Event: Big Machine Vodka 400 At The Brickyard
Date/Time: Sunday, September 9 at 2:00pmET
TV Network/Radio: NBCSN | IMS Radio Network | SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KROGER CLICKLIST CAMARO ZL1
RACING AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY: “The grandstands at Indianapolis Motor Speedway are so big that there’s not a lot of wind going around the racetrack,” Allmendinger said. “I definitely think it affects the way our cars handle. You kind of sit down in the track like any other dome stadium. Since the race was moved from the end of July to the beginning of September, I definitely think that’s going to affect the weather and our notes from the last couple of seasons there. No matter what, horsepower in our Kroger ClickList Camaro Zl1 is a really big deal there, coupled with having a good setup that allows the car to be agile. The corners are so quick, you really have to make sure to get the front end carved into the corner. It comes down to a lot of horsepower, and track position is key. It’s tough to pass and a challenging race for sure. If you can get your car to where it turns but it’s really loose, you’re not getting back to throttle and using the long straightaways to get back up to speed. It’s a challenging racetrack, but it’s always going to be special to me after leading laps during the Indianapolis 500 in 2013. We’ve had success at times on the NASCAR side as well, but as we saw last year, anything can happen there during the race so our goal is to do what we can to make it to the end.”
CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 BUSH’S BEST SINCE 1908 CAMARO ZL1
RACING AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY: “Indianapolis (Motor Speedway) is definitely a difficult racetrack to navigate around,” Buescher said. “The corners come up so quickly, and you really have to make sure to get your car through the turn so you’re able to get back to the straightaways. It’s similar to driving around Pocono Raceway. It’s difficult to pass, so we have to utilize the corners and get the most out of our BUSH’S Beans Camaro ZL1 to gain track position and maintain it throughout the run. We were able to get a top-10 finish last year, but not before it got crazy at the end and we were able to survive. We’ll definitely look to get everything we can out of this weekend to give us one more shot to win and make it into the NASCAR Playoffs.”
FAST FACTS – AJ ALLMENDINGER
Career Starts: 360
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: 103
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
JTG DAUGHERTY RACING APPEARANCES
AJ Allmendinger and Chris Buescher Kroger Store Appearance
When: Friday, September 7 at 5:30pm
Where: Kroger, 5718 Crawfordsville Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46224