Friday notebook from Dover: Allmendinger to stick with plan
With one last race to determine if he advances to the next round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, JTG Daugherty Racing's AJ Allmendinger is not looking to shake things up and deviate from the plan.
Making it into the Chase with his first career Sprint Cup victory at Watkins Glen International, Allmendinger knows he and his team are underdogs in the championship battle.
"No one really expected us to be here anyway, and to have a shot at making it to the next round," Allmendinger said Friday at Dover International Speedway. "So, I'm just going to go out there and give it everything I have. For us, we just have to run better. Last week was a decent run, but more than anything we just have to go out there this weekend and try to make sure we maximize every lap we are on the race track, and get our car good for Sunday."
With that mindset, the driver of the No. 47 Chevrolet knows it is up to him and the team to go out and earn their spot in the next round. Entering the weekend 10th in points with a seven-point cushion over Denny Hamlin in 13th, Allmendinger says it is up to them to go out and race without worrying about the points.
"Whatever happens in the race happens," he said. "I'm not going to worry about who is around me in points or anything like that. I just want to go out there and give everything I have, and if at the end of the day if it is enough to make it to the next round, then great. If not, that is all we can do."
Dale Jr. says it's hard not to notice Dover attendance issues
When Dale Earnhardt Jr. made his way to Dover International Speedway on Thursday afternoon, something caught his eye: newly-installed bases outside the current fencing surrounding the one-mile track. They briefly had Earnhardt wondering on Twitter if Dover would soon be installing lights.
Well, the track said that is not the case. Instead, Dover will be replacing the current catchfence for an updated fencing system for the 2015 system.
But would Dale Jr. be in favor of night racing at Dover?
"I think it would be a new element to a track that certainly could benefit from that," Earnhardt Jr. said Friday at Dover. "Looking at the grandstand the last five or six years here we have seen a pretty steady decline in people and an increase in sponsorship tarps (covering unused seats). I don't know if a night race would make a big difference. In my personal opinion it would be a gain in the short term. It's nothing that is going to create a steady increase in sales year after year after year. The neatness will wear off and you just get back to being a race track, but night races are fun."
However, Earnhardt Jr. indicated the best racing comes when the track is hot and slick, thus racing during the middle of the day creates a wide track and allows drivers to use multiple grooves.
Perhaps instead of lights Dale Jr. would rather Dover go back to the asphalt racing surface that used to cover the "Monster Mile" until 1995.
"I am real jealous of the guys that got to race on this thing when it was asphalt in the '80's," he said. "It looked like a lot of fun. It's been concrete for a while and we have had some good runs here. I do enjoy the challenges that the concrete provides."
McMurray does not think about 'What ifs'
There is little doubt that Chip Ganassi Racing's two-car program has been the class of the non-Chase field through the first two Chase races at Chicagoland Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The two Ganassi drivers -- Jamie McMurray and rookie Kyle Larson -- have been the top-finishing non-Chase drivers in the first two races, leading laps and contending for the win in each event.
Despite sitting on the outside of the Chase, McMurray does not want to think about what could have been had they qualified for the 16-driver Chase field.
"I don't live my life on 'what if's'. We have that every weekend in racing," said McMurray. "Our group has run extremely well all year long, and the last few weeks it has been showcased more."
Instead of wondering what could have been, McMurray is encouraged by how well they have run, especially compared to his stand-out season in 2010 when he won the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and Bank of America 500.
While that year seemed to come out of nowhere, he said, this season the team knows exactly why they are running well and where they need to improve.
"I think there were a lot of unknowns of, 'Why?' Why were we running so well? They really hadn't changed a lot from 2009 and 2010 was just a really good year for us," he said. "Some of it had to do with the engines as I think the ECR (Earnhardt Childress Racing) engines were the best at that time. But there were a lot of unknowns at our shop of, 'Why are we running so much better?'
"Then we went through obviously a tough couple of years, but when I look at this year, everything has scienced-out. The reasons are from lots of testing and the simulation program, our wind tunnel testing -- everything is known of why it's better, and why we are running better. So that is awesome leading into next year, because we know why. And they know the areas that they need to work on to make the cars better."
Quicken Loans renews partnership with Ryan Newman
Richard Childress Racing announced Friday at Dover International Speedway that Quicken Loans has renewed its partnership with driver Ryan Newman to serve as the primary sponsor on the No. 31 Chevrolet for "selected races" in the 2015 season.
This agreement will mark the fourth year Quicken Loans has partnered with Newman, and the second season on the No. 31 RCR Chevrolet.
"It is great to have Quicken Loans back with me next year," said Newman. "They have been loyal partners for several years and have become like family to me. As I continue to push forward in the Chase, it gives me increased confidence to know I have partners and friends that are standing with me not only this year, but also beyond."
"We're looking forward to partnering with RCR and Ryan in the upcoming season and continue this strong partnership," said Jay Farner, president and chief marketing officer for Quicken Loans. "In the meantime, we'll be cheering on Ryan and the No. 31 team as they make a run in this year's Chase."
Newman enters this weekend's race at Dover 12th in the championship standings, looking to earn his way into the Contender 12 round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Ryan Truex sitting out second straight race for BK Racing
New Jersey native Ryan Truex will not have the opportunity to race at his home track this weekend, as the rookie driver is not behind the wheel of a Sprint Cup car for the second straight weekend.
Running the majority of the season in the No. 83 Toyota, BK Racing decided to put Travis Kvapil in the car for last weekend's race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and again this weekend at Dover.
A BK Racing official told FOXSports.com on Friday morning the situation with Truex is currently "week-to-week."
VIDEO: A look back at AJ Allmendinger's long road to redemption
