+ ONE LAST HURRAH
AJ Allmendinger will close out his rookie NASCAR season with a double-duty drive in south Florida, securing a seat with Chip Ganassi Racing for Saturday’s 300-mile Busch Series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Coming off a 13th-place finish in the Phoenix Busch race, Allmendinger will drive the No. 41 Memorex Dodge on Saturday — the day after he and Red Bull Racing Team’s No. 84 try to time their way into the big show. Allmendinger has started outside the top 20 only once in six tries, and he has two top-15 finishes in NASCAR’s second-tier series.

+ QUOTES
Brian Vickers, No. 83 driver: “It’s hard to believe we’re heading into the last race of the year — it’s been a long year. This season has had its share of highs and lows, but for a brand new team I think we did a good job and can build on what we learned this year to help get us in the top 35 at the beginning of next year and not have to stress out on qualifying day anymore. That’s really the key for any team in a position like ours — being in the top 35 makes all the difference. We need to make a lot of gains in our COT program in the next few months so we can go to Daytona and start the season off right by getting ourselves into the race.”

Randy Cox, No. 83 crew chief: “We’re 3-for-3 right now getting the 83 car into the past couple races, so if we can continue that at Homestead then we accomplished what we set out to do in wrapping up this year. We’re already working on our testing plans for the off-season to get as much experience with the COT as possible for next year. The COT has been a struggle for us this year and we’ve had to rely a lot on making races with the current car. Next year the focus is on the COT so we have to step it up. The first five races of 2008 will be crucial for setting the pace for the rest of the season.”

AJ Allmendinger, No. 84 driver: “Whoo hoo, the season is over! Seriously though, I am looking forward to having a chance to finish off this season strong. I was really excited after having our best qualifying effort of the year in Texas, and I hope to back that up this weekend in Homestead. I have never raced at this track before but based on some of our strong, late-season runs at mile-and-a-half tracks, we can hopefully get a good finish out of the weekend and finish off on a good note.”

Ricky Viers, No. 84 crew chief: “I can’t wait to get to Homestead. I will be glad to put the 2007 season in the books with a good ending. We are taking a really good car this weekend — a car very similar to the one we had in Texas. Obviously that was a great weekend until we were involved in a wreck. I feel like we are a team that needs to bounce back strong in the last race of the season and gain momentum going into next year. It will also give us something to build on. We have a driver and race team ready to prove that we are ready for the ’08 season.”