Keeping an eye on Justin Allgaier

I am really impressed with Justin Allgaier in NASCAR's Nationwide Series. I believe he will make that series well worth watching for the remainder of this season.  

Allgaier fought a loose race car, but wheeled his 16th place start into a 4th place finish. Allgaier is fourth in the points standings. 

This young man with an impressive resume; complete with results to back it up, is an Illinois native. He caught my eye while he began driving for Penske Racing in 2008. 

Allgaier seemed a natural fit for my liking, since he drove the #12 for Penske, the car formerly driven by my favorite Sprint Cup driver, Ryan Newman. 

Newman drove the #12 Alltel Dodge sponsored by Alltel, until Alltel was taken over by Verizon. Newman left Penske and joined Stewart-Haas Racing. The #12 Alltel Dodge was replaced by the #12 Verizon Dodge, driven by  Allgaier.

Allgaier drove full time in the Nationwide series, which was a first for Penske. 

In the cut-throat business/advertising world however, the writing was on the wall for Verizon, in the series named for Sprint. Alltel was permitted to remain a sponsor because it was established prior to Sprint taking over the series. But, once the name was changed, all bets were off. Apparently there is no room for competition in the world of cellular service, so Verizon pulled its sponsorship. Allgaier, the 2009 Rookie of the year who won his first race at Bristol in March, 2010, was the victim. 

This year, Allgaier is making the most of the situation as he drives for Turner Motor Sports in the #31 car. 

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• Justin Allgaier prevails in NASCAR Nationwide (theglobeandmail.com)

Alltel Dodge comes to Arkansas

When Ryan Newman drove the #12 Alltel Dodge for Penske Racing, I was crazy about the look of that car. Now I know its appearance has nothing to do with the way the car handles and how much horsepower it has, but let's face it, that was one fine-looking car.

A little over a year ago, when Ryan Newman was racing around the track at Chicagoland, I was having a racing experience of my own, right in my own home town in Arkansas.

The Alltel Dodge show car was on display at the new Alltel store in Arkansas. I was thrilled. I couldn't wait to see it up close. I donned on my Ryan Newman shirt, and like the NASCAR nerd my daughter claims me to be, I set out to see a replica of the car I strain to see every weekend. What a nice way to spend some time, sharing NASCAR stories with Alltel employees, who just happened to follow the same driver I did.