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.”
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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
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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
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#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!
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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
