News

DOVER, Del. (September 26, 2009) – Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 12 Verizon Wireless Dodge for Penske Racing, had a top-15 run going Saturday at Dover International Speedway before he ran out of fuel on pit road and wound up finishing in 25th place in the Dover 200.

The 23-year-old rookie sensation started Saturday’s 200-mile Nationwide Series race from the 26th spot, but he knew he had a strong Verizon Wireless Dodge and he began to make his way to the front after he saw the green flag. By lap 25, Allgaier had advanced to 16th place. He called into crew chief Chad Walter to explain that the car was tight on the entry of the turns and loose through the center of the corners. Walter and the team developed their plan of attack on how to improve the car during the first round of pit stops.

Allgaier maneuvered his machine around the “Monster Mile,” and he continued to fight to stay in the top 15 until the team’s first stop of the race. Allgaier rolled down pit lane on lap 86 for a green flag pit stop. As he entered the pits the car ran out of fuel and stalled. The team changed four tires and filled the car with fuel. The crew also made slight air pressure and chassis adjustments, hoping to find a combination that was both comfortable as well as fast.

Unfortunately, the car had a tough time refiring and the team had to push the No. 12 down pit lane trying to restart the machine. After three attempts, the Verizon Wireless Dodge finally refired and Allgaier returned to the racing surface. The mishap in the pits put the No.12 Verizon Wireless Dodge eight laps down to the race leaders.

Justin Allgaier competed for the remaining 90 laps hoping to make up ground to the leaders, but he crossed the finish line in the 25th spot, running eight laps down to race winner Clint Bowyer.

“It was a tough day for the Verizon Wireless Dodge team,” commented Allgaier after the race. “We struggled to find the handle early in the race and then we ran out of gas on pit road. We were trying to go as far as we could on gas, trying to keep the Verizon Wireless Dodge in the hunt for the win. [Crew chief] Chad Walter does a great job each and every week calling the race. We will just move on to Kansas and try to rebound with a solid finish.”

With the result, Allgaier and the No.12 Verizon Wireless Dodge team fell one position to sixth in the Nationwide Series standings, now just 19 points behind fifth-place driver Steve Wallace.

The Verizon Wireless Dodge team heads west to Kansas City, Kansas for the next event on the Nationwide Series schedule.  The Kansas Lottery 300 from Kansas Speedway will be seen live on Saturday, October 3 on ESPN2 with coverage beginning at 3 p.m. ET. The race will also be heard live on MRN Radio as well as Sirius Satellite Radio, channel 128.

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Justin Allgaier Dover 200 Statistics
Start: 26      
Finish: 25       
Laps: 192/200
Laps Led: 0
Status: Running