Justin Allgaier, No. 12 Verizon Dodge - Circuit Gilles Villeneuve Preview

August 24, 2010


Verizon Team News and Notes
• This Week’s Verizon Dodge … Justin Allgaier will pilot Penske Racing chassis PRS-037 in Sunday afternoon’s Napa Auto Parts 200 Presented by Dodge at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. This is a brand-new Verizon Dodge that will be put through its first paces this weekend in Montreal.
• Through 24 Races … With 24 races of the 2010 season in the record books, Allgaier has accumulated one pole, one win, six top-five and 13 top-10 finishes, an average starting position of 11.6 and an average finish of 12.8. Allgaier has led 133 laps of competition and has completed 96.6 percent of the laps contested (4,264 of 4,412) so far this season.
• Get to the Points … Allgaier ranks fourth in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship point standings heading into this weekend’s event at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. He trails current point-leader and Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski by 707 points, and third-place contender Kyle Busch by 273 points.
• Best in Class … Allgaier’s fourth-place position in the point standings is best among full-time, Nationwide Series-only drivers. Allgaier leads fellow Nationwide-only driver Steve Wallace, currently ranked seventh, by 315 points.
• Last Time Out … Allgaier had a strong Verizon Dodge in the early going of last Friday evening’s Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway, but a pair of incidents would eliminate the spring race winner prematurely, crediting him with a 33rd-place finish. 
• Allgaier at Montreal … Allgaier finished 35th in his only previous Nationwide Series start at Montreal after being involved in an early incident that forced the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year to retire after having completed just 25 laps.
• Road Racing Averages … In four Nationwide Series starts at road course facilities - Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Road America and Watkins Glen International – Allgaier has accumulated an average starting position of 26th and an average finish of 30.5. Additionally, the 24-year-old driver has completed 162 of 290 possible laps.
• Road Course Winner … In his only road course start in ARCA competition, at New Jersey Motorsports Park in September of 2008, Allgaier led 14 laps en-route to claiming the checkered flag.
• Third and Final Round … This weekend’s Napa Auto Parts 200 Presented by Dodge at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve marks the third, and final, road course event of the 2010 season. In his previous road course outings, Allgaier started 18th and finished 35th at Road America after suffering a rare part failure on the first lap, and recorded a 20th place starting position at Watkins Glen, where he was involved in an incident not of his own doing, resulting in a 34th-place finish.
• Penske Racing in 2010 … With 24 races completed in the 2010 season, Penske Racing’s two NASCAR Nationwide Series entries have recorded six poles, five wins, a combined 23 top-five and 33 top-10 finishes. Penske Dodges have completed 8,675 of 8,824 laps contested, and have been atop the leaderboard for 1,050 laps with drivers Allgaier and Keselowski.
• It’s as Close to Home as You’ll Get … Dave Shano, backup hauler driver, is the only native Canadian on the Verizon team. Shano was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, located about 340 miles southwest of Montreal.
• Happy Birthday, Wilbur … Ed “Wilbur” Peel, mechanic on the No. 12 Verizon Dodge, celebrates his 33rd birthday on Wednesday, August 25.    
• Meet the Driver … Fans can meet Allgaier on Sunday, August 29 from 11:50 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. EDT at the Dodge Motorsports display, located in the midway at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Justin Allgaier on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
“I’m really looking to heading to Montreal. It’s definitely a very challenging race track. We had a curveball thrown at us in this race last year We practiced and qualified in the rain and raced in the dry. I didn’t turn a lap around the place in dry weather until the race started. It goes without saying that our lap times increased significantly as a result. Unfortunately, I wound up taking Ron Fellows out, so I couldn’t have had a worse race. The first two road course races of the season haven’t exactly gone the way we would have liked, so I’m looking forward to redeeming myself this weekend.”

Crew chief Chad Walter on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
“Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a great venue. It’s a very cool track. It’s very hard on brakes, and being able to accelerate is key. I know our finishes at Road America and Watkins Glen don’t reflect it, but Justin continues to make steady progress with his road racing skill set. We’ve run well in practice, and we were fast at Road America after we made repairs and got back on track. I feel like we can have a solid finish at Montreal this weekend.”