Phoenix II Race Preview

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 43 WIX Filters Ford Fusion

• Allmendinger has made six starts at Phoenix International Raceway
• Allmendinger enters this race in 16th place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings
• Allmendinger won his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole at Phoenix in last year’s spring race

Allmendinger on Testing at Phoenix in October After Track Reconfiguration: “I really like racing in Phoenix, I always enjoying going to the West Coast because I’m close to home. When we tested there the track started off really slick and as more cars ran, it began to rubber up. It felt like maybe there was a groove and a quarter or a groove and a half that built up by the end of the test. I think the layout of the race track seems fun. There’s a lot more room and a lot more grip off of Turn 2. I think they did a good job on the race track. We ran a lot of laps and I felt like we learned some things when we tested back in October. I feel like the crew and I have some momentum going into this weekend after our Top-10 finish in Texas last weekend. I know Greg and my whole WIX Filters crew really want to get a win this season and I think we will have a
good shot at it this weekend. I love racing at Phoenix and I’ve been fast there in the past, so I’m looking for good things this weekend.”

Crew Chief Greg Erwin On Going to Phoenix: “Going into the test in Phoenix we had some ideas and some thoughts based on some information and data that we had, but until we really got on the race track and made laps, we weren’t really sure what to look for. The No. 43 unloaded off the truck and ran really fast without having to make a lot of adjustments. We worked through a bunch of different combinations and we were pretty happy at the conclusion of the test. Our goal is to get a “W” before the season is over and hopefully this is our weekend and we will see the WIX Filters Ford in Victory Lane on Sunday.”

Chassis History: The No. 43 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 736 for this weekend’s event at Phoenix International Raceway. This WIX Filters Ford has been run previously this season at Richmond, Kansas and Loudon. It was also tested at Phoenix International Raceway on Oct. 4-5.

Notes: Allmendinger has six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Phoenix International Raceway and his first Sprint Cup Series pole came in last year’s spring race at the 1.0-mile oval. His best finish (ninth) came in this year’s spring race. Allmendinger has completed 1,936 of 1,939 laps attempted at the track and has an average finish of 17.4.

Allmendinger will have a different look this weekend as WIX Filters will be the primary partner of the No. 43 Ford Fusion.

The 11th of 12 Best Buy “Re-Tailgate” events will occur Sunday. A combination of 100 premiere Best Buy customers and Best Buy employees will be invited to a private tailgating event. The guests will get the opportunity to meet Allmendinger and attendees will be given a pit tour before enjoying the race at Phoenix International Raceway from their grandstand seats.

Credit - Richard Petty Motorsports PR