Allmendinger Impressive in Second NNS Win of 2013
August 18, 2013
THE RACE
Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (2.25 mile road course, Lexington, Ohio)
Saturday, August 17, 2013
THE RESULTS
The No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang
Driven By AJ Allmendinger
Start Position: 2
Finish Position: 1
Status: Running
Current Owner's Points Position: 1
THE RACE REVIEW
· Allmendinger started from the second position after posting a qualifying lap of 84.461 seconds or 96.243 miles per hour. This marked his second front row starting position of the year following a pole at Road America.
· After working on the rear bumper of race leader, Michael McDowell for the first nine laps, Allmendinger was able to take over the lead where he remained until Lap 21.
· Coming down for the first of two pit stops of the day on Lap 21, crew chief Jeremy Bullins called for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment for the Discount Tire Ford Mustang.
· Restarting the Nationwide Children’s 200 in the fifth position, Allmendinger quickly found his way back to the lead on Lap 31. Experiencing a loose handling condition due to the amount of rubber building up on his tires; Allmendinger continued to expand his lead over the rest of the field.
· As teams began making some of their final stops under the green flag, Allmendinger came down pit road on Lap 58. Cycling back through, Allmendinger once again found himself in the lead. Working his way to a two second lead on the rest of the field, Allmendinger was able to focus on his lap times along with saving fuel.
· Not looking forward to another restart, a caution on Lap 89 was the last thing Allmendinger wanted to see. As the green flag flew for the only attempt at a green-white-checkered finish, Allmendinger got a tremendous restart and was able to hold of McDowell for the win.
· Allmendinger’s win marks the eighth of the season for the No. 22 team. It has also propels the team into the lead of the Owner’s Championship with a 22 point advantage over the No. 54
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
AJ ALLMENDINGER
You’ve record another perfect driver rating for the race today, tell us about the win.
“All the credit, for me at least, goes to Jeremy (Bullins) and the entire team for sweeping all three Road Course races this year. The car was just amazing this weekend and I can’t thank everyone at Discount Tire and Penske Racing enough for giving me the opportunity. I knew today was going to be a tough day just because this is the first time visiting Mid-Ohio and the track is so tight, I wasn’t expecting the lap times to be as close within the top-10. After I was able to drive away from McDowell, I knew we had the car to beat. I wasn’t the best on restarts and it took about four laps for the rear tires to come back in. The last 20 laps in the car I was saving fuel the whole time, which is never easy when you’re in the lead. The crowd here was awesome and the track did a great job in the promotion of the race. I’m happy to be a part of the win with the Nationwide Children’s Hospital, just seeing the kids before the race puts everything into perspective. A great weekend all around and the team has done an amazing job of making me feel welcome every time I step into the car.”
Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (2.25 mile road course, Lexington, Ohio)
Saturday, August 17, 2013
THE RESULTS
The No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang
Driven By AJ Allmendinger
Start Position: 2
Finish Position: 1
Status: Running
Current Owner's Points Position: 1
THE RACE REVIEW
· Allmendinger started from the second position after posting a qualifying lap of 84.461 seconds or 96.243 miles per hour. This marked his second front row starting position of the year following a pole at Road America.
· After working on the rear bumper of race leader, Michael McDowell for the first nine laps, Allmendinger was able to take over the lead where he remained until Lap 21.
· Coming down for the first of two pit stops of the day on Lap 21, crew chief Jeremy Bullins called for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment for the Discount Tire Ford Mustang.
· Restarting the Nationwide Children’s 200 in the fifth position, Allmendinger quickly found his way back to the lead on Lap 31. Experiencing a loose handling condition due to the amount of rubber building up on his tires; Allmendinger continued to expand his lead over the rest of the field.
· As teams began making some of their final stops under the green flag, Allmendinger came down pit road on Lap 58. Cycling back through, Allmendinger once again found himself in the lead. Working his way to a two second lead on the rest of the field, Allmendinger was able to focus on his lap times along with saving fuel.
· Not looking forward to another restart, a caution on Lap 89 was the last thing Allmendinger wanted to see. As the green flag flew for the only attempt at a green-white-checkered finish, Allmendinger got a tremendous restart and was able to hold of McDowell for the win.
· Allmendinger’s win marks the eighth of the season for the No. 22 team. It has also propels the team into the lead of the Owner’s Championship with a 22 point advantage over the No. 54
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
AJ ALLMENDINGER
You’ve record another perfect driver rating for the race today, tell us about the win.
“All the credit, for me at least, goes to Jeremy (Bullins) and the entire team for sweeping all three Road Course races this year. The car was just amazing this weekend and I can’t thank everyone at Discount Tire and Penske Racing enough for giving me the opportunity. I knew today was going to be a tough day just because this is the first time visiting Mid-Ohio and the track is so tight, I wasn’t expecting the lap times to be as close within the top-10. After I was able to drive away from McDowell, I knew we had the car to beat. I wasn’t the best on restarts and it took about four laps for the rear tires to come back in. The last 20 laps in the car I was saving fuel the whole time, which is never easy when you’re in the lead. The crowd here was awesome and the track did a great job in the promotion of the race. I’m happy to be a part of the win with the Nationwide Children’s Hospital, just seeing the kids before the race puts everything into perspective. A great weekend all around and the team has done an amazing job of making me feel welcome every time I step into the car.”