Preview
NASCAR Cup
Allmendinger back with Phoenix Racing for Bristol 500
AJ Allmendinger looks to build on successful 2013 start at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Edited: Mar 13, 2013, 8:29 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (March 12, 2013) - After a successful outing with the No. 51 team at Phoenix International Raceway, A.J. Allmendinger will pair with Phoenix Racing again this week at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 500. Allmendinger will pilot the Guy Roofing Chevrolet in his second Sprint Cup Series event of 2013.
Allmendinger and Phoenix Racing raced to an 11th-place finish in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 two weeks ago. He's anxious to rejoin the Spartanburg, S.C.-based team to tackle the high banks of the half-mile oval known as "Thunder Valley."
Bristol is a crazy track.
A.J. Allmendinger
Allmendinger's first-ever Cup Series start came at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2007. This weekend will mark his 11th Cup race at the track. He's garnered four top-20s and one top-15, and started on the front row in one event. His best finish is 12th place, which he scored in 2011. Phoenix Racing scored its best Cup Series finish at Bristol last season. The team took the checkers in 18th place with Kurt Busch behind the wheel.
A.J. Allmendinger comments on racing the No. 51 Guy Roofing Chevy at Bristol:
"I'm really excited to go racing with Phoenix Racing again. We had a great race at Phoenix a couple of weeks ago and I'm looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the Guy Roofing Chevy. We're off to a good start and now it's about keeping the momentum rolling.
"Bristol is a crazy track. Before the most recent resurfacing, you would have two-wide and three-wide racing there. Now that they've ground up some of the top groove, it's a little closer to what Bristol used to be like. There's not quite as much room and you have to be a little more aggressive in making passes. You're seeing more bumping and banging now and it seems like everyone's patience is a little shorter than usual.
A.J. Allmendinger, Penske Racing
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
"There are a few keys to us having a good day. Of course you need to stay out of trouble. Needless to say, there have been countless drivers with good cars who've been caught up in wrecks and had to watch the checkered flag from the garage. We've got to keep our car in one piece. It's also important to have a car that can work the bottom groove. If you can make passes down low, you're going to have a good race. You've got to know when to be aggressive and when to back off. Sometimes aggression is your best friend at Bristol, and sometimes it's your worst enemy. Keep your emotions in check or you'll probably make some decisions you regret. I'm confident that the guys have prepared a good Guy Roofing Chevrolet for me and we have a good weekend ahead of us."
Phoenix Racing
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Vickers returns to Bristol Motor Speedway where he made his debut with MWR
Next article Kyle Busch ready for action in the Bristol half-mile bullring
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
AJ Allmendinger
Winners and losers from a thrilling NASCAR Cup return to Chicagoland
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Chicago
Winners and losers from a thrilling NASCAR Cup return to Chicagoland
A.J. Allmendinger opens up on inner doubts as he reaches 500th NASCAR Cup start
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Sonoma
A.J. Allmendinger opens up on inner doubts as he reaches 500th NASCAR Cup start
Ram celebrates triple top ten and strongest showing yet in NASCAR return
NASCAR Truck
NASCAR Truck
Watkins Glen
Ram celebrates triple top ten and strongest showing yet in NASCAR return
More from
Team Penske
Winners and losers from the penultimate round of 2026 NASCAR Cup season at Martinsville
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
21 h
Winners and losers from the penultimate round of 2026 NASCAR Cup season at Martinsville
'There’s more to come' as IndyCar and NASCAR leaders eye future doubleheaders
IndyCar
IndyCar 23 h
'There’s more to come' as IndyCar and NASCAR leaders eye future doubleheaders
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
IndyCar
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
Latest news
Marco Antonelli: "I saw the champion in Kimi after his Australia crash"
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
32 min
Marco Antonelli: "I saw the champion in Kimi after his Australia crash"
Harvick: NASCAR may penalize Hocevar for 'dirtiest of dirty tricks'
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
54 min
Harvick: NASCAR may penalize Hocevar for 'dirtiest of dirty tricks'
Why Honda’s power unit lasted barely five laps in F1 Mexico GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
1 h
Why Honda’s power unit lasted barely five laps in F1 Mexico GP
How Red Bull's crucial strategy call helped Max Verstappen win the "Maxico Grand Prix"
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
2 h
How Red Bull's crucial strategy call helped Max Verstappen win the "Maxico Grand Prix"
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe