Catchfence

Allison Legacy Series driver Justin Allison is scheduled to make his USARacing Pro Cup Series debut in the October 3 Brushy Mountain 250 at Historic North Wilkesboro Speedway. Allison will drive a car owned by Chip Lofton and sponsored by Strutmasters and led by crew chief Blake Bainbridge. He is the grandson of NASCAR legend Donnie Allison.

JUSTIN ALLISON, No. 07 STRUTMASTERS.COM CHEVROLET: HOW BIG OF AN OPPORTUNITY IS THIS FOR YOU?

“I think it’s a real big opportunity for me. I mean it’s getting seat time in a heavier car that’s still got a pretty good bit of horsepower. We’ve run a couple of PASS races and I think this right here will be a better experience if we’re going to try and run Nationwide or something like that.”

YOU RAN THE PASS LATE MODEL RACE AT NORTH WILKESBORO ON LABOR DAY WEEKEND. HOW MUCH DID YOU LEARN?

“In the PASS car I’ve learned a lot with tire management stuff but we were also super-conservative because that racetrack, I mean, it wears tires out but it wear tires out like I thought it was going to. The biggest thing for me was just getting used to the horsepower. I’ll take what I learned in the PASS car and bring it to the Pro Cup Series and work on my tire management and the only thing we’ll have to work on then is just getting used to the heavier car.”

YOU’VE HAD QUITE A BIT OF TRACK TIME SINCE NORTH WILKESBORO REOPENED. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT THE TRACK?

“I’ve learned that the key is to save your stuff there.&n bsp; In everything that I’ve run there, like in the Legacy car, I really ran it too hard and burned my tires up. It’s who can save their stuff the longest but still run the fastest.”

HAVE YOU BEEN COMPETED ON ABRASIVE TRACKS LIKE NORTH WILKESBORO BEFORE?

“We ran at Myrtle Beach and I think that North Wilkesboro, the surface itself is a lot like Myrtle Beach, and we’ve always had success at Myrtle Beach. The only thing is that Myrtle Beach I think has got a little bit more grip.”

WHAT WOULD BE A GOOD WEEKEND FOR YOU?

“I’d like to get out of there with a top-three finish. If we get a win that’s a plus too but realistically a top-three.”

WHAT WILL BE YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE DURING THE WEEKEND?

“I think that the biggest challenge is just getting seat time in that car. I’ve got to get used to driving that car versus the super late model and the Legacy car. The super late model and the Legacy car, you run them about the same. You don’t have to use a lot of brake. In the Pro Cup cars, they say you’ve got to use a pretty good bit of brake. I’ll just have to get in there and figure out what I like.”

IS YOUR MAIN OBJECTIVE DURING THAT FIRST PRACTICE SESSION JUST GO OUT AND RUN A LOT OF LAPS?

“That’s pretty much what we’re going to do. We’re going to go up there and what we’re going to work on is the real long runs. The longer we run the older the tires get and how our car handles then because that’s going to be the key too. I think whoever has the best car there at the end is going to win the race, no doubt.”

HAVE YOU CAN BLAKE DISCUSSED ANY PIT STRATEGY?

“We’re going to wait until we’ ran some practice and see what happens and see how we burn tires up and then we’re going to make our strategy then.”

WHAT IS THE PLAN FOR JUSTIN ALLISON IN 2011?

“Our plan for next year is we’re going to try and run a full season in a super late model and race for points. We still try to run some Pro Cup races next year. That still all depends on money and if there is a car available, too.”

The USAR Pro Cup Series, formerly Hooters Pro Cup, is owned by Interstate Investment Group (IIG) and is based in Concord, N.C. For more information on USARacing, visit www.usarprocup.com.

- Camp & Associates, Inc. Press Release