December 8th, 2008

Allen qualified 12th for the Derby race on Friday, a somewhat disappointing lap since we expected to be in the top 3.  After qualifying, the crew discovered a left rear shock leaking oil.  The shock was removed and repaired and the #47 was prepared for the race.

Sarting 12th, Allen moved his way up to ninth by lap 10, only to be involved in a wreck on the front staightaway,  Allen spun and with true driving skill was able to avoid contact with the inside wall and escape with no damage to the #47.

Due to the spin, Allen had to restart in 20th position.  Over the next 35 laps Allen had worked his way to 6th and in the last 5 laps Allen passed three more competitors, including Chis Cotto, winner of the Derby in 2006 and 2007.  At the checkered flag Allen was making the pass into 2nd position only to fall short by inches in a photo finish, 

twentyfive hundredths of a second separated 2nd from 3rd.  A 3rd place finish for Allen and the AMP Racing team.  The #47 was the fastest race car on the track at the end of the race and would have only needed a few more laps to have closed in on the leader and eventual winner, the #94 of Shannon Jackson.

September 26th, 2008

Allen started 4th in the field and worked his way up to 3rd, passing Brandon Harris, #60 for the position.  Allen completes the season with a 3rd place in the championship points standings.

August 1st, 2008 

The team arrived at the track early so we'd have time to set up the #47's tires, two new tires for the heat race and four new tires for the feature.  The tire selection was not the best and from 3:30 'til 8:00 Trevor worked with the tires to get them sized and the correct pressures for the race. 

Allen started the heat race sixth and before they got to turn one there was a 3 car crash that eliminated one car.  Luckily, Allen made it through without any damage.  Since a lap was not completed on the start, the field lined up for a restart and again Allen started in 6th.  The field raced into turn one and another crash involving 4 cars brought out the red flag.  The #47 was the only car to make it through cleanly and Allen stopped on the front stretch to wait on the clean up.

Another attempt at starting the race now saw the #47 on the pole for the restart.  Allen raced the #37 of James Kimbrough for the lead and Allen finished the heat in 1st.

Allen started the feature on the pole and in a 25 lap caution free sprint to the finish, the #47 held off the #37 for Allen's first feature win.  The #47 passed tech inspection and the win was official.  The points leader, Brandon Harris #60, didn't make the race due to technical violations.  Kimbrough, with his 2nd place finish is now the points leader, Allen, although still 3rd. in the points, is only 6 points out of second.

July 18th, 2008

The biggest race of the season so far.  50 laps in the Mid Season Spectacular.  Qualifying, then the feature.   The team worked hard to get the car in top shape for this big race and it paid off with Allen qualifying with the second fastest time.  After the inversion Allen started the feature on the outside pole.  Starting on the outside is not one of Allen's favorite places to start.  With the drop of the green flag Allen and his spotter were trying to quickly get him to the bottom lane and did in turn 3 & 4 on the first lap.  Allen was right behind the #37 of James Kimbrough.  Brandon pulled out to a pretty good lead on Allen and James.  Allen was pushing the #37 to go faster and around lap twenty, the #37 and Allen both passed the leader.  Allen just didn't have enough to pass the #37, although Allen stayed on his bumper the #37 crossed the finish line ahead of Allen.  Another second place finish, but we had to still get through tech.  After a few hours in tech, after all three top finishers were DQ'd, and after the DQ decision was reversed we were able to load up and head to the house.  Over the next two weeks we've got some changes to make to the #47, change a upper right front ball joint and replace the center link in the steering system.  The strong finish in this race moved Allen up from 5th to 3rd in the points.   

June27th, 2008 

Disappointing  night for the AMP Racing Team.

After working on the car and testing to be sure we'd be fast, we were.  Allen finished 2nd in the feature and then we got DQ'd for being low on the left side.  Allen had to give up his trophy and didn't get any prize money or points, as a result Allen fell to 5th in the overall points.

June 6th, 2008 

Friday night, 6/6/8 at Five Flags was a busy night for the team.

Allen started fifth in the heat and finished fourth after qualifying  for a tenth starting spot in the feature.  The feature ended with Allen moving up for a seventh place effort.

May 30th, 2008 

After last Friday nights racing was rained out, a few changes were made to the #47 P&R, LLC. Impala SS.  During last weeks practice the car was having clutch problems and had to have some new clutch parts.  The team finally got the clutch repaired Friday afternoon just before leaving the shop for the track.

The team arrived at the track, and after tech Allen took the #47 out for session one practice.  The car was a little tight and Allen made a setup change and waited for session two.  Session two practice ended and the team prepared the #47 for the feature race.

No heat races tonight, the field lined up by points and the top six were inverted.  Allen started 3rd, a good starting position.  The green flag flew and the #60 of Brandon Harris flew into 2nd position coming out of turn two, passing Allen and the #98 of Scotty Anderson.  Lap two saw Allen making the pass on  the #98 just as the caution flag flew.  On the restart Allen was 4th and maintained his position through lap nine as another caution flew for debris.  Laps three through eighteen saw the #47 gaining on the 3rd place car, coming off turn two Allen was on the bumper of the #44.  Midway down the back strech, with Allen on his bumper, the #44 got loose and the #37 passed the #44 and Allen as they went three wide into turn three.  Allen was the meat in the sandwich and fell to 5th.   Another caution came out and Allen restarted in 5th, but then quickly moved into 4th passing the #44 coming out of turn two.  With two laps to go Allen caught the 3rd place car and the #47 moved into 3rd for another top three finish in the last two races. 

The trip to tech after pictures and congrats on the front stretch started routinely as tech weighed the car.  The tech inspector wanted our right side tires, along with the tires of the 1st and 2nd place cars.  The tech inspection revealed something unusual with the #60's tires and the tech inspector said "these tires have been soaked".  Tech spent a long time looking at Brandon's tires and finally said that the results were not official 'til he has the #60's tires checked next week.  Check back often to find out the official finish was.

May 12, 2008 

The last two weeks saw Allen working on the #47 P&R Impala SS every day.  His hard work and determination paid off this past Saturday night.

Allen changed the rear gear ratio, pulled the transmission to work on it, completed adjustments to the braking system, modified supports for the body, repaired rear bumper damage from the previous race and a host of other maintenance issues.

The team arrived at the track on time and prepared for the race.  Allen took the #47 out for practice and was pleased with the way the car handled. After a second practice run the team set the #47 up with a new set of tires for the heat race, with only some changes to stagger and tires presures.  Allen started the heat, second row outside, in 4th.   At the start Allen moved into 3rd going into turn one and a couple of laps later he moved  the #47 under the #11 for second place, now chasing the leader, #33 Bo Wilkenson.  On the last lap of the 8 lap heat Allen pulled to the outside of Wilkenson, they raced side by side down the back stretch into turns 3 & 4.  Allen stayed on the outside of the #33 through 3 & 4 and coming to the checkered.  When the checkered flag waved at the finish line Allen had nosed ahead of the #33 for his first win on a paved track.  Exciting finish and first win, nice Monther's day gift.

Since Allen won the first of the two heat races, he started the feature on the pole, his first pole position.  Allen brought the field of 13 cars to the green flag with hopes of getting that first feature win.  When the green flag flew, the #98 of Scotty Anderson got to turn one just ahead of Allen and pulled into the lead coming out of turn two.  Allen settled into 2nd place with the current points leader, #60 Brandon Harris, right on his bumper.  Allen was able to maintain the distance to the leader and pull away slightly from the #60.  Midway through the race Allen was beginning to gain on the leader putting even more distance on the #60.  At some point Allen bounced off the back stretch wall, kinda like Darlington this past Saturday night.  With six laps to go Allen had lost ground to the leader and the #60 made the pass on Allen.  The distance back to 4th was a full straightaway behind Allen and with a vibration in the car Allen was still able to maintain his 3rd place position and stay consistently in the top 5. 

Again, our finish was not what we had hoped for, but it's hard to complain about a heat race win followed by a 3rd in the feature, Allen has now only raced on asphalt 5 times.  It was a good night for AMP Racing in the points, Allen moved from 6th to a good solid 4th.

Meet the Driver's Night was fun for all team members, Allen signed so many pictures we ran out of autograph cards.  We gave away T-shirts, lapel pins, flags and pinwheels. 

Our biggest sponsor, Paul Peed, P&R, LLC., and his family were at Five Flags for the first time to watch Allen race.  AMP Racing sincerely appreciates the participation of our sponsors.  Allen always seems to perform his best when sponsors of the #47 attend the races.

April 26th, 2008 

After a a few problems were discovered with the car in the week prior to last night's race, the team worked long hours to get the car ready for the 3rd race of the season.

The team arrived at the track early and well prepared for this race.  The pass through tech only required some minor changes.  Allen went out for practice and the changes that we made to the #47's setup proved to be good.  Allen's confidence was high.

Allen started the heat race in 4th, second row outside. On the start Allen quickly moved into third. Pole sitter, #33 Bo Wilkenson, had some apparent issues maintaining the fast pace and on the second lap Allen was following, #37 James Kimbrough, on the low side making a pass on Wilkenson for 2nd.  Wilkenson, trying to hold his position, didn't give the #47 any room coming down off turn four, contact was made causing Allen to spin.  This ended Allen's attempt for a good starting position in the feature, finishing sixth in the heat.

Allen started the feature 12th, sixth row outside.

At the start, Allen quickly moved through the field into the 9th position.  The car was good, but he had a long way to go to get to the front.  Leader, #17 Chris Cotto, spun bringing out the first of many cautions in the race.   Allen, with the help of some caution flags and patient, but determined driving, moved his way through the field into the 4th position.  He was gaining on the leaders and was starting to challenge the #37 of James Kimbrough for the third position.  Allen made a couple of moves under the #37 going into to turn three, but Kimbrough wouldn't give an inch, so rather than taking a chance and getting into the #37, Allen just kept the pressure on him.  A couple more laps and Allen would have made the pass, but we just ran out of time and Allen finished 4th.  All in all it was a great night for the AMP Racing team.

Special thanks to all of Allen's fans that came out to the race and supported him, it's greatly appreciated and it does make a big difference.  Thanks

April 13th, 2008 

Allen and the team were late again arriving at the track due to work being completed on the car.  We missed the first practice and the second practice was cut short due to the #47 leaking fluid on track.  We discovered that someone had not put the cap on the fuel cell correctly.

Allen started the feature race on the outside pole and quickly fell back to fifth and settled in there.  Allen made the pass for fourth and was gainig on third ,with 4 laps remaining, when a nut came off of the pitman arm on the steering.  Allen was very lucky that he did not lose complete control of the car before he was able to make it back to the pits.  The crew scrambled to replace the nut and get Allen back on the track, but with only a lap remaining when the car was fixed, we decided to just take the loss and hope a valuable lesson was learned by all.  Races are won and lost in the shop prior to getting to the track.

The poor finish dropped Allen to 6th in the points standings.  The next race April 25th we sure hope to have a better finish. 

March 16th, 2008 

Last week Allen began final preparations for his first start of the 2008 season.  Paint, graphics, and numbers all had to go on and still have time to check the  #47 P&R Impala SS over one last time before the race.

The graphics and numbers were still being placed on the #47 Friday afternoon and the team was late pulling out headed for Five Flags.  Allen missed the first practice session after we unloaded at the track because we had to spend extra time in the tech inspection area.

Allen's first test practice session produced a best lap of 20.86 seconds, not nearly as fast as he needed to be.  The #47 P&R needed more speed.

Since Allen only had one practice session with the car, the team was only able to adjust the car based on Allen's description of its handling characteristics.

With the changes and adjustments completed Allen went to line up for qualifing.  His first lap and fastest in qualifing was a 19.79, good enough for a 7th place start on the 4th row, inside.  

The race started and after a couple of laps Allen was in 5th position and the field was strung out, everybody in line.   The leaders got into each other and spun, Allen had moved up to 2nd place.  The restart saw the #44 out front with the #47 P&R Impala SS right on his bumper. 

With 21 laps completed Allen was in 2nd and challenged for the lead, but still getting familiar with the car, he braked to hard, lost his momentum and lost about 3 cars lengths to the leader.  A caution came out due to a car spinning and on the resart the leader slowed coming out of turn 4 and this caused a chain reaction crash behind the leaders.

After the debris from the crash was cleaned up the field of Super Stocks got ready for another restart with 4 laps to go. Allen didn't get a good restart and the 3rd and 4th place cars were able to work there way under Allen coming down the front stretch.  Allen settled into 4th place, and unfortunately had 2nd place finish end up 4th.

Allen and the team are a little diasppointed with the 4th place finish, but we have to remember that this was only Allen's 2nd ever race on asphalt.  Allen is 4th in the points after the first race and hopes to move up after the next race, April 11th.

December 5, 2007 Wednesday 

Preparations for the GSA Finance Derby were complete last Wednesday. Thursday evening we loaded the car in the hauler and headed to Five Flags.  Even though we couldn't get the hauler into the infield we were first in line when the pits opened at 8 am. Friday morning.  

We arrived at the track around 7 am. Friday and at 8 we headed for the pits to unload.  It was crowded, check out some of the pictures in the Derby Pics section.  Practice was at 11 and  after we unloaded, off we went to tech for inspection.  This should have been a breeze but the tech official found a safety issue with Allen's window net, the front valance was an inch too low, and the car was about 45lbs. to light.  We had a lot to do before practice  and still had to come back through tech again. 

Allen went out for the practice session  at 11 and the car felt good to him but he couldn't get back in the gas off the corners as quickly as the fastest cars.  His times were in the 20.50's with our old tires and we felt like we would be ok once a set of stickers were on the car.  The session ended and it was time for lunch, then qualifying at 2:30.

We weren't planning on doing to much to the car between practice and qualifying, so Bo suggested changing the right rear spring to get better traction off the corners, but we didn't have the right spring.

Bo and Nate set out on a quest to find someone who had the spring we needed.  They found a spring, but it wasn't the right height, it was 3 inches shorter than the one we needed.  After a lot of discussion it was decided to adjust the car to fit the shorter spring.  We took the shocks off and had them checked and found that they had all lost pressure so Allen had to get the shocks fixed and back on the car.  We still needed to add some weight to the car and put on new tires before qualifying. 

At 2:30 Allen climbed into the #47 and headed to the line up for qualifying.  He was to qualify 18th.

Allen pulled onto the track for two laps and turned a 19.77 the fastest lap. At the time Allen was the 3rd fastest qualifier.  After all 29 cars finished qualifying Allen was 12th fastest, his first ever attempt at qualifying.  He would start the Derby in the sixth row on the outside.

Allen sure would have preferred to start on the inside row, but he was stuck on the outside, and in the first 4 laps after the green flag the outside line had lost about 11 positions to the inside line.  Finally, after a few more laps Allen was able to work his way to the inside and begin passing cars.

A single car incident bought out the caution on lap 15.  Allen was in 22nd position.  After another caution a few laps latter the race settled down and went caution free 'til lap 73.  During the next forty laps Allen had cruised into 12th position.  Allen said  the car was handling great and it was time to go to the front.  The next few laps saw Allen passing cars and, although, in passing one, he damaged his right front fender, it didn't slow him down.  Such a long green flag run had allowed the two leaders to start lapping cars in the top ten. Even though Allen was running lap times almost as fast as the leaders, they were catching him.  Allen was running a good line down low in the corners and giving up two racing lanes on the outside down the straightaways.

The leader pulled to the outside but couldn't pass Allen,  the 2nd place car was following Allen because Allen was actually a little faster than the leader, with the leader on the outside.  On lap 73 coming off turn four the second place car got into the back of Allen's car and spun Allen into the front stretch retaining wall.  Two laps left, probably would have been in sixth at the finish, and we got taken out of the race.  That's racing.

Allen was disappointed  that we didn't finish the race because of damage to the car after slamming the wall, but by the time he got the car moving again and headed back to the pits he was already talking about how he couldn't wait 'til next season.

Allen wrapped up his 2007 season, racing to a 19th place finish in his asphalt debut.

Checked the car out and damage is limited to the left rear shock, a mount on the differential housing, right rear rotor and brakes, a rear wheel and tire, and some cosmetic damage. 

All in all it was a great weekend of racing, even though Allen didn't quite get the finish that he hoped for. He ran so well and was so competitive, running in the top ten most of the day, that our team is very confident about the 2008 season. 

November 18, 2007 Sunday 

Last week the team spent the week at the shop preparing the #47 for practice on Saturday.  We arrived at the track about 8:30 and unloaded.  Allen was able to get out in the first three sessions and turned in some good laps and we were pleased with the car on old tires.  For the last session we bolted on a set of sticker tires and tried to make some qualifing runs.  We didn't quite get the results we were looking for, but trying qualifing runs with 15 others cars on the track was difficult.  We feel very good about the upcoming race and still hope to qualify in the top five.  We'll spend the next two weeks preparing the #47 for the GSA Super Stock Derby 75 on Nov. 30th.

September 30, 2007 Sunday

Last night started off very well.  We had the car prepared early in the week and arrived at the track early.  Allen got a good draw for the heats and started the second heat on the pole.  He took the lead on the first lap and never looked back winning easily over the #88 of Chuck Moore.  The heat win put us up 1 more point ahead of Chuck for the championship.

Allen started the feature on the pole and pulled into the lead going into turn one where there was a multi-car wreck.  After the wreck was cleared there was a complete restart and once again Allen pulled into the lead going into turn one.  Allen continued to extend his lead until there was another caution and this allowed the #88 of Chuck Moore to pull right up on Allen's bumper for the restart.  This scenerio was repeated several times and each time allowed Chuck to pull up on Allen's bumper.  Each restart Chuck made a valiant effort to get inside of Allen going into turn one, but Allen was able to hold him off and extend his lead going down the back stretch.  The race for the championship came right down to the last lap as there were still 10 cars on the lead lap and any problem for Allen such as a flat tire, spin or whatever would have allowed Chuck to win the race and take the championship from Allen.  Allen maintained his cool and and brought the AMP Racing #47 Monte Carlo home to victory lane and secured the 2007 Deep South Speedway Track Championship.

September 22, 2007 Saturday

The track decided to cancel tonights race due to the possibility of severe weather.  Next week is the final race of the season.  Allen leads the points championship by 14 points.   The #88 of Chuck Moore would have to win the heat, the feature and Allen finish sixth or worse to catch Allen for the championship.  Allen hopes to win the heat and the feature.