News

Team News and Notes
• This Week’s Verizon Dodge … Justin Allgaier will pilot Penske Racing chassis PRS-032 in Saturday afternoon’s Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway. Built new for 2010, this Dodge Charger debuted at Texas Motor Speedway in April, where Allgaier started 18th and finished 11th. The 2009 Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year then raced it at Charlotte, where he started 11th and finished fourth. It most recently raced at Atlanta Motor Speedway in September, where the Riverton, Ill.-native started 20th and finished 13th.
• Through 28 Races … With 28 races of the 2010 season in the record books, Allgaier has accumulated one pole, one win, six top-five and 15 top-10 finishes, an average starting position of 12.2 and an average finish of 12.5. Allgaier has led 133 laps of competition and has completed 97.1 percent of the laps contested (4,986 of 5,134) so far this season.
• Get to the Points … Allgaier ranks fourth in the NNS championship point standings heading into this weekend’s event at Kansas. He trails current point leader and Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski by 764 points, and third-place contender Kyle Busch by 264 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 Trevor Bayne, currently ranked seventh, by 389 points.
• Allgaier at Kansas … In his only previous NNS start at Kansas Speedway in October of 2009, Allgaier recorded a sixth-place finish.
• Are You Experienced? … In addition to his one previous Nationwide Series start at the 1.5-mile tri-oval, Allgaier has made a combined six starts in ARCA and Camping World Truck Series races at Kansas, posting a pair of top-15 finishes.
• Penske Racing at Kansas … In two previous NNS starts at Kansas Speedway, Penske Racing entries have recorded one pole (Parker Kligerman, October, 2009), and one top-10 finish. Penske Dodges have been atop the leaderboard for seven circuits in their time at Kansas, and have completed 100 percent of the laps contested (400 of 400).
• Penske Racing in 2010 … With 28 races completed in the 2010 season, Penske Racing’s two NASCAR Nationwide Series entries have recorded six poles, five wins, a combined 25 top-five and 37 top-10 finishes. Penske Dodges have completed 10,119 of 10,268 laps contested, and have been atop the leaderboard for 1,090 laps with drivers Allgaier and Keselowski.
• Last Time Out … Allgaier recorded a ninth-place finish in last Saturday afternoon’s Dover 200 at Dover International Speedway, marking a career-best for the 24-year-old driver at the “Monster Mile,” and extending his streak of four consecutive races with top-15 finishes.
• Extra Work … Prior to getting on track for Nationwide Series practice, Allgaier is scheduled to join SPEED for their race coverage of Thursday afternoon’s ARCA Series Kansas Lottery 150. Live coverage is set to begin at 5 p.m. EDT.
• Cast Your Vote … Some 30,000 fans have cast their votes since July 6, and Allgaier is currently ranked among the top-five in the NNS Most Popular Driver award voting (through Wednesday, Sept. 15). Fans can visit www.nascarnationwideseries.com to vote for their favorite NASCAR Nationwide Series driver. Voting continues through Saturday, November 13.
• Meet the Driver … Fans can meet Allgaier on Friday, October 1 from 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 CDT at the Penske Racing souvenir trailer, located in the midway at Kansas Speedway. Later that evening, he will head to the Best Buy store located at 10500 Parallel Pkwy. in Kansas City, Kan. where he will sign for fans from 7:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Justin Allgaier on Kansas Speedway
“Kansas Speedway is a really fun mile-and-a-half race track. It requires determination, a good car and a great pit crew to be successful. It’s one of the few races where we’re in the same place as the ARCA series, so I’m heading out early to lend them a hand. I always enjoy going back to the Midwest. Kansas isn’t far from home (Riverton, Ill.) and I love going back and seeing all my friends and family.”

Crew chief Chad Walter on Kansas Speedway
“Kansas is one of the cookie-cutter type tracks, but it’s produced some exciting races. Track position is extremely important, so we’ll put an emphasis on qualifying. If you don’t have a starting position at the front of the field, then it’s up to pit strategy to overcome that. We had a 10th-place finish at Chicagoland Speedway in July, so hopefully we can apply some of what we learned in that race to this weekend.”