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Ward Burton
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RacingOne Report
Richard Petty Motorsports announced that the team has extended their commitment and will enter AJ Allmendinger for five additional NASCAR Sprint Cup races. The team had originally planned to race the No. 44 Dodge Charger through to the Phoenix round, but has now grown the schedule to include five more races.
With Harrah's stepping up to sponsor the No. 44 for the Shelby 427 at Las Vegas, coupled with the decision to apply the prize money from AJ's remarkable debut performance in the Daytona 500, the decision was made to field the No. 44 in every NASCAR Sprint Cup race through the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend.
With no points position to fall back on, Allmendinger has qualified for every race of the 2009 season on speed and has raced the No. 44 up to 16th in the owners championship standings after his run to 16th in Sunday's Food City 500, which was the final event to lock in the points.
"As a team, we decided to use the outcome of the Daytona 500 to keep AJ and the No. 44 Dodge on the track as much as possible," said Walldinger Racing Vice-President Tara Ragan. "Because this program came together so late, making this move helps give us some breathing room as we look for sponsorship partners. "
After moving to Richard Petty Motorsports in the late stages of the 2008 season, Allmendinger has qualified on speed in ten consecutive races, with a best finish his run to 3rd in the 2009 Daytona 500.
"Not everyone would make this commitment, to use our prize money to keep this car on the track, but it was an easy decision to make," said Allmendinger. "I'm hungrier than I've ever been and we've already shown this year how competitive this No. 44 Petty Dodge can be. I just want to race, and I know we all have a lot more to offer on the track and we just want the chance to do it."
Allmendinger will be back in short track action next weekend for the Goody's Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
Richard Petty Motorsports announced that the team has extended their commitment and will enter AJ Allmendinger for five additional NASCAR Sprint Cup races. The team had originally planned to race the No. 44 Dodge Charger through to the Phoenix round, but has now grown the schedule to include five more races.
With Harrah's stepping up to sponsor the No. 44 for the Shelby 427 at Las Vegas, coupled with the decision to apply the prize money from AJ's remarkable debut performance in the Daytona 500, the decision was made to field the No. 44 in every NASCAR Sprint Cup race through the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend.
With no points position to fall back on, Allmendinger has qualified for every race of the 2009 season on speed and has raced the No. 44 up to 16th in the owners championship standings after his run to 16th in Sunday's Food City 500, which was the final event to lock in the points.
"As a team, we decided to use the outcome of the Daytona 500 to keep AJ and the No. 44 Dodge on the track as much as possible," said Walldinger Racing Vice-President Tara Ragan. "Because this program came together so late, making this move helps give us some breathing room as we look for sponsorship partners. "
After moving to Richard Petty Motorsports in the late stages of the 2008 season, Allmendinger has qualified on speed in ten consecutive races, with a best finish his run to 3rd in the 2009 Daytona 500.
"Not everyone would make this commitment, to use our prize money to keep this car on the track, but it was an easy decision to make," said Allmendinger. "I'm hungrier than I've ever been and we've already shown this year how competitive this No. 44 Petty Dodge can be. I just want to race, and I know we all have a lot more to offer on the track and we just want the chance to do it."
Allmendinger will be back in short track action next weekend for the Goody's Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
