Event: FireKeepers Casino 400
Date/Time: Sunday, June 10 at 2:00pmET
TV Network/Radio: FOX | MRN Radio | SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KROGER CLICKLIST CAMARO ZL1
RACING AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY: “Michigan (International Speedway) is a place where, over the years, the track has really gotten slick and widens out,” Allmendinger said. “I always find it’s a challenging weekend because when you start out the weekend for practice on Friday, the track is one groove-wide and it doesn’t really widen out until the end of final practice on Saturday. It’s a challenge to get your car set up off the truck and get a good feel for the race in our No. 47 Kroger ClickList Camaro ZL1, but we’re up for the challenge.”
TEMPERATURE-SENSITIVE: “Michigan is starting to get like Charlotte (Motor Speedway) in terms of how temperature-sensitive the track is,” Allmendinger said. “If it is cooler in practice on Friday, then you get to the race on Sunday and it’s really warm outside, the track is way more slick in the race than it was in practice.”
HIGH-SPEED, CHALLENGING TURNS: “With the high-speeds we run at a two-mile track like Michigan, I’d say Turn 3 is the most challenging,” Allmendinger said. “There’s a hump as you get into the corner that can get you really free. We will work on getting the Kroger ClickList Camaro ZL1 comfortable getting into the corner, but it’s really fast so you still have to have a good turn and get off the corner comfortably. It’s a fast racetrack that you have to hold your breath in qualifying, then when you get next to cars in the race, you hold on and hope you make the right moves.”
CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 SCOTT COMFORT PLUS CAMARO ZL1
RACING AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY: “Michigan (International Speedway) is a really fast racetrack,” Buescher said. “I really like that track. It’s fun to race on, and is starting to get racier every time we go there. Not to mention, you can’t miss our Scott ComfortPlus Camaro ZL1 this weekend. It’s one of the brightest paint schemes we have this season!”
MULTIPLE RACING GROOVES: “The track has come into its own a little bit slower than some of the other tracks that have undergone repaves, and it’s been really narrow,” Buescher said. “We’re starting to be able to move around and run the bottom a little bit more. You can make up some time going up a little bit higher than the middle groove too. It’s a place that I’ve enjoyed in the past, and was able to get an ARCA win there years ago (in 2008). It was one of my only big-track wins. It’s a place where we can go and spread out and actually start to draft a little bit there as well. I love Auto Club Speedway, and that has a lot of similarities to Michigan in terms of the size, but they’re 180-degrees different. We had really good speed at Auto Club Speedway, but unfortunately lost a tire with only a few laps to go. I definitely want to make up for that this weekend in our Scott ComfortPlus Camaro ZL1.”
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY FAST FACTS
AJ ALLMENDINGER
Career Starts: 19
Career Wins: 0
Top-5 Finishes: 0
Top-10 Finishes: 0
Laps Led: 1
Average Start: 25.6
Average Finish: 21.4
CHRIS BUESCHER
Career Starts: 4
Career Wins: 0
Top-5 Finishes: 0
Top-10 Finishes: 1
Laps Led: 0
Average Start: 21.8
Average Finish: 24.2
FAST FACTS – AJ ALLMENDINGER
Career Starts: 349
Wins: 1- 8/10/2014 Watkins Glen International
Top-fives: 10
Top-10s: 54
Pole Awards: 4
First Pole: 4/10/2010 ISM Raceway
Last Pole: 8/9/2015 Watkins Glen International
First Start: 3/25/2007 Bristol Motor Speedway
Best Start: 1st – 8/9/2015 Watkins Glen International (most recent)
Best Finish: 1st – 8/10/2014 Watkins Glen International
Driver DOB: 12/16/1981
Hometown: Los Gatos, CA
Crew Chief: Tristan Smith
FAST FACTS – CHRIS BUESCHER
Career Starts: 92
Wins: 1 – 8/1/2016 Pocono Raceway
Top-fives: 3
Top-10s: 7
Pole Awards: 0
First Start: 3/22/2015 Auto Club Speedway
Best Start: 9th – 6/25/2017 Sonoma Raceway
Best Finish: 1st – 8/1/2016 Pocono Raceway
Driver DOB: 10/29/1992
Hometown: Prosper, TX
Crew Chief: Trent Owens
