AJ ALLMENDINGER
NO. 47 CLOROX® CHEVROLET SS
POCONO RACEWAY PREVIEW
Track: Pocono Raceway
Race: Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400
Date / Time: Sunday, June 7 / 1 PM ET
TV / Radio: FOX Sports 1 / MRN / SIRIUSXM
TEAM QUOTES:
Pocono Raceway: ”Pocono Raceway is tough and over the last couple of years since the repave to me it has almost gotten worse when it comes to trying to set up for it,” Allmendinger said. “All the corners are definitely different, but now at least for me, I feel like Turn 3 has gotten really loose so you try to tighten up to make sure you get off Turn 3 because the straightaway is so long. You get down to Turn 1 and especially the Tunnel Turn and Turn 2, the car is really tight.”
Happy medium: “Pocono is all about finding a happy medium,” Allmendinger said. “It’s about finding the balance. It’s lost a little grip over the last couple years after the repave, but it still has a ton of grip. More than ever, it’s really a challenge to set your car up for it.”
Corners: “Our cars have run well at Pocono Raceway,” crew chief Brian Burns said. “It is a fun track to go to. There are three different corners that presents three different challenges. It really is a big challenge for crew chiefs and teams to figure out how to get the car to be good through all three corners. You have to sacrifice one corner to be better in another. So, to get the setup right to get through all three corners the best you can is the goal when you arrive at Pocono.”
Strategy: “It is also an interesting race because you can do things with pit strategy that you couldn’t do at other places,” Burns said. “It is similar to road courses in the sense that you can pull off the track to pit under green and still be on the lead lap and make up time. It throws in a lot of other opportunities to capitalize on a strong finish and pull a race strategy off.”
Inside Out: “It’s pretty cool that Clorox is paired up with the film ‘Inside Out’ as they recognize the emotions – Fear, Disgust, Anger, Sadness and Joy – that come along with life’s big moments and messes that the character Riley learns in her move to California,” Allmendinger said. “Clorox is all about leading you back to joy no matter what life’s moments and messes are left behind. I need to go see the movie myself. It sounds like a movie we can all learn from.”
Chassis 429: “We are taking the car that we ran in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway and we also ran it at Las Vegas Motor Speedway,” Burns said.
The path less traveled: “When it comes to getting better, you have ideas on what will make you improve the cars,” Allmendinger said. “I know it’s not an overnight process. We are realistic and know we are not going to show up at Pocono Raceway and Michigan International Speedway and be in the top five. The positive is that we know what direction we need to head to get back there. We know that good things are around the corner and we have a path that we are going to head down that will make us better. It doesn’t happen in one day or one week, but we know it will happen.”
In the long run: “When you have tough times like we have had the past few weeks, it really shows what the team is made of and what everybody has to do to get better,” Allmendinger said. “You look at yourself and then the team and as a group. When running well, we know we are tight-knit as we can be. When nothing seems to be going your way, it shows what you are really made of. There is stuff that is said and you have got to be open and truthful with yourself and each other. We are all in this together. You really find out how in it you are. Everybody on this team is in it together to be the best we can be. It’s not fun when you are not running the way you know you should be and you would love to be way better right away. It’s work in progress. It will make us all better in the long run.”
The Chew: “After the race at Pocono Raceway, I will head over to New York City to go in studio for the television show ‘The Chew’ for BUSH’S Beans,” Allmendinger said. “I did have fun doing the show last year and I’m glad to be back thanks to BUSH’S Beans. It is big to go on a high profile show when it comes to cooking on one of the big networks to promote BUSH’S Beans. The stuff away from track like being on ‘The Chew’ is always helpful whether we are running well or not. Everyone was so awesome to me last year. I’m not the best cook by far, but I wing it. It’s a great way to promote BUSH’S Beans, which I love.”
FAST FACTS:
Career Starts: 240
Wins: 1
Top-fives: 7
Top-10s: 37
Pole Awards: 2
First Start: 3/25/2007 Bristol
First Pole: 4/10/2010 Phoenix
Last Pole: 4/22/2012 Kansas
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: Brian Burns
Just in time for summer movie season, Clorox is teaming up with Disney Pixar for its highly-anticipated, family film “Inside Out.”
Together, Clorox and Pixar are celebrating the emotions that come along with life’s moments – and messes – showing that with Clorox you can quickly clean-up and get back to joy.
Movie hits theaters June 19th.
RACING-REWARDS:
Each week throughout the NASCAR season Racing-Rewards members are given the opportunity to download exclusive AJ Allmendinger cellphone wallpaper. This week’s design design features AJ and his Clorox car.
