28 October 2010 (Charlotte, NC)– It has been a dynamic few weeks for driver AJ Allmendinger and his Richard Petty Motorsports team, but the young charger is ready to get the distractions out of his head and into the rear view mirror this weekend as he takes on the Amp Energy Juice 500 in the No. 43 Valvoline Ford Fusion.
AJ Allmendinger - Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR
While he has two strong runs in the Daytona 500 to his credit, Allmendinger has traditionally closed the season out on a strong note, and 2010 has proven no different as he’s qualified the No. 43 Ford in the single digits six times since Pocono including a front row start at Dover, where he went on to lead 143 laps before a cut tire ended his run for a debut victory.
And it hasn’t just been Friday where he and Richard Petty Motorsports Crew Chief Mike Shiplett have been hitting a good stride, as evidenced by five top-12 race finishes in the past seven races to move Allmendinger up to 20th, one spot behind Earnhardt Jr. in the points.
While much has been made of the off-track developments, Allmendinger has only one goal ahead of the Talladega event which for the second year running falls on Halloween weekend.
“With everything that has gone on recently, I’m eager to get back into the car and focus on doing my job,” said Allmendinger, who took 4th on the grid on NASCAR’s longest track in 2008. “We’ve been moving some people into different places within the organization, and it’s shown on the track. We just want to be as strong as we can be right from the start of next year and the final few races are a good way for all of us to get moving in the same direction together.”
While the turmoil might unsettle other racers, Allmendinger has a clear focus on what he has to do to be successful.
“I know that there are certain things I can control, and things that I can’t,” said Allmendinger, who knows a bit about dynamic off-track developments after he famously lost one open-wheel job, got engaged, got another job, and then took the first of a string of victories all in one week before joining the NASCAR Sprint Cup ranks in 2007.
“I just have to focus on doing as well as I can with the things that I can control. When things were the most turbulent in my open wheel career, I had some of the most success. It’s not the way I want things to be of course, but for me I know that I’ve been able to lock out distractions before, and that is no different right now. I just want to do a good job for my guys, for Valvoline, for Best Buy, and for everyone who is behind us right now. Talladega can of course be a bit of a lottery, but we should be strong on Sunday.”
Qualifying for Sunday’s Amp Energy 500 will take place on Saturday (12:00 PM ET/SPEED), with Sunday’s race carried by ESPN (1:00 PM ET).
About Walldinger Racing, Inc.: Walldinger Racing was formed in 2006 to support AJ Allmendinger’s motorsports career by developing commercial opportunities and partnership programs.
- Walldinger Racing, Inc., Press Release
