This is an Update to:
Allmendinger Hopes Top 12 Brings Sponsor
AJ Allmendinger will be racing until at least September.
Richard Petty Motorsports has secured sponsorship for Allmendinger’s No. 44 Dodge through the Sept. 12 race at Richmond International Speedway. Hunt Brothers Pizza has signed on for a six-race deal, plus the All-Star race, RPM announced Wednesday.
The announcement is a stay of execution of sorts for Allmendinger, whose job status had been up in the air even before Red Bull released him last season. When he signed with RPM prior to the 2009 season, the deal was only for a handful of races.
Now Allmendinger, who sits 20th in the points standings, is secure through the entire Sprint Cup “regular” season.
“This is awesome news,” Allmendinger said in a statement. “I want to thank Hunt Brothers Pizza for coming on board and supporting us. I know our fans and NASCAR fans in general certainly appreciate all they are doing for the sport.”
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Allmendinger was guaranteed only the first eight races when the season started, meaning next week’s race at Phoenix would have been his last. The next four—Talladega, Richmond, Darlington and the Coke 600—as well as the All-Star Race were added after a fast start that had him up to 15th in points before a 34th-place finish at Texas.
“We have shown that we have the ability to run up front in this series,” said Allmendinger, who won the 2008 Sprint Open, a prelim to the All-Star Race. “You are going to see our results get progressively better the longer this team stays together.
“We started the year putting an emphasis on qualifying, but now that we are locked in the starting field we can turn our attention to the race and that’s going to help our race results.”
Allmendinger, a former Champ Car star, is currently 20th in the Cup standings after slipping five spots with a poor race last week in Texas. He’s currently higher in the standings than RPM drivers Sadler and Reed Sorenson, and only trails teammate Kasey Kahne, who is 10th.
“I think we have shown that we have the ability to run up front in this series,” he said. “I think you are going to see our results get progressively better the longer this team stays together. We started the year putting an emphasis on qualifying, but now that we are locked in the starting field we can turn our attention to the race and that’s going to help our race results.
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