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But first, these notes of interest:

--AJ Allmendinger and his Todd Gordon-led Penske Racing No. 22 Team will be racing their PRS-815” Pennzoil Dodge Charger this weekend at Charlotte. In its only time out, Dinger put it on the outside pole and finished 17th in the March Bristol race. In that race, Dinger led 54 laps in the early going and showed potential winning strength before a suspension part failed. The “PRS-814” chassis will serve as the backup. It is a new Dodge Charger and has yet to make it onto a race track.

--Pennzoil Dodge Charger driver AJ Allmendinger has raced in five prior editions of the Sprint Showdown, taking the win in the 2008 race and advancing on to the Sprint All-Star Race. In his five prior Showdowns, Dinger has one win, two top-five finishes and four top-10s. He started 22nd and finished 17th in the 2008 All-Star Race. He started second and finished fourth in last year’s Showdown. Dinger has a 6.4 average start and an 8.8 average finish in the Showdown. Most impressive is that he has finished every possible lap (300/300) in his Showdown and All Star races.

--With five prior appearances in the Sprint Showdown, it’s a “been there & done that” scenario for Pennzoil Dodge driver AJ Allmendinger. “This year is no different than the years before,” said Allmendinger. “I’ve won the Showdown before and we can win it again. We’ve had fast cars all year long; we just haven’t had the luck we’ve needed. We’re bound to change the luck soon and maybe it’ll come when there are no points on the line. We’ll definitely have a good shot to win the thing and advance; I do not doubt that at all. We know how to race these 40 laps and how it can play out. It’s all about being at the right place at the right time. Qualifying is huge and figuring out what to do after the first 20-lap segment is the big thing in having a shot to win it.”

--Pennzoil Dodge crew chief Todd Gordon is optimistic entering this Saturday night’s special non-points race. “It’s going to be a lot of fun without the stress of having the points on the line,” said Gordon. “I’m very optimistic about our chances and I think we can run very well there. I really like the two-20-lap-segment race format. It’ll be really interesting to see how it goes. Through the season, we have shown so much strength in the short runs. Even though it wouldn’t help us in points, to win there on Saturday night would be great for our Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Team. It would be huge for our confidence level – for AJ, for me and for the entire No. 22 Penske team. Success of that type would be something great to build off of and a stepping stone for the future, I believe.”

--Pennzoil Dodge crew chief Todd Gordon sizes up the competition for Saturday night’s Sprint Showdown: “Just looking over the entry list, you probably have to look at the 56 team (Martin Truex Jr.) as being the strongest, especially coming off last weekend. The 88 team (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) has been running well and is really consistent. I think we’re up there next as far as the overall strength we’ve shown. We’ve been stronger than the 20 (Joey Logano), the 42 (Juan Pablo Montoya) and the 1 (Jamie McMurray) every week, but just don’t have the finishes to show it. Our biggest problem is that we probably deserve the runner-up award for the worst luck during the 2012 season. Seriously, if there’s such an award, the 24 team (Jeff Gordon) definitely deserves it, but we have to be the runner-up team.”

--AJ Allmendinger and his Todd Gordon-led No. 22 Penske Racing Dodge Team are at Road Atlanta today testing their “PRS-811” Dodge Charger in preparation for the June 24 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway. The team also has a test scheduled on May 29 in their preparation for racing on the road courses this year.

--Pennzoil Dodge driver AJ Allmendinger will be making his first appearance in the annual Pennzoil Burnout Challenge Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The 5th annual event is set to begin at approximately 6:10 p.m. on the frontstretch of CMS. Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano complete the five-driver lineup for Saturday’s competition. The competition will see each driver take turns at the wheel of similarly prepared cars from the Richard Petty Driving Experience, each wrapped with the Pennzoil Burnout Challenge theme. The drivers begin from Turn 4 of the quarter-mile track and have 30 seconds to conduct a freestyle burnout. After 30 seconds, the “emergency cutoff switch” will be activated. The drivers will be judged on creativity and the fan reaction. The winner of the competition will be highlighted on Charlotte Motor Speedway’s world’s largest HD Video Screen. Each competitor will receive a $1,000 donation to their charity just for participating. The winning driver will be awarded $10,000 to their designated charity. Allmendinger will be competing for “Dinger’s Dream Team” and the “Paralyzed Veterans of America.”

--2011 Sprint Showdown Results:

QUALIFYING: David Ragan won pole with fast lap of 28.172 seconds (191.680 mph). AJ Allmendinger was second with lap of 28.203 seconds (191.469 mph).

RACE: David Ragan winner by 0.475 seconds over runner-up Brad Keselowski. Both transferred to All-Star race, along with sixth-place finisher Dale Earnhardt Jr., who won the fan vote. Marcos Ambrose finished third in the race and AJ Allmendinger finished fourth.

--Make sure you catch Penske Racing Dodge driver AJ Allmendinger in his weekly contribution to ESPN’s “NASCAR Now.” The regular segment titled “The Daily Dinger” features AJ conducting off-beat interviews with drivers, crew chiefs and fans about each weekend’s race. Saturday’s edition of the hour-long “NASCAR Now” is scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. ET and airs on ESPN2. In case you missed last week’s edition from Darlington, you can view it by following this link: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=7924786

--Shell-Pennzoil Dodge driver AJ Allmendinger is writing a monthly blog for NASCAR.com. This is a “no rules & no limitations” opportunity for Dinger, so expect to see content here that you will see nowhere else. To read his latest entry, please log on here: http://www.nascar.com/news/120419/aallmendinger-behind-the-wheel-kansas/index.html

-Shell-Pennzoil Dodge driver AJ Allmendinger continues to contribute a weekly video blog that is featured on FOXSports.com. It is a “free-form documentation” of Dinger’s exciting life as one of the most promising & personable young drivers in Sprint Cup racing. FOXSports.com’s Senior NASCAR editor Jorge Mondaca oversees the project.

--Shell-Pennzoil Dodge driver AJ Allmendinger continues his weekly call-ins to SiriusXM Speedway with Dave Moody & Angie Skinner on Fridays on NASCAR Channel 90. Dinger’s calls are regularly in the 5:00 p.m. ET block, schedule permitting.

--Follow Penske Racing Dodge driver AJ Allmendinger on Twitter at http://twitter.com/AJDinger. You can also follow AJ Allmendinger as well as all the Penske Racing drivers on Facebook and Twitter by simply logging on to www.penskeracing.com and click on the respective links. Follow the Dodge drivers on Twitter at http://twitter.com/teamdodge. Follow TR on Twitter at http://twitter.com/22carPR

--The full 2012 AJ Allmendinger racing media guide is available online this season in the media only section of www.penskeracing.com. The media guide is available on memory sticks, also. Please notify any of the Penske Racing PR reps if you haven’t received one yet this season.

--Shell-Pennzoil Dodge driver AJ Allmendinger will be signing autographs & meeting fans at his merchandising trailer on Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Dinger is scheduled to appear at 3:00 p.m. You must have a ticket to get in the autograph line. Tickets are free and will be available at the trailer on Saturday morning.

--“Winning isn't everything, but wanting to win is.” -Vince Lombardi

ALLMENDINGER HOPES TO WIN SHOWDOWN & ADVANCE TO ALL-STAR RACE
-No. 22 Pennzoil Dodge Driver Knows 40-Lap Battle Is “About Being At Right Place At Right Time”-

CONCORD, N.C. (May 15, 2012) – AJ Allmendinger, driver of the Penske Racing No. 22 Pennzoil Dodge Charger, enters Saturday night’s non-points special events at Charlotte Motor Speedway knowing what to expect. After all, with five prior appearances in the Sprint Showdown, it’s a “been there & done that” scenario for Dinger.

“This year is no different than the years before,” said Allmendinger. “I’ve won the Showdown before and we can win it again. We’ve had fast cars all year long; we just haven’t had the luck we’ve needed. We’re bound to change the luck soon and maybe it’ll come when there are no points on the line.

“We’ll definitely have a good shot to win the thing and advance; I do not doubt that at all. We know how to race these 40 laps and how it can play out. It’s all about being at the right place at the right time. Qualifying is huge and figuring out what to do after the first 20-lap segment is the big thing in having a shot to win it.

“We still have a good shot at it I think with the fan support and the fan vote as a backup plan,” Dinger added. “One thing’s for sure and that’s the fact that we’ll have our sweet, great-looking old-school yellow Pennzoil color scheme on our Dodge Charger again this weekend.” (It’s the same color scheme that was on the car in the March 11 Las Vegas race.)

Allmendinger has raced in five prior editions of the Sprint Showdown, taking the win in the 2008 race and advancing on to the Sprint All-Star Race. In his five prior Showdowns, Dinger has one win, two top-five finishes and four top-10s. He started 22nd and finished 17th in the 2008 All-Star Race. He started second and finished fourth in last year’s Showdown. Dinger has a 6.4 average start and an 8.8 average finish in the Showdown. Most impressive is that he has finished every possible lap (300/300) in his Showdown and All Star races.

Crew chief Todd Gordon is really looking forward to Saturday night’s non-points Sprint Cup competition. He is optimistic about his team’s performance on the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway quad-oval.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun without the stress of having the points on the line,” said Gordon. “I’m very optimistic about our chances and I think we can run very well there. I really like the two-20-lap-segment race format. It’ll be really interesting to see how it goes. Through the season, we have shown so much strength in the short runs.”

“Even though it wouldn’t help us in points, to win there on Saturday night would be great for our Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Team,” Gordon said. “It would be huge for our confidence level – for AJ, for me and for the entire No. 22 Penske team. Success of that type would be something great to build off of and a stepping stone for the future, I believe.”

Allmendinger, Gordon and crew will be racing their “PRS-815” Pennzoil Dodge Charger this weekend at Charlotte. In its only time out, Dinger put it on the outside pole and finished 17th in the March Bristol race. In that race, Dinger led 54 laps in the early going and showed potential winning strength before a suspension part failed. The “PRS-814” chassis will serve as the backup. It is a new Dodge Charger and has yet to make it onto a race track.

This weekend’s Sprint Showdown/Sprint All-Star Race weekend gets under way on Thursday night (May 17) with the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge set for 7:00 p.m. at Time Warner Cable Arena (broadcast on SPEED-TV at 9:00 p.m. EDT). The action shifts to the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday with Showdown practice set for 12:00 noon till 1:35 p.m. and All-Star Practice from 1:35 p.m. till 3:00 p.m. Qualifying on Friday evening at 5:00 will set the field for Saturday night’s Showdown. Qualifying at 6:00 p.m. for the ALL-Star Race will feature the unique format of three laps under the clock with a four-tire pit stop thrown into the equation. Saturday’s Sprint Showdown (20 laps/20 laps) begins at 7:30 p.m., with the top-two finishers and winner of the special Sprint “fan vote” advancing to the All-Star Race. The Sprint All-Star Race will begin at approximately 9:00 p.m. This year’s exciting battle consists of four 20-lap segments, concluding with a 10-lap sprint and a $1 million payout to the race winner. This year's format will place a higher premium for drivers who win one of the four segments, however, as the winners of the first four segments will move to the front of the field and line up 1-4 prior to the field coming to pit road for the final mandatory pit stop. Live coverage will be provided by SPEED-TV and MRN Radio.

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