AJ ALLMENDINGER
NO. 47 KROGER® / SCOTT® PRODUCTS CHEVROLET SS
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY PREVIEW
Race: AAA Texas 500
Date/Time: Sunday, November 8 / 2 PM ET
TV/Radio: NBC / PRN / SIRIUSXM
TEAM QUOTES:
Texas Motor Speedway: “There’s not really a track you can compare Texas Motor Speedway too,” Allmendinger said. “Over the last couple of years, Texas Motor Speedway has gotten a lot of character in it, which means it’s bumpy and slick. So, it is hard to compare it to any other racetrack right now.”
Characteristics: “Texas is kind of its own mile-and-a-half,” Allmendinger said. “It’s shaped liked Vegas (Las Vegas Motor Speedway) I feel like, but it’s definitely slicker and bumpier now. I’ll look at the last couple of races and see what we’ve learned setup-wise from that. We want to get our cars better where we can continue to unload good like we did at Martinsville Speedway last weekend. You never want to make a top 20 the ultimate goal, but when we get there hopefully we will have top 20 speed right away and build off of that.”
Intermediate track program: “I think over the last few weeks, we’ve gotten better at those places – intermediate tracks – for sure,” Allmendinger said. “Texas Motor Speedway is a place where we have struggled at in the last couple of races there. We are doing a lot to make our race cars better at the shop with the help that Todd (Parrott) has brought. It’s a place that I have a different outlook about now for sure especially with the speed we had at Charlotte (Motor Speedway) and Kansas (Speedway). We definitely need more, but competitive-wise, it’s a lot closer than we have been.”
Stacking up: “We look forward to getting to Texas Motor Speedway because we want to see where we stack up and what kind of speed we will have right away,” Allmendinger said. “Once we know where we stand, we will just build on it. The mile-and-a-half tracks have been tough on us in the past, but we’re trying to get the car as good as we can and keep heading in the right direction.”
Burning the midnight oil: “Everyone has totally burned the midnight oil the last month and a half to try to work on our aerodynamics on our mile-and-a-half program,” JTG Daugherty Racing team owner Tad Geschickter said. “Charlotte (Motor Speedway) was a huge improvement. We feel like our Texas car is better still. So, we are really trying to gain some momentum going into next year and learn a lot so we can hit the ground running.”
Positive outlook: “We felt like we made gains at Charlotte Motor Speedway and that has us feeling good going into Texas,” crew chief Brian Burns said. “Those types of tracks have been our Achilles heel. We have a different, more positive outlook going into Texas this time around. We have struggled there in the past, but we feel like what we learned at Charlotte that made us better there will make us better at Texas.”
Learning from Martinsville: “Overall, it was a solid weekend from unloading, qualifying third and leading laps late in the race,” Allmendinger said. “It was consistent and I think that’s kind of what we’ve lacked in the past. The last how many months it’s kind of been where we’ve struggled and we would go in one direction and then another direction. At Martinsville, I felt like we kept the box really small and had good speed right away. We can definitely learn from that race and build on it for next year.”
Confidence boost: “This whole season is about momentum,” Burns said. “Last year, we won Watkins Glen (International) and we just started running better and having better finishes. Our weekend at Martinsville is definitely a confidence booster going into this weekend. There is some psychology to it that affects all of us that will help us out the rest of the season.”
Who will win it all: “On a personal note, I’d love to see the No. 24 (Jeff Gordon) win it all,” Allmendinger said. “He was always my hero growing up. So, it would be cool to see him go out on top like that in his last race winning the championship. But, right now I’ve also got Kevin and Kyle picked to be in the top four and I had Joey too.”
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FAST FACTS:
Career Starts: 260
Wins: 1
Top-fives: 7
Top-10s: 38
Pole Awards: 4
First Start: 3/25/2007 Bristol
First Pole: 4/10/2010 Phoenix
Last Pole: 8/8/15 Watkins Glen
Best Start: 1 – 4/10/2010 Phoenix
Best Finish: 1 – 8/10/2014 Watkins Glen
Driver DOB: 12/16/1981
Hometown: San Jose, Calif.
Crew Chief: Brian Burns
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AJ’S WHEREABOUTS:
November 5, 2015
5:30 to 7 PM
AJ Allmendinger signs autographs for fans at Kroger
9150 N Tarrant Parkway
North Richlands, Texas 76182
Sunday, November 8, 2015
JTG Daugherty Racing Meet & Greets
