m. The first 75 guests in line at the merchandise hauler when it opens will receive a ticket that will allow them to take part in the autograph session.

Richard Petty will be participating in the 23rd annual NASCAR Day Festival in Randleman, N.C. on Saturday. “The King” will be signing autographs for fans from 5-7 p.m. in the parking lot of the Security Savings Bank at the corner of Main and Naomi streets.

AJ will participate in the fifth of five NASCAR-controlled electronic fuel injection tests Monday at Martinsville Speedway. After using carburetors since its first race in 1949, NASCAR will race with electronic fuel injection for the first time next year.

Credit - Richard Petty Motorsports PR