NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY PREVIEW
Event: New Hampshire 301
Date/Time: Saturday, July 9th / 7:30 PM ET
TV/Radio: NBCSN / PRN / SIRIUSXM
Quotes:
Doing just fine: “The hand (thumb) is fine,” Allmendinger said. “It’s a little sore, but getting better everyday. It will not affect me in the car at all and I will not even think about it.”
BUSH’S Beans: “BUSH’S Grillin’ Beans is on our car this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Loudon),” Allmendinger said. “It’s the summer months and it’s always a good time to get out and grill whether you’re at the pool, at the lake, or at a race be sure to remember to pick up some BUSH’S Grillin’ Beans when you grab your bag of Kingsford Charcoal at Kroger.”
Track position: “I don’t think New Hampshire Motor Speedway will be a ton different than what we usually see there,” Allmendinger said. “It’s always about track position. Passing race cars is really difficult there, so track position is everything.”
Fun track: “I’ve always liked Loudon, well I shouldn’t say always,” Allmendinger said. “When I first started, I didn’t like Loudon and then I kind of figured it out. It’s a fun race track, but definitely being up front and keeping that track position makes your day a lot easier.”
Making moves: “Basing off of how the short tracks have felt – Bristol Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Richmond International Speedway, those types of places – it’s not a big difference in feel,” Allmendinger said. “To me, Phoenix (International Raceway) wasn’t a big difference. I think it’s going to be the same normal race that you see. If you can get your car rolling through the center and turning, and get that bite off, that’s really where you can make moves on people.”
Loudon challenge: “You’ve gotta be careful when you go out after a Modified practice or after a K&N practice,” Allmendinger said. “The rubber affects the racetrack a little bit. So many Cup cars lay so much rubber down that after, I would say, 10, 15, 20 laps, it kind of goes back away. The biggest thing there usually at both races is, we typically practice really early in the morning, and if the sunlight’s out and the track gets hot it really get slickened up. The rubber builds up weird on the racetrack. That, to me, is the most difficult challenge that we face during the weekend there, is the fact that you can practice early in the morning and there’s so much grip, and then there’s not that much grip during the race most likely. That’s the challenge there for sure.”
AJ’s good to go: “AJ, he’s fine,” crew chief Randall Burnett said. “His thumb is a little sore. Other than that, he’s going to be just fine at Loudon.”
Focused on Loudon: “We didn’t do the Indy (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) test because we really wanted to focus on getting back on track,” Burnett said. “We’ve had a couple rough weekends. We’re really focused on Loudon and trying to have a good run there. We want to unload good on Friday and qualify well there because track position is important and it’s an important race for us. Having a good Friday is going to make our day on Sunday a lot easier if we can have a good qualifying effort. We’re focused on a successful weekend at Loudon and working really hard on our Indy car.”
FAST FACTS:
Career Starts: 281
Wins: 1
Top-fives: 8
Top-10s: 41
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: Randall Burnett
