AJ's Improvement, The Numbers are staggering.

     AJ Allmendinger's 2010 season was a breath of fresh air throughout "Petty" nation. Sure, the stats that everyone sees are 19th in points, two top fives, and eight top tens, but I decided to dig a little deeper to show his improvement in his second full season. When you look beyond the top fives and tens you find staggering increases in performance. I have broken these statistics into four categories of improvement based on the 2009 and 2010 season stats. These include Intermediate, Road Course, Short Track, and Overall.  These four categories also have their subcategories of top fives, top tens, top fifteens, and top twenties.

    The intermediate tracks are the bread and butter of the NASCAR schedule. They make up two thirds, or 66.67 percent of the season. AJ's performance at these tracks was critical in his finishing point’s standings of 19th. AJ's 19 top twenty finishes showed an increase by 72.72 percent in 2010. The 14 top fifteens were an increase of 180 percent. Top fives and top tens both increased by 100 percent. AJ finished in the top 15 58.3 percent of the time, and the top 20 almost 79.16 percent in 2010. These statistics show that 2011 should bring the consistency and solid finishes we have come to expect on the intermediate tracks.

    AJ has also shown the improvement on some of the more exciting tracks, Road Courses and Short tracks. He's proven himself as a solid Road Course competitor already, but still improved his average finishes from 10 to 8.5. He scored top fifteens at both road courses again to back up his 2009 performance. At the Short tracks, he crossed the stripe top 20 four out of the six races and twice in the top fifteen. Both were 100 percent increases from 2009.

    Petty fans across the nation could not have been happier with the type of season AJ had. His overall statistics improved in almost every category. Top twenties increased by 53 percent, top fifteens by 50 percent, top tens by 33 percent, and top fives by 100 percent. His average starting and finishing position increased by about 25 percent, and his lead lap finishes went up 44 percent. These all are huge accomplishments for a first year team and young AJ.

    To put it all in a nutshell, The "Dinger" has been what the iconic 43 car has needed for a long time coming. 2011 should not only bring more of the flashy stats, but the consistent top fifteen runs that will help AJ have a fighting chance to make "The Chase." The numbers don't lie, Expect AJ and the 43 team to experience much deserved success in 2011, and bring new life to "Petty" nation, and join us all when we say "A go DINGERRRRRRR!!!!!!!!"