Justin Allgaier, No. 12 Verizon Dodge - New Hampshire Motor Speedway Preview

June 22, 2010


Verizon Team News and Notes
• This Week’s Verizon Dodge… Justin Allgaier will pilot Penske Racing chassis PRS-027 in Saturday’s New England 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. This is the same Verizon Dodge that the No. 12 team raced at Phoenix International Raceway in April, where the 2009 Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year started seventh and finished 13th.
• After 15 Races… Over the season’s first 15 races, Allgaier has accumulated five top-five and eight top-10 finishes, an average starting position of 12.9 and an average finish of 10.9. The Riverton, Ill. native has led 116 laps of competition and has completed 99.2 percent of the laps contested (2,778 of 2,799) thus far.
• Get to the Points … Allgaier is currently ranked third in the championship point standings, 415 markers behind leader and Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski, and 178 behind second-place point-man Carl Edwards.
• Best in Class… Allgaier’s third-place position in the point standings is best among full-time, Nationwide Series-only drivers. Allgaier leads fellow Nationwide-only driver Brendan Gaughan, currently ranked seventh, by 366 points.
• Allgaier at New Hampshire… In his only previous NASCAR Nationwide Series start at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in June of 2009, Allgaier recorded a 13th-place finish.
• Penske Racing at New Hampshire … In two previous Nationwide Series starts at New Hampshire, Penske Racing entries have recorded two top-15 finishes, an average starting position of ninth, an average finish of 14th and have completed 99.8 percent of the laps contested (399 of 400).
• Last Time Out… Last Saturday at Road America, Allgaier started 18th but suffered a rare part failure on the first lap of the Bucyrus 200 which left him 20 laps down, in 35th position, when the checkered flag waved.
• Penske Racing in 2010… With 15 races completed in the 2010 season, Penske Racing’s two NASCAR Nationwide Series entries have recorded three poles, four wins, a combined 17 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes. Penske Dodges have an average starting position of 11.7, an average finish of 7.5, have completed 5,577 of 5,598 laps contested, and have been atop the leaderboard for 638 laps with drivers Allgaier and Keselowski.
• Homecoming… Car chief Tom Clavette is the only New England native on the Verizon team. Clavette grew up in Methuen, Mass., roughly 48 miles south of the Loudon area.  
• Meet the Driver … Fans can meet Allgaier on Friday, June 25 from 12:30 – 1:00 p.m. EDT at the Penske Racing souvenir trailer, located in the midway at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Later that evening, he will head to the Verizon Wireless store located at 1122 Route 106 N in Loudon, N.H. where he will sign for fans from 6 – 7 p.m.


Justin Allgaier on New Hampshire Motor Speedway
“New Hampshire is a great race track. The fans up there are very passionate about racing. It’s a flat mile with some very distinct grooves that you typically wouldn’t run at other tracks. It’s a very interesting place, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Crew chief Chad Walter on New Hampshire Motor Speedway
“New Hampshire Motor Speedway is one of my personal favorites. The facility, staff and fans are really passionate for this sport, and it shows in the way they welcome us. It’s a very challenging track, but one that produces very good racing. It’s without a doubt one of my favorite races of the year.”