JTG DAUGHERTY RACING
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY ADVANCE
Event: Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race
Date/Time: Saturday, August 18 at 7:30pm ET
TV Network/Radio: NBCSN | PRN Radio | SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KROGER CLICKLIST CAMARO ZL1
RACING AT BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY: “Bristol Motor Speedway is a little different now since they put the compound down,” Allmendinger said. “The bottom groove lasts longer with the addition of the traction compound. The Bristol spring race is hard to get a read from, because of the rainy and snowy weather and having to finish the race on Monday. In the spring during our practice sessions, we would run the top, and then it would rain and wash it out so we ended up using the bottom a lot more. In the end, with 500 laps around a half-mile track and 40 stock cars, that compound gets used up and eventually you get to the top because you just run out of real estate. I think what we see now is in practice, we still run the bottom mostly. Some guys try to work the top in and once those first few drivers start, then everyone tries to make their way up there. For the first 200-300 laps, the bottom works. But, the last 150 laps are going to be the guys that can make the top roll. You can do all you want to try and stay on the bottom groove, but the top is going to be the place where the race winner is coming to the checkered. Hopefully, that’s where our Kroger ClickList Camaro ZL1 will be.”
CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 BUSH’S BEANS CAMARO ZL1
HOMETOWN RACE FOR BUSH’S BEANS: “Bristol Motor Speedway is my favorite racetrack,” Buescher said. “The atmosphere at the track, and having BUSH’S Beans on our car near their hometown makes Bristol a really special place to be. We always have a great group from BUSH’S Beans in attendance, and the copper paint scheme on our Camaro ZL1 has been one of my favorite paint schemes of the season. It looks especially good under the lights in The Last Great Colosseum.”
TRACTION COMPOUND AT BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY: “The traction compound that they put down is a balancing act,” Buescher said. “The first time they did it, it was three-feet wide and too narrow. Then the second time, it was ten-feet wide, which was too wide. But, we got it back to a width where I feel like it’s usable for a while, then throughout the course of the race it fades back down. However, it doesn’t wear away evenly. It wears out in patchy spots. So it’ll have a ton of grip, and then it’ll have no grip and it ends up giving you these really bad feelings. It’s like when you’re flying and you hit a pocket of air and the plane drops ten feet, that’s what it feels like going into the corner and out of nowhere you lose grip and don’t know why, and then it grips up again. It changes where the line goes during the race. We’re definitely searching for a new line once that compound wears out. As far as the top groove goes, the top has a tremendous amount of grip once someone is brave enough to run up there and clean it off. It just makes it a lot of fun. We’ve had some strong runs there, but accidents have ended our day early. We’re looking forward to putting it all together and being there at the end with a shot at it.”
FAST FACTS – AJ ALLMENDINGER
Career Starts: 358
Wins: 1- 8/10/2014 Watkins Glen International
Top-fives: 11
Top-10s: 55
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: 101
Wins: 1 – 8/1/2016 Pocono Raceway
Top-fives: 4
Top-10s: 8
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
