BRISTOL, Tenn. – The numbers tell the story.
AJ Allmendinger finished 22nd in the final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings last year. Through the first seven races this season, the driver of the No. 47 JTG/Daugherty Racing Chevrolet is 15th.
Part of the improvement can be attributed to the burgeoning simpatico between Allmendinger and new crew chief Randall Burnett. But much of the credit also goes to an improved qualifying program.
Over 36 races last year, Allmendinger posted an average starting position of 21.6. With his ninth-place qualifying effort on Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway, this year’s average improved to 16.9.
Since Daytona, in each of the seven knockout qualifying sessions, Allmendinger has advanced at least to the second round, and on three occasions, including Friday’s time trials, he has made it to the final round, ensuring a top-12 starting spot.
At Bristol, that’s particularly important, given the speed of the track and how quickly back markers tend to get lapped.
“It’s a real big deal around here,” Allmendinger agreed. “Especially, if early in the race it can go green for a while – If it does and the leader puts down a lot of lapped cars, it kind of just ruins the rest of your race. Starting up front is a big deal.
“We’ve got to get the car a little bit more comfortable in race trim to make sure we stay up there, but anytime, especially, on these short tracks you can start up front, it just makes that first half of the race a lot easier. It’s like, if you get through the first three quarters on the lead lap, it just seems like, even if you’re only half-decent, you can still get a really good finish out of it, especially around here.”
Allmendinger was 20th fastest in Saturday’s first practice session but improved to 16th during Happy Hour.
SHORT STROKES
Seeking his third straight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory, Kyle Busch made a statement during Saturday’s first practice at Bristol.
Not only did Busch run the fastest lap in the session (126.370 mph), covering the .533-mile distance in 15.184 seconds. He also posted the best 10-lap average speed, 125.569 mph, indicating he’ll likely be a contender for the win in Sunday’s Food City 500.
Pole winner Carl Edwards, Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, was second in 10-lap average at 124.762 mph. Busch was fifth on the speed chart in Happy Hour behind Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr. and Edwards.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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