DingerWorld

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Charlotte Race Preview

Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Event: Coca-Cola 600
Race Date / Time: Sunday, May 25th, 6 PM ET
TV / Radio: FOX / PRN Radio / SiriusXM

TEAM QUOTES:

Coca-Cola 600: “I have had decent runs in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (Motor Speedway) and I feel good about the race after the way we ran in the Sprint Showdown and then in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race before we were knocked out running in the top 10,” Allmendinger said. “More importantly, we learned some stuff that we can apply. Hopefully, everything translates over and we unload fairly close and work on our No. 47 BUSH'S® Beans Chevrolet from there.”

Timing and patience: “Our schedule has both practices in the middle of the day and the race is at night,” Allmendinger said. “The guys will be working hard to get our BUSH'S® Beans Chevrolet really close so we can keep up with the track and not be way off. It is such an uphill battle if you go a lap down early in the race. It is a long race where you have to be patient and there are a lot of changing conditions during 600-miles.”

A different car: “We had to bring a different car because our other one was damaged in the All-Star race,” Allmendinger said. “Since we will have a different car, I’m hoping it will still feel the same. It’s our Martinsville (Speedway) and Richmond (International Raceway) car. Obviously, it’s a good car for us.”

Good energy in the shop: “Even though we have a different car for the Coca-Cola 600, Brian Burns (crew chief) and the guys said we will still have a good car for Sunday night,” Allmendinger said. “The car we had in the All-Star was a bullet and it’s a shame are not able to race it. The big positive right now is that everybody is happy and excited and there’s a lot of good energy in the JTG Daugherty Racing shop.”
Ready to run: “Our car that we are taking to Charlotte is one of those that have given us the best results even though it was at short tracks,” crew chief Brian Burns said. “The guys have done so much work on the body to make it an intermediate car. We all feel pretty good about that car. We have all the intermediate track updates on it. We had so much potential last week with the car that got wrecked, but we feel just as good about this car. We all have a little pep in our step with the way we ran last weekend to get this car ready to run just as the same.”
Insight: “Last week gave us some insight on how different the track conditions will be from day to night,” Burns said. “Our car was good in practice when it was hot and sunny and it was just as good at night. We got a good handle on it and know what adjustments to make to keep up with the track conditions.”
Happy with team’s progress: “I’m really pleased,” JTG Daugherty Racing co-owner Brad Daugherty said. “We were really trying to use the opportunity of racing in the Showdown and the All-Star as a test session for us. We ended up running a lot better than I thought we would. AJ did a great job driving our car. The thing I was really pleased about was just the speed we had. We have really kind of struggled a little bit on the high-speed, high-grip tracks and Charlotte Motor Speedway is all of that. I’m excited about the Coca-Cola 600 because we have showed a lot of speed, showed a lot of grip and good platform. Last Saturday night, we were really tooling along. I think this Sunday will be a good opportunity for us that is if we can get through the day, not have attrition and make good changes throughout the night. Man, I think we can have a great weekend.”

NASCAR Sprint All-Star recap: “The All-Star weekend was a great learning experience for us,” Allmendinger said. “The biggest thing that came out of it was learning the direction we need to go. We did a lot of homework and tried some things setup-wise that worked for us. Before, we had been so far off from the moment we unloaded at mile-and-a-half tracks. Now, we at least have a good idea. We had really good speed in our car last weekend.”

CAREER STATS:

Career Starts: 202
Top-fives:     6
Top-10s:      33
Pole Awards: 2
First Start: 3/25/2007 Bristol
First Pole:   4/10/2010 Phoenix
Last Pole: 4/22/2012 Kansas
Best Start:   1 - 4/10/2010 Phoenix
Best Finish: 2 - 4/1/2012 Martinsville
Driver DOB: 12/16/1981
Hometown:   San Jose, Calif.
Crew Chief:   Brian Burns

GET OUT AND GRILL:

An extra-special weekend calls for an extra-special meal. This holiday, skip the burgers and serve up these tasty shrimp skewers. Grilled in a chipotle marinade, they have bold flavor that pairs perfectly with the sweet and smoky taste of BUSH’S® Smokehouse Tradition Grillin' Beans®.

GET THE RECIPE

#47FanOfTheWeek:

AGE IS JUST A NUMBER

Tell us - How long have you been a SCOTT® Brand fan?

Send us a brief description of how long you have been using SCOTT Products. The person submitting our favorite entry will have their photo featured on AJ Allmendinger's #47 Scott Products car for next week's race in Dover, DE.

You can tweet your entries to us at @NASCAR47 or you can post them to the JTG Daugherty Racing Fan Page on Facebook.

Have fun, be creative and good luck!

AJ'S WHEREABOUTS:

Saturday, May 24

AJ interview outside Hall of Fame for FOX Sports 1

Sunday, May 25

Freightliner appearance at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Credit - Info & photos courtesy of JTG Daugherty Racing

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Sprint All-Star Post-Race Report

Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Event: NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race Date / Time: Saturday, May 17th / 9 PM ET
NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race TV / Radio: FOX SPORTS 1 / MRN / SIRIUSXM
Start: 17th
Finish: 20th

TEAM QUOTES:
AJ Allmendinger's top-10 run was derailed in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at

Charlotte Motor Speedway Saturday night when two cars above him made contact and bounced into him sending his No. 47 Freightliner/Miller Welders Chevrolet SS sailing hard into the inside retaining wall. He was not able to finish the event, but was credited with a 20th-place effort. Jamie McMurray won the race .
“All-Star race, that’s what happened out there tonight,” Allmendinger said. “That caution flag the guys behind me got new tires. Greg Biffle had four new tires and made a big run on the outside and kind of stuffed it between Brian Vickers and the wall and bounced Vickers off into me. I was kind of an innocent bystander. It is frustrating, but it’s the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and I would have done the same thing. You've got to go when you have got to go.
“We have to take the positives from Saturday night and we learned a lot,” Allmendinger said. “We made it from the Showdown into the All-Star race. I mean we raced our way in, which is pretty cool. Man, we were fast out there.”
“I just want to thank Freightliner and Miller and all our partners for being on our Chevrolet,” Allmendinger said. “Also, I’m just really proud of my guys and that’s everybody on this No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing team. We don’t have many bullets at the shop, but my guys are going to work hard and come back strong next weekend for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.”
“We will bring another good piece and remind ourselves of all the positive things that happened,” Allmendinger said. “It was fun while it lasted. “I just can’t thank Tad and Jodi (Geschickter) and Brad Daugherty enough for this opportunity.”

CAREER STATS:
Career Starts: 201
Top-fives:     6
Top-10s:      33
Pole Awards: 2
First Start: 3/25/2007 Bristol
First Pole:   4/10/2010 Phoenix
Last Pole: 4/22/2012 Kansas
Best Start:   1 - 4/10/2010 Phoenix
Best Finish: 2 - 4/1/2012 Martinsville
Driver DOB: 12/16/1981
Hometown:   San Jose, Calif.
Crew Chief:   Brian Burns

#47FanOfTheWeek:

We have a fun contest for this week's #47FanOfTheWeek!

SEND US YOUR SELFIE!

Selfie's are all the rage this year and we thought we would get in on the fun, so fire up your cell phones, strike a pose and send us your selfie. Our favorite shot will be selected as the #47FanOfTheWeek and the winner will have their image placed on AJ Allmendinger's car for next weekend's race, the Coca-Cola 600, Memorial Day weekend.

You can tweet your entries to us at @NASCAR47 or you can post them to the JTG Daugherty Racing Fan Page on Facebook.

Have fun, be creative and good luck!

AJ'S WHEREABOUTS:

Friday, May 16

JTG Daugherty Racing sponsor meet and greets.

Freightliner meet and greets.

Saturday, May 17

PRN stage Q&A in front of fans

FOX Sports 1 on stage appearance with Chris Meyers and Michael Waltrip

JTG Daugherty Racing Meet & Greets

Credit - Info & photos courtesy of JTG Daugherty Racing

Sprint Showdown Post-Race Report

Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Event: Sprint Showdown
Sprint Showdown Start: Second
Sprint Showdown Finish: Second
NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race Date / Time: Saturday, May 17th / 9 PM ET
NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race TV / Radio: FOX SPORTS 1 / MRN / SIRIUSXM

TEAM QUOTES:
What a night for AJ Allmendinger, who finished in second-place during the Sprint

Showdown to earn a transfer spot into Saturday night's NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He led 18 of the first 20-laps with his No. 47 Freightliner/Miller Welders Chevrolet SS until eventual winner Clint Bowyer got by him. In addition to Allmendinger and Bowyer transferring, so did Josh Wise by way of the Sprint Fan Vote.

"It was all set off by a good practice this morning and a really good qualifying effort to start up front and lead some laps," AJ Allmendinger said. "I was debating the last five laps before the caution came out whether we should pit or not. Being up front is so important here, but my car started getting really loose kind of late in the run. At that point, I figured we had to at least come in and do two tires. I was hoping to do two and get a good pit stop and maybe restart up front again. I knew that if I restarted up front it was going to be hard too. I knew Clint (Bowyer) was fast, but I also knew we were pulling away from everybody else.
"Overall, I'm just really proud of this race team," Allmendinger said. "Our mile‑and‑a‑half program so far this year, we've really struggled. Last week was our biggest struggle at Kansas Speedway. I want to thank my crew chief Brian Burns, my engineer Tony Palmer and everybody back at the shop for all of the hard work. They came up with some new ideas to at least come here and try. I'm really, really happy that the car is better. We're not really where we want to be yet. We don't have quite enough speed in it, but we're definitely making progress.

"It's more importantly about getting Tad Geschickter and Jodi Geschickter and Brad Daugherty into the All‑Star Race and just race our way in," Allmendinger said. "For all of the sacrifices they make for this team and make us feel like a family throughout our shop, it's just really gratifying to be able to do that for them."
"We'll do the same thing tomorrow and that's just keep taking it step-by-step to try to make it better," Allmendinger said. "And, if we've got a shot to win the million dollars, we're going to go for it."

#47FanOfTheWeek:

Credit - Info & photos courtesy of JTG Daugherty Racing

Thursday, May 15, 2014

All-Star Showdown Race Preview

Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Events: Sprint Showdown / NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
Showdown Date / Time: Friday, May 16th / 7 PM ET
Showdown TV / Radio: FOX SPORTS 1 / MRN / SIRIUSXM
All-Star Date / Time: Saturday, May 17th / 9 PM ET
All-Star TV / Radio: FOX SPORTS 1 / MRN / SIRIUSXM

TEAM QUOTES:

Showdown: “It is always interesting and a fun race and this weekend we are proud to have Freightliner and Miller on board,” Allmendinger said. “We will go out there in practice and I think it will be the same thing we have seen at a lot of these mile-and-a-half tracks. I think our first practice is around noon or so. Our first time out, there will be a ton of grip on the track and we will be flying around that place. The second practice, the track will start to get slick. Charlotte Motor Speedway is known to be one of the most sensitive tracks when it comes to heat and temperature in general. I think the track will slicken up and then qualifying will be really fast. The Showdown is really something because you do those 20 laps and you see where your car is and see where you are on the track and that determines if you want to pit, stay out and take a chance to start up front with no tires. You think you have got a good enough car or you have to make changes to your car to try to run up into the top two. So, it makes it interesting. I hate to say that I’ve been in the Showdown every year, but I have raced my way into the NASCAR Sprint All-Star a couple times and hope to do the same Friday night.”

A win and runner-up: “It is how practice goes and what you feel you have going into the race,” Allmendinger said. “It’s really determined during the first 20-lap segment. I have done it both ways when I have raced my way in. I stayed out the year I won the race in 2008 driving for Red Bull. I was running third and thought my car was pretty good. If I could get it in clean air, I knew I could go and win the thing and that happened. In 2012, I was on the pole and had a flat tire before the green so I followed the pace car down and panic set in right away. You run that first 20 and you say, 'If I get up front, do I have a car to win this thing' and maybe you stay out. If your car is not handling right, you have got to pit. You try not to panic during that race and you try to make the best decisions possible. God willing that day if it’s meant to happen, then you go make it happen. If not, you hope the fans have thought it’s your day and they vote you in.”

Dinger to do the worm for Sprint Fan Vote: “For everybody that missed it, I already stated to Miss Sprint Cup that if I get voted into the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race, I will come out and do the worm on stage for the fans,” Allmendinger said. “And I mean, who doesn’t want to see a driver come out and do the worm across the stage and have a good time? That’s what I’m all about. You’ve got to have fun with it. If we get voted into the NASCAR All-Star race, it makes it worth it because it is from the fans. It’s something special when you get voted in by the fans because that is what runs the sport. I will have some fun with it and I will definitely do the worm across the stage. First, I hope I race my way in, but if not I have got to have the backup plan and hopefully the fans are behind me. If you want to have some fun, we will have some fun on Saturday night. You don’t even have to pay for it, all you have to do is vote and you will see it. Voting is unlimited on NASCAR Mobile and at NASCAR.com/SprintFanVote. If you go to the NASCAR mobile app, those votes count double. So, just double it up all day. While you are sitting there, you could be on the computer or on the phone doubling my votes. Hit my name several times just click, click, click, click. Heck, take the day off from work and just vote for me because I’ll do the worm.”

Continuing to grow: “We are always learning as a small team,” Allmendinger said. “It makes it tough to have a race like we did at Kansas Speedway because the last few weeks we had top 10s and then a top-five at Talladega Superspeedway. We’ve been fast at lot of places. We know in our hearts and I know especially there are going to be weekends where we struggle. We don’t want them, but it’s just part of it. It’s the nature of the sport. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is just so tough right now. The competition level is so deep. We are always learning and we are going to go into the All-Star race weekend with a couple of ideas to try. They may work or they may not and we might really struggle at the All-Star race if we make it in or we may really hit on something. Luckily, with the RCR (Richard Childress Racing) alliance and all the tools we have, we can learn from it. We are going into this weekend with some new ideas to try for the Coca-Cola 600 too.”

Kansas Speedway recap: “It was just one of those weekends,” Allmendinger said. “Track position was key and we struggled with qualifying. The mile-and-a-half tracks are our struggles. Kansas Speedway was a track where you have to have the most downforce and most grip in the race car especially with the way these cars have been lately. We are lacking a little bit there. I need to figure out how to be better at getting around these places. To me, it’s changed a little bit with these new cars compared to the old cars. As a team, last weekend was just a whole learning experience and just a tough weekend all around. Probably at the end of the race, I was trying to get too much out of it and was really racing hard to get back on the lead lap and trying to make something out of the night. I got loose under the No. 27 (Paul Menard) and unfortunately took out everybody that was behind me as I was spinning and I am just thankful Justin and especially David are okay because that was a big hit. I never wanted that to happen.

“We’ve struggled a lot with qualifying at the mile-and-a-half tracks,” Allmendinger continued. “We as a whole group missed it and starting 30th was tough and unfortunately the No. 4 car (Kevin Harvick) was blistering fast. He would lap me in 24 laps and then from there it was an uphill battle. We made little gains on the car, but basically the third pit stop we made a huge stab at it and it didn’t make a huge difference. We made the car a little bit better, but it wasn’t a big gain. So, I knew at that point we were kind of in for a long night and I was trying to do everything I could to make more out of it than we had. I just made a mistake really and got loose. From the second pit stop on, I knew where we were as a race team that night and I knew it probably wasn’t going to happen. Momma said there would be days like that, basically.”

CAREER STATS:

Career Starts: 201
Top-fives:     6
Top-10s:      33
Pole Awards: 2
First Start: 3/25/2007 Bristol
First Pole:   4/10/2010 Phoenix
Last Pole: 4/22/2012 Kansas
Best Start:   1 - 4/10/2010 Phoenix
Best Finish: 2 - 4/1/2012 Martinsville
Driver DOB: 12/16/1981
Hometown:   San Jose, Calif.
Crew Chief:   Brian Burns

VOTE FOR AJ!

The Sprint Fan Vote top-10 was revealed on Monday and JTG Daugherty Racing driver AJ Allmendinger is among the 10 finalists.

Through the Sprint Fan Vote, fans can cast their ballots an unlimited number of times to help determine the starting lineup for the prestigious NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race on Saturday, May 17 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The driver receiving the highest number of votes will earn a starting spot in the annual event worth a $1 million payday.

We are asking for your help to vote AJ Allmendinger and the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing team into the Sprint All-Star race. Please visit NASCAR.com/SprintFanVote and vote for AJ!

#47FanOfTheWeek:

AJ'S WHEREABOUTS:

Friday, May 16

JTG Daugherty Racing sponsor meet and greets.

Freightliner meet and greets.

Credit - Info & photos courtesy of JTG Daugherty Racing

Kansas Post-Race Report

Track: Kansas Speedway
Event: 5-Hour Energy 400 Benefiting Special Operations Warrior Foundation
Date: Saturday, May 10th
Time: 7:30 PM ET
TV / Radio: FOX / MRN / SIRIUSXM
Start: 29th
Finish: 30th

TEAM QUOTES:

Significant damage to the No. 47 Kingsford Chevrolet SS from trying to avoid an accident along with handling issues resulted in a 30th-place finish for AJ Allmendinger and the JTG Daugherty Racing team at Kansas Speedway. Allmendinger is currently 17th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver points standings after 11 races this season, 101 points out of first occupied by Jeff Gordon.

The 5-Hour Energy 400 Benefiting Special Operations Warrior Foundation was won by Jeff Gordon. Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top-five. There were 25 lead changes among 10 drivers and eight caution flags for 47 laps.

“It was a tough night for us and we sustained some significant damage to our No. 47 Kingsford Chevrolet when I

was trying to make sure I didn’t hit the No. 27 car (Paul Menard),” AJ Allmendinger said. “Also, we just missed the setup. The car was on top of the track and it never had any speed. I was trying to get more out of it than what was there. It was just one of those days. We will get back to the shop and take a look at everything and learn from it as we move ahead to Charlotte Motor Speedway.”

“The race Saturday night was hard on us,” crew chief Brian Burns said. “We along with RCR (Richard Childress Racing) still have work to do on the mile-and-a-half tracks. We have got a lot of work to do there and improvements to make. It is unfortunate we had the accident. The damage was too bad to come back from. We just tried to stay out there and salvage what points we could.”

“We really need to improve on our mile-and-a-half program,” JTG Daugherty Racing co-owner Tad Geschickter said. “We just missed it a bit. I think we know what we need to keep doing and not beat ourselves. We will do our homework and work hard with Richard Childress Racing this week to figure out how we can get better at these intermediate tracks. Hopefully, we will come up with a new idea for the next race. We have a couple weeks to work on it.”

FAST FACTS:

Career Starts: 202
Top-fives:     6
Top-10s:      33
Pole Awards: 2
First Start: 3/25/2007 Bristol
First Pole:   4/10/2010 Phoenix
Last Pole: 4/22/2012 Kansas
Best Start:   1 - 4/10/2010 Phoenix
Best Finish: 2 - 4/1/2012 Martinsville
Driver DOB: 12/16/1981
Hometown:   San Jose, Calif.
Crew Chief:   Brian Burns

FIRE UP THE GRILL FOR MOM!

Make her Mother's Day meal special by making it yourself. This Mother’s Day, why not celebrate with a home grilled meal for the special lady in your life?

CLICK HERE for some simple grilling recipes and to learn just some of the reasons why we grill at home for Mom’s Day.

#47FanOfTheWeek:

Share with us what you are grilling for mom this Mother's Day and our favorite entry will be chosen as the #47FanOfTheWeek!

Each week we select a fan entry and place the winning fan's photo on AJ Allmendinger's race car for the following weekend's race.

Throughout the season we have had some great entries and we look forward to seeing what race fans can cook-up this week!

AJ'S WHEREABOUTS:

Friday, May 9

9:15 AM Media availability with AJ at the 47 hauler

Saturday, May 10

JTG Daugherty Racing sponsor meet and greets.

Credit - Info & photos courtesy of JTG Daugherty Racing

Saturday, May 10, 2014

AJ's "NASCAR Live" Interview with Kenny Wallace

AJ's Kansas Press Conference Transcript

TALK ABOUT YOUR RUN LAST WEEK AT TALLADEGA: “I was just happy to roll the car back onto the hauler with all the tires on it still. I have not had good luck there so I tried to do everything that race that I thought was right to put myself in a smart position to at least finish the race. And then hopefully have a good finish at the end. That last restart starting on the bottom I had a lot of help with Paul Menard. His car was really fast. All the RCR cars and the ECR motors were fast. He hooked up with me and a couple of those gaps opened up. It was like the seas parted for us on the restart and got to fifth. I’m not sure if I would have had a shot if the yellow didn’t come out. I had a run coming to the white flag, but Paul (Menard) wasn’t clear at that point, so I didn’t want to move up. But overall to have a top-five finish at Talladega, have the car roll back in the hauler no scratches on it, good day and good momentum.”

YOU AND THIS TEAM HAVE REALLY PROGRESSED THIS SEASON. WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS GOING TO A RACE LIKE THE COCA-COLA 600? WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO YOU TO GET THE NO. 47 TEAM IN THE ALL-STAR RACE NEXT WEEK? “I try to take it one weekend at a time. I’m really proud of this race team right now. It’s good with the way we are running, all the sponsors that we have on our race car, all the big-name sponsors to get them publicity gets them some promotion. The team is always doing a lot of promotion with the sponsors. Just to be able to get that out is really good. Really for me I know we are 15th in points and everybody talks about ‘you are right on the edge of the Chase’. I don’t even worry about it. It’s just one weekend at a time. We are going to have our up’s and down’s. We can come to Kansas this weekend we could dominate, we could struggle. It’s just the way being a small team is just really trying to take it one practice session, one lap at a time. Obviously, it would be awesome to win this weekend, get into the All-Star race go to the Coke 600 and have a good run and keep the momentum going. But the only way we can do that is just keep building as a team.”

WHAT HAS CLICKED HERE THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS? “I think it is just we are starting to put the weekends together. We are maximizing the practice time. We are doing just good things throughout the race, whether it’s pit stops or just making the right calls, and we are having fast race cars. The beginning of the year we had decent cars, but we just never put the weekend together. We would either struggle really bad on Friday or qualify really bad or make an uphill climb on Sunday or have to really make a lot of big changes going into Sunday and not know really what the car was going to do. I feel like the last few weekends Brian Burns (crew chief) and I we are really starting to gel and this whole team.

“We sit down and discuss how to maximize the practice sessions, what do we need to do. We are learning with the new rules package, working with RCR the whole alliance. We are learning our set-up’s about where we need to start to be closer when we start unloading the weekend. It’s just baby steps. That is really what it is. I’m trying to not get too high with where we are right now because there is so much time. I will worry about possible Chase or where we are at in points when we have 20 races in things like that. At the beginning of the year if you said coming into Kansas you are 15th you are right on the edge, you have had three top 10’s, you have been running well I would have said ‘perfect I’m happy with that’. I’m happy with where we are at right now, but not satisfied. I know we have a lot of room to improve and a lot of steps we need to improve on.”

THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF CHATTER ABOUT THE TIRES THIS WEEKEND DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY CONCERNS GOING INTO PRACTICE AND FOR THE RACE THIS WEEKEND? “Same tires for everybody. We didn’t test here so I didn’t feel the other tires. To me it’s good for me it’s all new to everybody now so we are not really at a disadvantage. I mean tires when you bring something completely new that nobody has run everybody is going to have a little bit of a concern with it. It is what it is. You have got to adjust your car to what tires are on the race car. Goodyear is working hard to try to get the best tires possible. To me it’s been fun to a certain extend because you have to set your car up. You have to be easy on your tires. You can’t over abuse your tires at some of these race tracks otherwise you will use them up. We have seen that and I felt like our team has done a good job at adjusting to it. In the end it’s four tires on the race car. You set your car up around them and you go racing.”

WHY SHOULD FANS VOTE FOR AJ ALLMENDINGER THIS WEEK TO GET INTO THE ALL-STAR RACE? “Because they’ve got to be tired of voting for Danica (Patrick) I really feel like. I’m a fun loving guy. I was with Miss Sprint Cup last week, we were talking about it. I said I would do the worm across the stage if I get voted in, bust a move, whatever. We will have a good time with it. I’ve raced my way in a couple of times to the All-Star race. I love the new format now with us racing on Friday. So if you do get your car into the show and your whole team you can enjoy it a little bit more. When you race your way in you have no time to really have fun with your guys. It’s like turn the car around, okay everybody go up on stage, alright, boom, let’s go race. I like the new format of knowing that after Friday night you are in or you are not in. It would be cool. It’s just another chance to go out there and keep learning and keep improving. A fun race and hopefully the fans see when we are in it I have a good time with it.”

HOW MUCH FUN ARE YOU HAVING RIGHT NOW IN SPRINT CUP? “I really enjoy it. I’ve been on a lot of teams. I don’t know if that is a good or bad thing, but right now with this whole No. 47 group it starts with Tad Geschickter and his wife Jodi and Brad Daugherty just the atmosphere that they put around this team. The guys seem to be really enjoying it. I really enjoy this core group. I love being a part of this small team and leading the team and learning how. It’s the first time I’ve really had to learn how to lead a team. Every other team I’ve been on I’ve been the secondary guy and just kind of went along with the program. So right now I just enjoy so much. I put a lot of pressure on myself because Tad and Jodi and Brad have put so much sweat and tears and money into this team. We have got a lot of great sponsors that I have said. This weekend we have Kingsford on the car. They do a cool promotion for grilling out for Mom on Mom’s day so stuff like that. Right now when it comes to just family atmosphere, having fun with the team it’s by far the most fun I’ve ever had. I’ve told Tad many times already I would love for this team to be the last team I drive for. That is how much fun I’m having and just to keep trying to climb that mountain and have that David versus Goliath attitude to where we’ve got to go bet the big teams. I wouldn’t say we are beating them yet, but we are least getting closer. I take a lot of pride in it and I’m really enjoying it.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE RCR ALIGNMENT WITH YOUR TEAM AND HOW THAT ALL WORKS?
“With the RCR alliance it’s been great because Richard (Childress) for our team at least has just opened his doors. I mean giving us all the information we can have. Our cars right now aren’t brand new cars they are cars from late last year. A lot of the No. 29 cars a couple of them that Kevin (Harvick) won with. So they are not brand new cars, but at the same point they are still fast race cars. They have given us just basically open information, engineering, set-up’s, everything that we need to know what makes the cars fast. It’s been great sharing and hopefully we are bringing something back to them. That has been my goal is to not just keep taking but hopefully bring something back to where they are learning and we can make everybody as a whole better. Richard has been just fantastic. I’ve been part of an alliance before and this is the best I’ve ever seen. All credit goes to him and their race shop for allowing us to have that. Hopefully it just keeps continuing.”

Kansas Race Preview

Saturday night lights: “Since they repaved that place, it’s been really fast,” AJ Allmendinger said. “Under the lights at Kansas Speedway, we will probably have cool weather. Anybody that likes speed should go see this race because it will be interesting to watch. You will get to see how the race plays out for the first time at night and whether the track conditions change or not. It’s going to be a fun race for the fans to watch and hopefully a good time for us with our No. 47 Kingsford Chevrolet SS.”

Get Out & Grill: “It’s Mother’s Day weekend and the perfect time to get out and grill with Kingsford Charcoal and show your mom how much she means to you,” Allmendinger said. “Also, check out what the JTG Daugherty Racing team is doing that’s pretty cool for the fans. We’re asking fans to send us pictures of what they are grilling for mom and our favorite entry will be selected as our Fan of the Week. Their pic will be placed on our car for the race next weekend. Be sure to tag @Kingsford on Twitter and include #47FANOFTHEWEEK hashtag.”

Aero comes into play: “They are giving us a new right side tire for Kansas weekend," crew chief Brian Burns said. "Initially, we are going to have to figure out the characteristics of the tire. We have seen some of these races this year that tire wear plays a big part in some of this. I don’t feel like it will play a role with wear this time. We feel like they are probably bringing something pretty durable. This weekend is going to be probably mainly about aero. With that in mind you have to keep that car clean until the end. Minor damage during the race can definitely slow your car down. We’ve got to make that car work on the top and make it as aero and attitude friendly as we can."

Win in the works: “I sure hope so and I hope it is this weekend and we put ourselves in position to get a win at Kansas Speedway for our sponsors,” Allmendinger said. “My guys at the shop, and I mean everyone on the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing team has been working so hard. Our Kansas car is basically the same car we have ran the whole year at every intermediate track. The guys have done a lot of work to update it to get the car ready for Kansas. Basically, it is as close as we can get to what the RCR (Richard Childress Racing) guys are doing with their cars. They have worked hard to make it better. It’s not our best car so far, but every race track is different and it is a new race weekend.”

There’s a chance: “I’m just really proud of all the work the guys are doing and to have all the sponsors we have on the car each weekend,” Allmendinger said. “Tad (Geschickter) and Brad (Daugherty) work their butts off to get these sponsors. They do such a great job with them. I hope that a win is around the corner. Everybody kind of picks out Sonoma Raceway as maybe being the race and we get to go test there, which is a good thing. I just take it one week at a time. It can be this weekend, it could be next weekend as long as we keep doing the things we are doing and progressively getting better each weekend. You know, we will have a shot at it.”

Dega recap: “When I rolled into Talladega Superspeedway, I expected anything and everything to happen,” Allmendinger said. “Two wrecks happened around us and it’s one of those things where you say, ‘Alright, we got through that one, let’s plan for the next one.’ You get lucky being at the right place at the right time. On that last restart, we were 13th and I got a lot of help by being shoved toward the front by Paul Menard. Paul’s car was just so fast. He got us up there. He got me by a lot of guys on the white (flag). He was on my bumper pushing me and we had a run. It caught me off guard because I got up to the No. 55 car (Brian Vickers) so quick and Paul wasn’t clear. As we were coming to the 55, I saw he wasn’t clear. I was hoping he could, but he hadn’t cleared that group so I stayed in line. So, it kind of killed the momentum. Any time you come out with a top-five finish at Talladega, that is a good day. Heck, I was just happy to roll the car back up on the hauler with all four tires rolling. A top-five finish is a bonus. We came back without a scratch on it. Although, when we got the car back at the shop, we found a piece of a rotor or a brake pad or something that came through the front of the car through the grill screen and through the metal behind it and was right in front of the radiator and never got to it. Except for that mark, everything was clean on the race car. That was luck. I will always take luck over skill at Talladega.”

Big things: “Being a smaller team like ours, we are definitely overachieving right now,” Burns said. “A lot of us over here at JTG Daugherty Racing are starting to think we can do something pretty big this year.”

One top-five, three top-10s this season: “We actually feel like we let a few top-10s slip away earlier in the season,” Burns said. “We are just trying to show we are capable. We really want to show off this year and get people to buy into it too.”

Races circled: “AJ’s really a good road-course racer so we are going to put a lot of focus into Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International,” Burns said. “Some of these races we’ve been coming up to he says, ‘Man, I’m not really good here. I don’t have a great record here and I’ve struggled.” Those are some of the best finishes we have had this year. He doesn’t even realize how good he is and how much he has improved and what he is capable of. I think a lot of the short tracks he’s really strong at like Richmond International Raceway and Martinsville Speedway where we ran good. When we went to places like that - short tracks - he has excelled and we’ve definitely got road courses circled. At superspeedways it’s anyone’s race.”

Last weekend: “It’s got to be a good weekend when you leave Talladega Superspeedway with the same race car you showed up with in pretty good shape,” Burns said. “Not only that, we left with a top-five finish.”

FAST FACTS:

AJ Allmendinger has one pole and two top-10 finishes and has led 44 laps in eight visits to Kansas Speedway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. His best finish is ninth-place (9/28/08). His average start is 18.625 and his average finish is 21.875.
Career Starts: 201
Top-fives:     6
Top-10s:      33
Pole Awards: 2
First Start: 3/25/2007 Bristol
First Pole:   4/10/2010 Phoenix
Last Pole: 4/22/2012 Kansas
Best Start:   1 - 4/10/2010 Phoenix
Best Finish: 2 - 4/1/2012 Martinsville
Driver DOB: 12/16/1981
Hometown:   San Jose, Calif.
Crew Chief:   Brian Burns

FIRE UP THE GRILL FOR MOM!

#47FanOfTheWeek:

AJ'S WHEREABOUTS:

Saturday, May 10

JTG Daugherty Racing sponsor meet and greets.

Credit - Info & photos courtesy of JTG Daugherty Racing

Monday, May 5, 2014

Talladega Post-Race Report

Track: Talladega Superspeedway
Event: Aaron's 499
Date: Sunday, May 4
Start: Third
Finish: Fifth

TEAM QUOTES:

Proud is the word AJ Allmendinger used repeatedly after his fifth-place finish in JTG

Daugherty Racing’s No. 47 BUSH’S® Beans Chevrolet SS at Talladega Superspeedway. Now, Allmendinger has one top-five and three top-10 finishes in 10 starts this season. Allmendinger jumped two positions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver points standings and is now 15th, 68 points out of first place held by Jeff Gordon. He is only 18 points out of 10th place.

Denny Hamlin was the race winner, Greg Biffle finished second, Clint Bowyer was third, Brian Vickers was fourth and Allmendinger rounded out the top-five. There were 48 lead changes among 23 drivers and eight caution flags for 31 laps in the 188-lap event.
“First off, I have to thank everybody at the No. 47 shop for doing such hard work and preparing this car so well and also thank RCR (Richard Childress Racing) and ECR Engines because there was just so much speed in that race car,” Allmendinger said. “The previous restart the outside lane had such a run and I kept inching, inching, inching and I just waited too late and got shuffled. I really thought I messed us up there on that last restart. I have got to thank Paul Menard. He just kept shoving me all the way up through the inside line of guys. I’m just proud of every one on this team. We are slowly getting there, each step, day-by-day. I am just proud to be on this team right now.”

“The previous restart the outside lane had such a run and I kept moving and they’d stall out and shuffle me back,” Allmendinger said. “I thought I messed up there like I said. The last restart, man Paul (Menard) was on my bumper and pushing me the whole time. Overall, I am so proud of everybody on the No. 47 team and BUSH’S Beans, Clorox, Kingsford, Charter, SCOTT Products, House-Autry, Shore Lunch and all the great sponsors on this team that help us get here. I’m just proud to be a part of this race team right now. We are slowly getting there. Each week is a step forward.”

“Heck, I just wanted to finish this race because I haven’t finished much here,” Allmendinger. “I was close to two of the wrecks. I was coming to the checkered flag thinking, ‘Please, let’s just roll this thing back up on the hauler with all four tires rolling.’ It’s just a testament to this team. They work hard and all the credit goes to my guys. We only have about 35 employees and they keep busting their butts. Tad Geschickter his wife Jodi and Brad Daugherty have such a great ownership and it’s a lot of fun. They make me feel like family. This whole team is like family. This is probably the best team I have driven for when it comes to the unity of the team making me feel important.”

“The package we have now drafts so well,” Allmendinger said. “I kept waiting for everyone to calm down and get in a single file line. I went to the back at one point thinking everybody was going to calm down and it never happened. With about 50 laps to go, I was like, ‘Alright, I guess it’s time to get crazy with everybody.’ I hope the fans enjoyed it. It was awesome to see all the fans come out and pack the grandstands here at Talladega Superspeedway. It’s like old Talladega. Thanks to the fans for coming out and I hope it was a great show.”

“We’re slowly getting there,” Allmendinger said. “Everybody wants to keep jumping because we are close enough to the Chase that people keep talking about it. I don’t worry about the Chase. If we are good enough by the point of race 20 I’ll start worrying about it. Right now, it’s a week to week thing. We only have four or five primary race cars right now. The guys keep doing a good job and I’m doing everything I can to make sure I bring them home in one piece each weekend. We’re slowly getting there. We’re going to have our ups and downs. We could go to Kansas Speedway this weekend and possibly struggle or go to Kansas and dominate the race. That’s the questions we have each week. There’s light at the end of the tunnel and we’re getting closer.”

“I’m really proud of everybody and the effort today to leave Talladega with a top-five finish,” crew chief Brian Burns said. “It is one of those races that’s kind of like a crap shoot. To just get out of here with a top-20 finish, most people were pretty happy with that. As smart as AJ was today, he made some really smart decisions and kept the car clean all day long. He was able to pull off a fifth-place finish, which is our personal best for the year. We all know we can get better from here on out.”

FAST FACTS:
Career Starts: 201
Top-fives:     6
Top-10s:      33
Pole Awards: 2
First Start: 3/25/2007 Bristol
First Pole:   4/10/2010 Phoenix
Last Pole: 4/22/2012 Kansas
Best Start:   1 - 4/10/2010 Phoenix
Best Finish: 2 - 4/1/2012 Martinsville
Driver DOB: 12/16/1981
Hometown:   San Jose, Calif.
Crew Chief:   Brian Burns

BUSH'S BEANS AT YOUR COOKOUT:

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CLICK HERE to watch the video and discover other great recipes from BUSH’S Beans.

20K GIVEAWAY:

We are very close to reaching our goal of 20,000 Twitter followers! Join the team and stay up to date with the latest news from JTG Daugherty Racing by clicking here: NASCAR47

AJ'S WHEREABOUTS:

Sunday, May 4

JTG Daugherty Racing sponsor meet and greets.

Credit - Info & photos courtesy of JTG Daugherty Racing

Talladega Qualifying Quotes

Track: Talladega Superspeedway
Event: Aaron's 499
Date: Sunday, May 4
Starts: Third

QUOTES ON QUALIFYING THIRD:

AJ Allmendinger posted JTG Daugherty Racing's best starting position of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season by starting third at Talladega Superspeedway in the No. 47 BUSH'S® Beans Chevrolet in the Aaron's 499 on Sunday.
“It was a great plan by everybody at RCR (Richard Childress Racing) by getting all the RCR alliance cars working together in qualifying,” Allmendinger said. “We worked on that yesterday. Our car drove really well and the ECR Engines are such great motors and have so much horsepower here. It was just a good plan that came together and you have to get a little bit lucky too. Brian (Scott) was a guinea pig for us and in the end it worked out great for him because he is on the pole. It was good for us to push our No. 47 BUSH’S Beans Chevrolet up front. Starting position is not that important here, but with all the RCR alliance cars up front it is a good thing.”

“With more cars in line, it’s going to be faster,” Allmendinger said. “With RCR and the ECR package we are all even. It made sense to get us all lined up and in a pack. With Ryan (Newman) being the most experienced, it was up to him when to go and when not to go. Especially the last two runs there - - the last two groups. He did a great job. He timed it out to get behind that first big pack and that second group and then it was just a waiting game. JTG Daugherty Racing feels very fortunate to have this technical alliance and Richard Childress has been so helpful in this alliance that he has opened the doors to his shop and given us a great opportunity to have good race cars every weekend so we can go out there and keep trying to build this one car team to make it better as a whole. If we can be better, hopefully we can bring something back to the RCR team. It’s been working out. When they said we are working together at Talladega, I had no questions about.”

“It’s been amazing for the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing team,” Allmendinger said. “With the new rules package - the ride height rules and everything going into this season - there were so many variables for us to try to figure out. To have all the engineering help and the notes that RCR brings is a huge help to our race team. Without it, I feel like we could easily be lost in trying to figure out where we are at."

"Even though qualifying doesn’t really matter at Talladega, it mattered to get BUSH’S Beans and all our sponsors on this race car up front to get the exposure," Allmendinger said. "That is a big deal for us. I couldn’t be any happier today and where we are at this season.”

“I think for me I haven’t had the best results here at Talladega,” Allmendinger said. “If we can fall in line - - having six or seven alliance cars starting up front. I will be just as happy to do that and run there for a while. The easiest way to miss a wreck is be up front. It’s great if we can go out there and lead because that would be fantastic, but if not we can fall in line and start pacing the race, I’m happy with that.”

Credit - Info & photos courtesy of JTG Daugherty Racing