AJ ALLMENDINGER
NO. 47 KROGER CLICKLIST CHEVROLET SS
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY PREVIEW
Race: Geico 500
Date/Time: Sunday, May 7th / 2 PM ET
TV Network/Radio: FOX / MRN / SIRIUSXM
QUOTES:
Go time: “It’s just a crap shoot,” Allmendinger said. “It is what it is. Stage racing is going to change it a little bit because usually I just ride around there for about 160 laps and decide when to go. With stage racing, you’re going to want to get up there and get some points.”
Same but different: “The racing is the same, but it’s so different than Daytona (International Speedway) because at Daytona you kind of get three wide there and there’s nowhere else to go,” Allmendinger said. “At Talladega Superspeedway, you can almost get five wide and still make things happen. It’s just a race that I wouldn’t say that I really look forward to, but it’s going to put on an amazingly crazy race and that’s what the fans love.”
Don’t be the one: “I think to myself just don’t be the one that causes the Big One,” Allmendinger said. “If you’re in it, you’re in it, but don’t be the guy that makes the mistake that causes it.”
Bide time: “We’ve got Talladega coming up this week,” crew chief Randall Burnett said. “We got a good finish at Daytona (International Speedway). We didn’t have the single car speed we wanted at Daytona, but the car raced really well. We were able to stay out of trouble and come home in third down there. So, we’re hoping for a good day at Talladega.”
Unpredictable: “Talladega is one of those races that’s always a crap shoot,” Burnett said. “For practice, we will work on single car speed to figure out what we need to get going a little better for qualifying. It just depends on how the days going that will dictate our plans.”
No sense of control: “You don’t have any control there,” Burnett said. “You try to stay out of trouble. You got to stay out of trouble not only on the track, but on pit road too. There’s a lot of crashes on pit road at those places. There’s teams doing two tires, fuel only or four tires and people just coming out and wrecking each other on pit road. You’ve got to be careful there. Also, during green flag stops, getting on pit road is critical. So, it’s definitely more strategy on Sunday for keeping your track position. That’s the main thing. A lot of times they will get lined up single file and it’s hard to make moves until later in the race when they start going two and three wide. So, you have to put yourself in the position the last 50 laps of the race where you kind of want to be at for the end. We’re definitely focusing on how we are going to do that.”
Variety: “We’ve raced two short track races (Bristol Motor Speedway and Richmond International Raceway) and going to Talladega is a completely different mindset for everybody on the crew,” Burnett said. “You work on the car differently, the spotter (Coleman Pressley) has to spot differently and it’s a challenge for him as well. You bring a few extra people down for tech day at superspeedways. It’s a different style of racing for sure. You pay extra attention to the body detail. You’ve got to prepare for it completely different than the past two short tracks. Then the next week, Kansas (Speedway) is a completely different animal. They keep us on our toes with the schedule. Throwing in the short track races then the big track and then back to a mile-and-a-half.”
Summer months coming up: “Last year the summer months was challenging,” Burnett said. “July and August got stretched out. I feel better about going into the summer months. I feel like we’re prepared for that. We’ve got great help at the shop getting our cars really prepared for us so we can go into the shop Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, we are working on the details of the car. We have to keep working hard, building good cars at the shop and coming to the track prepared with a sold plan and execute on Sunday.”
Kentucky Derby Garland of Roses made by Kroger: “While we are at Talladega, the Kentucky Derby is taking place,” Allmendinger said. “Kroger is a huge part of our race team and it’s amazing that the prestigious rose garland placed over the winners of the winning horse after each Kentucky Derby is made by our partner Kroger. Kroger has been the official florist of the Kentucky Derby since 1987. That’s 30 years! I hear it’s a 10 to 12 hour process sewing 400 beautiful Freedom roses to a satin backing and that it’s 122 inches long and 22 inches wide weighing around 40 pounds. The rose garland is synonymous with the Kentucky Derby. We’re looking forward to the Run for the Roses. Good luck to everyone!”
FAST FACTS:
Career Starts: 308
Wins: 1
Top-fives: 10
Top-10s: 49
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
