A.J. Allmendinger will assume the seat of the No. 51 car of Phoenix Racing for Saturday nights NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Allmendinger had been without a ride since he was released from his contract with Penske Racing following a positive test under NASCAR’s random drug testing.
The seat of the No. 51 had been occupied by Kurt Busch this season but he recently signed with Furniture Row Racing to drive the No. 78 car. Regan Smith was to drive the No. 51 car this weekend but he instead will drive the No. 88 of Dale Earnhardt Jr who will miss the next two races as a result of a concussion sustained at Talladega.
Last week Allmendinger spoke at Talladega and mentioned that he had talked to James Finch, owner of Phoenix Racing, but described the talk as “short.”
It is unknown how many races Phoenix Racing will employ Allmendinger. He last raced at Kentucky where he finished ninth. Allmendinger recorded a top-five and three top-tens in 17 starts while driving the No. 22 Dodge for Penske.
A press conference regarding Dale Earnhardt Jr’s concussion was held today, you can read notes from it here.
