Allmendinger Getting Primed For Action In Daytona 500 Weekend
-Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Driver Taking Shootout Knowledge Into Sprint Cup’s 2012 Season-Opener-
February 22, 2012
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 21, 2012) - AJ
Allmendinger labeled last Saturday night's Budweiser Shootout as a
"learning experience" that will have him better prepared for the
upcoming Daytona 500 weekend. Dinger is optimistic about his Todd
Gordon-led Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Team's chances in Thursday's qualifying
race and Sunday's 54th annual running of the Great American Race at
Daytona International Speedway.
"We certainly learned a lot out there last
weekend," said Allmendinger, who finished 12th in last Saturday
night's special non-points race. "Pack racing is back, that's for
sure. That was very evident in the Shootout. We saw several different
strategies. Some teams went all out from the drop of the green.
Others, like us, took a ‘hang back and wait' approach. That almost
paid off for our Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Team there at the end.
"The new package we're racing with gives
the driver more control of the car and that's a good feeling to have,"
offered Allmendinger, who will start ninth in Thursday's second
Gatorade Duel 150-mile qualifying race. "But if you're running in a
huge pack of cars that's three-wide and eight-deep, that control turns
out to be not much in avoiding getting caught up in the big crashes.
That's what we saw last Saturday night.
"There's just such a fast closing rate
with the new package," said AJ. "That's what we're seeing. If you're
not hooked up, the guys who are hooked up can get a really good run.
We saw so many situations where cars were getting into the left-rear of
the guys running in front of them. That's what triggered the big
crashes out there and is what we have to be aware of again this week.
"Hopefully in the Duels, we'll see guys
trying to take car of their cars a bit more," Dinger said. "You know
it's your 500 car and you don't want to damage it. Everybody is still
out there to go for the win and get a good starting spot for Sunday,
but hopefully it'll be a little calmer out there on Thursday than it
was last Saturday night."
One might say that the strategy utilized by
Allmendinger and Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski was one of
survival last weekend at Daytona. Perhaps the words of wisdom made
famous by legendary Penske driver Rick Mears - "To finish first, you
must first finish" - were adhered to?
"Like we've been saying ever since we
arrived in Daytona, we're focusing on the big picture," said crew chief
Gordon. "Last Saturday night, it didn't matter where you were running
after 25 laps and it didn't matter where you were running after 70
laps. The objective was to be in the position to go for it at the
right time.
"It will be the same goal out there in our
qualifying race and in the 500," Gordon said. "It's 60 laps of racing
on Thursday and 200 laps on Sunday. The purpose for being out there
in the first place is to win and you can't do that if you're on the
hook and being pulled back to the garage. Our strategy will remain the
same and that's to do what it takes to be in a position to win at the
end of the race.
"AJ's tremendous focus and level of
patience have been so impressive," Gordon said of his driver. "We've
been working so well with our teammates over on the No. 2 team. You
can expect to see AJ and Brad (Keselowski) hooking up together a lot
from Wednesday's practice on this week. Since we're in different duels
on Thursday, we'll get a plan going as for someone to run with in that
race."
In five career Gatorade Duel qualifying
races, Allmendinger has posted three top-10 finishes, finishing seventh
in both 2010 and 2011 editions. He has been running at the finish and
completed all the laps for four consecutive Duels.
Allmendinger's third-place finish in the
2009 Daytona 500 rates as his best result to date in seven career
points races on the 2.5-mile track (three starts in the Daytona 500 and
four starts in the July Coke Zero 400). He started 15th and drove to
an 11th-place finish in last year's Daytona 500.
"We started 15th and were able to head to
the front and lead early in the race," recalled AJ, who was credited as
leading four of the first 12 laps. "Then we settled into a situation
where we ran like 15th to 20th for much of the race. It was another
day when it seemed like every time we were moving up, a slow stop on
pit road would set us back. We were able to capitalize on the cautions
and come up with a respectable 11th-place finish.
"While that third in the 2009 Daytona 500
might be the best finish for us in the record book, it wasn't the
strongest car we've had in the race," said Dinger. "We had a rocket
ship there for the 500 in 2010. We changed engines and had to start
at the rear of the field, but were able to blast up through the pack to
lead. I think we had the car to beat until they had problems with the
track and the pothole got us."
Allmendinger, Gordon and crew are racing
their "PRS-642" Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Charger in this week's action at
Daytona. Thursday's qualifying race will mark its first time in racing
competition. The "PRS-626" will serve as the team's backup Dodge
Charger this week.
The first of Thursday's "Gatorade Duels"
150-mile qualifying races gets the green flag at 2:00 p.m. ET. Live
coverage of all the action will be provided by SPEED-TV and MRN Radio.
The Sunday, Feb. 26 Daytona 500 has a scheduled 1:00 p.m. ET starting
time here at Daytona International Speedway. FOX-TV, MRN Radio and
Sirius-XM NASCAR Channel 90 will provide live coverage of all the
action.
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